Asked by Cheesecake

Sonnet XXV
by William Shakespeare Which of the following choices correctly identifies and analyzes the poetic meter of the sonnet's line 1? (Lowercase text indicates unstressed syllables, uppercase text indicates stressed syllables, and vertical lines separate metrical feet.)

1. Blank verse: LET those | WHO are | IN fav | OR with | THEIR stars
2. Blank verse: LET those who | ARE in fav | OR with their | STARS
3. Iambic pentameter: let THOSE WHO | are IN FAV | or WITH THEIR | stars
4. Iambic pentameter: let THOSE | who ARE | in FAV | or WITH | their STARS

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Answer: 4.

Reason: The line scans as iambic pentameter with five iambs — let THOSE | who ARE | in FAV | or WITH | their STARS — where the unstressed-stressed pattern falls on the second syllable of each foot. The other choices either misplace the initial stress (making a trochee) or divide the line into the wrong number of feet.