Item 7 Read the sonnet.

Sonnet XII

by William Shakespeare

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

How does the change from the rhyming pattern in the quatrains to the rhyming couplet in "Sonnet XII" affect the poem?

It makes readers focus on the conclusion and the author's message.

It causes readers to change their speaking tone when reading aloud.

It makes readers want to see if any other lines rhyme with the couplet.

It informs readers that the last two rhyming words are the most important.