Question the-fo
The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s 1609 poem “Sonnet 27.” The poem is addressed to a close friend as if he were physically present.
Weary with toil, we [hurry] to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired:
For then my thoughts—from far where we abide—
[Begin] a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
What is the main idea of the text?
The speaker is asleep and dreaming about traveling to see the friend.
The speaker is planning an upcoming trip to the friend’s house.
The speaker is too fatigued to continue a discussion with the friend.
The speaker is thinking about the friend instead of immediately falling asleep.
The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s 1609 poem “Sonnet 27.” The poem is addressed
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Central Ideas and Details — Identify the central idea or thesis. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice D is the best answer it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The speaker describes going to bed for “repose” (rest) but finding that his thoughts are focused on the friend the speaker is addressing, and the thoughts are keeping the speaker awake.
Choice A is incorrect because the speaker isn’t asleep; the thoughts about the friend are keeping the speaker awake. Choice B is incorrect because the speaker isn’t talking about taking a literal trip; rather, the speaker uses the metaphor of a journey to describe internal thoughts. Choice C is incorrect because the speaker isn’t having a discussion with the friend.
More Central Ideas and Details practice questions
- The following text is from Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 novel Funny Boy. The
- Elizabeth Asiedu has identified a negative correlation between the share of developing
- The following text is from David Barclay Moore’s 2022 novel Holler of the Fireflies
- In 1934 physicist Eugene Wigner posited the existence of a crystal consisting entirely of
- To protect themselves when being attacked, hagfish-jawless marine animals that resemble
- The painter María Izquierdo played an important role in the development of
- The following text is adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 story
- Xin Wang and colleagues have discovered the earliest known example of a flower bud
Browse all Information and Ideas practice questions or return to the full SAT question bank.