Question

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st

–"Sonnet 18,"
William Shakespeare

Which statement best expresses the central idea of the third quatrain?

Your beauty will never fade, because you will live forever in the lines of this poem.
Love provides safety, so you should never wander from your beloved.
Nature is more beautiful than a poem, but also more dangerous.
The beauty of summer fades when winter comes

Answer 1

"Your beauty will never fade, because you will live forever in the lines of this poem."

This quatrain asserts that the beloved's "eternal summer" (beauty) won't fade and death won't claim them, because the poem's "eternal lines" will preserve them for time.