1.

Read the lines of verse.

From Sonnet 106, by William Shakespeare

When in the chronicle of wasted time

I see descriptions of the fairest wights,

And beauty making beautiful old rhyme,

In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights,

Which of the following best describes the main idea of this quatrain from Sonnet 106?

The speaker wants to write a history about dead women and knights.

The speaker reads historical descriptions of fair women and handsome knights.

The speaker thinks people were better at expressing ideas about beauty in the past.

In this excerpt from Shakespeare's Sonnet 106, he talks about the indescribable beauty of his friend and how he's at a loss for words when he tries to describe it. The best evidence we have to support this is within the last likes of the sonnet:

"for they look'd but with divining eyes,

They had not skill enough your worth to sing:

For we, which now behold these present days,

Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise."

Meaning that, even though he had more experience than those before him, couldn't find the proper words to express himself as effectively as those before him.

Therefore, your best answer is The speaker thinks people were better at expressing ideas about beauty in the past.