Question

Read the passage.

excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Theseus
Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace. Four happy days bring in
Another moon. But, O, methinks how slow
This old moon wanes! She lingers my desires
Like to a stepdame or a dowager
Long withering out a young man’s revenue.
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What does Theseus mean by "She lingers my desires / Like to a stepdame or a dowager / Long withering out a young man’s revenue"?

A:
When we get married, I will feel like the richest man in the world because I have you.
B: In a few days, you will not be a stepdame or dowager any more.
C: We can’t get married until my stepmother arrives.
D: I’m as impatient as a young man who has to wait for his inheritance.

Answer 1

The correct answer is D: I’m as impatient as a young man who has to wait for his inheritance.

Explanation:

She lingers my desires, (She's keeping me waiting)

Like a stepdame or a dowager (The term "stepdame" also means stepmother, and a "dowager" is a widow who holds a title or property from her late husband.)

Long withering out a young man's revenue. (Revenue is synonymous for earnings, or in this case, a young man's inheritance that is being held by a stepmother.)