Directions : Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
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 ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest 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 seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
What did the branches of the trees enjoy earlier ?
Correct Answer :
sweet songs of birds
Solution :
The correct answer is sweet songs of birds.
Explanation:
In the first stanza of William Shakespeare's poem (Sonnet 73), the speaker states:
"Upon those boughs which shake against the cold
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang."
Here, the branches ("boughs") of the trees are described as now being bare and shaking in the cold, but earlier ("where late"), sweet birds sang upon them. Therefore, the branches of the trees enjoyed the sweet songs of birds in the earlier, warmer days before winter arrived.
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