st-lit-1
Read the following poem carefully before you choose your answers.
Passage
Against that time (if ever that time come)
When I shall see thee frown on my defects,
When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum,
Called to that audit by advised respects—
Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass,
And scarcely greet me with that sun, thine eye,
When love, converted from the thing it was,
Shall reasons find of settled gravity—
Against that time do I ensconce me here
Within the knowledge of mine own desert,
And this my hand against myself uprear,
To guard the lawful reasons on thy part.
To leave poor me thou has the strength of laws,
Select an Answer
If the speaker is implying in line 10 that he is not deserving of love, which of the following most strongly supports the implication?
View Correct Answer
Choice A is correct. The word "defects" refers to the speaker's sense of his own weaknesses or failures to meet the expectations of others. It would support an argument by the speaker that he did not deserve to be loved.