Question

sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
and often is his gold complexion dimmd,
and every fair from fair sometime declines,
by chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmd
—\sonnet 18,\
william shakespeare

read the second quatrain of the sonnet, and then answer the questions.

what is the best paraphrase of the first two lines?

what is the best paraphrase of the last two lines?

Explanation:

(for first two lines):
The phrase "the eye of heaven" is a metaphor for the sun. "Too hot" means the sun can be overly intense, and "his gold complexion dimm'd" means the sun's bright (gold - like) appearance is often lessened (e.g., by clouds). So a paraphrase could be: "Sometimes the sun shines too intensely, and often its bright, golden appearance is diminished (e.g., by clouds)."

(for last two lines):
"Every fair from fair sometime declines" means that every beautiful thing (fair) will lose its beauty (from fair) at some point. "By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd" means this decline happens either by random chance or as part of nature's unregulated (untrimm'd) process of change. So a paraphrase could be: "Every beautiful thing will eventually lose its beauty, either by random chance or as part of nature's unregulated process of change."

Answer:

(for first two lines):
Sometimes the sun shines too intensely, and often its bright, golden appearance is diminished (e.g., by clouds).