Question

Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget'st so long

To speak of that which gives thee all thy might?
Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song,
Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light?
Return, forgetful Muse, and straight redeem
In gentle numbers time so idly spent;
Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem
And gives thy pen both skill and argument.
Rise, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey,
If Time have any wrinkle graven there;
If any, be a satire to decay,
And make Time's spoils despised every where.
Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life;
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.
-"Sonnet 100,"
William Shakespeare
What is the primary purpose of the couplet in this
sonnet?
O The purpose is to show the poet's belief in a grim
reaper who wields a scythe.
* The purpose is to complete the 14 lines required
to make the poem a sonnet.
O The purpose is to add a twist to the ideas about
time described in the three quatrains.
O The purpose is to inspire a poem that will help the
speaker's beloved become famous and live
forever.

Answer 1

The couplet in Shakespeare's "Sonnet 100" aims to immortalize the poet's beloved through verse, defeating the destructive power of time.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary purpose of the couplet in William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 100" is to provide a resolution to the themes and ideas presented in the previous quatrains, specifically the power of the poet's verse to immortalize the beloved against the ravages of time.

The couplet concludes the sonnet with a powerful hope that the poet's words will give his love fame that outpaces the withering effects of time, thereby thwarting time's destructive power.

Therefore, the poet is not merely completing the structural requirements of the sonnet but is also delivering a profound idea that poetry has the strength to conquer temporality and preserve love.