Question

Help please?


1. What is the speaker of Petrarch's Sonnet 28 expressing when he says in line 13, "Where'er I wander, love attends me still"?
a. He cannot escape from his misery and lovesickness.
b. He does not want to be alone as he did earlier in the poem.
c. He has been able to find some peace in his solitude in the natural world.
d. He is at least able to feel comforted thanks to the love of another.

2. The speaker in Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare likens himself to a tree in late autumn, a day at twilight, and the glowing embers of a fire to suggest that he is _
a. old and close to death
b. frightened and in of comfort
c. tall and thin
d. young and healthy

3. References to the "soul" and "ideal grace" in lines 3 and 4 of Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning depict the speakers love in _
a. intellectual terms
b. physical terms
c. spiritual terms
d. scientific terms

Answer 1

1. I believe the correct answer is D. He is at least able to feel comforted thanks to the love of another. The speaker talks about the turmoil and anxiety he feels while trying to escape "the world's prying eye". He is trying to run away from people and all humanity, being disappointed or ashamed. The last three lines express some kind of solace that he has found, thanks to love. But this love doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic love. It can also be God's love.

2. I believe the correct answer is A. old and close to death. He unequivocally talks about the passing of time and imminent death. His lover has to reconcile with this fact. This is not a statement that seeks comfort, but a grim reconciliation with the fact that death is near. The speaker bids his lover to love him even more now that it is clear that he won't live much longer.

3. I believe the correct answer is C. spiritual terms. This sonnet doesn't describe love in a physical or even romantic way. We don't even get to learn anything about her beloved. It depicts love in a spiritual way, with the use of adjectives "freely", "purely". The speaker loves her lover in thousands of ways, and she hopes her love will spread beyond the grave, and even grow stronger.