st-lit-2
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
The tone of the poem can best be described as
playful and lighthearted
hesitant and confused
confident and determined
reasoned and optimistic
self-deprecating and apprehensive
View Correct Answer
Choice E is correct. The speaker imagines an undesirable situation and argues that reason cannot explain or justify the love he has been given. The speaker is both "self-deprecating" when he suggests he is unworthy of love and "apprehensive" when he imagines the possibility of no longer being loved.