Sonnet 106 Questions and Answers
Very Short Answer Questions
Q: Who is the author of Sonnet 106?
A: William Shakespeare.
Q: What is the primary theme of Sonnet 106?
A: The fleeting nature of beauty..
Q: What does “chronicle of wasted time” refer to?
A: Historical records or past writings.
Q: Who are the “fairest wights” mentioned in the sonnet?
A: The most beautiful people from the past.
Q: What does “blazon” mean in the context of the poem?
A: A detailed description of beauty.
Q: Which poetic form does Sonnet 106 follow?
A: Shakespearean sonnet.
Q: What is the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 106?
A: ABABCDCDEFEFGG.
Q: How do the past poets view the present beauty, according to the speaker?
A: As a prophecy.
Q: What does the phrase “divining eyes” imply about past poets?
A: They had a prophetic vision.
Q: What does the speaker say the past poets lacked?
A: The skill to fully capture the present beauty’s worth.
Q: How does the speaker describe the present generation’s ability to praise beauty?
A: They have eyes to wonder but lack tongues to praise.
Q: Which parts of the body are listed in the blazon?
A: Hand, foot, lip, eye, and brow.
Q: What literary device is “chronicle of wasted time”?
A: Metaphor.
Q: What does “antique pen” symbolize?
A: Past poets or their writing tools.
Q: What is the tone of Sonnet 106?
A: Reflective and admiring.
Q: Who is being addressed in the poem?
A: A person of great beauty, possibly the Fair Youth.
Q: What does the couplet at the end of the sonnet emphasize?
A: The difficulty of expressing beauty in words.
Q: How does Shakespeare view the poets’ praises of the past?
A: As inadequate but prophetic.
Q: What is the main challenge highlighted in the poem?
A: The struggle to fully articulate the worth of beauty.
Short Answer Questions
Q: How does Shakespeare describe the historical records in Sonnet 106?
A: Shakespeare refers to historical records as the “chronicle of wasted time.” He suggests that past poets captured the beauty of the fairest people in their writings, but these descriptions were merely a prelude to the beauty of the present time.
Q: What does Shakespeare mean by “beauty making beautiful old rhyme”?
A: Shakespeare is noting that the beauty of past people inspired poets to create beautiful poetry. These old rhymes or poems are considered beautiful because they were crafted to praise the beauty of ladies and knights of the past.
Q: Explain the use of the word “blazon” in the sonnet.
A: “Blazon” refers to a detailed description of a person’s physical features, often used in poetry to catalog beauty. In Sonnet 106, Shakespeare uses “blazon” to describe how past poets detailed the beauty of hands, feet, lips, eyes, and brows, which parallels the beauty seen in the present.
Q: How does Shakespeare use the concept of prophecy in Sonnet 106?
A: Shakespeare suggests that the praises of beauty by past poets were prophetic. These poets, with their “divining eyes,” could foresee the extraordinary beauty of the person he is addressing, but their descriptions fell short of capturing its full essence.
Q: What does Shakespeare mean by “divining eyes”?
A: “Divining eyes” refers to the visionary and almost prophetic nature of past poets. They looked at beauty with a kind of foresight, attempting to capture and predict the enduring nature of beauty that Shakespeare sees in the present.
Q: Why does Shakespeare claim that past poets “had not skill enough your worth to sing”?
A: Shakespeare believes that past poets lacked the complete skill to capture the true worth of the beauty he observes in the present. Despite their best efforts and eloquence, their praises were inadequate compared to the actual beauty they tried to describe.
Q: How does the speaker view the relationship between past and present beauty?
A: The speaker views past beauty as a precursor or prophecy of present beauty. He acknowledges the past poets’ efforts to praise beauty, but emphasizes that the beauty he sees now surpasses their descriptions, bridging past admiration with present realization.
Q: What is the significance of the concluding couplet in Sonnet 106?
A: The couplet emphasizes the contemporary generation’s ability to admire beauty but their struggle to adequately express it in words. This underscores the central theme of the poem: the limitations of language in capturing the full essence of profound beauty.
Q: Discuss the tone of Sonnet 106 and how it contributes to its meaning.
A: The tone of Sonnet 106 is reflective and admiring. Shakespeare contemplates the efforts of past poets and recognizes the enduring nature of beauty. This tone supports the poem’s message that true beauty transcends time and remains difficult to fully express through language.
Q: How does Shakespeare’s use of imagery enhance the poem’s theme?
A: Shakespeare’s vivid imagery, such as “hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,” creates a detailed picture of beauty. This imagery supports the theme of timeless beauty by showing how specific physical attributes have been admired across generations, yet remain challenging to fully capture in poetry.
