Question

Which words from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 73" create a gloomy tone? A. "Fadeth" and "ruin'd" B. "Day" and "west' C. "Glowing" and "fire" D. "Choirs" and "birds" ??

Answer 1

The words in set A are usually negative

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. "Fadeth" and "ruin'd."

Fadeth is just the old English way to write fade, and the verb to fade has a slightly negative connotation. If something fades, it disappears and you no longer have it. Similarly, ruin'd (which obviously stands for ruined), has a clearly negative connotation - meaning that something is destroyed.

So these two words give off the impression of a tone which is bad, sad, or gloomy, and therefore is the correct answer here.