GCELiterature in EnglishNon-African Poetry2023

In Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, the line 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' functions primarily as

Aa rhetorical question that the poet immediately answers by rejecting the comparisonCORRECT
Ba direct statement of the beloved's superiority over all of nature
Can invitation for the beloved to reflect on her own beauty
Da lament about the shortness of the summer season
AI
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Why the answer is A, and why the others tempt you.
The opening question is rhetorical because the poet proceeds to show that the beloved surpasses a summer's day in every respect — being more lovely, more temperate, and more permanent. The comparison is proposed only to be qualified and ultimately discarded. The sonnet then argues that the beloved's beauty will be immortalized through the poem itself.
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