That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
What inference can be made about the relationship between the speaker and the person referred to (“thou”) in the poem?
Explanation
Answer: C - The speaker is an older lover of the person addressed in the sonnet. In the couplet, or last two lines of the sonnet, the speaker writes, “This thou perceiv’st which makes thy love more strong…” Throughout the sonnet, the speaker refers to different imagery of advanced age. For example, he uses the images of twilight, late autumn, and a dying fire, all of which are metaphors for advanced age.
