ENG 102: English Composition II

ENG 102: English Composition II

Mrs. Saitta-Ringger

Online Quiz #4:

Love Sonnets

I. Read “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by William Shakespeare on p. 59.

Rhyme scheme: Going down from line 1 to line 14, the rhyme scheme is ababcdcdefefgg . When the last word in a line of poetry has more than one syllable, the last syllable usually determines the rhyme. For example, “temper ate ” rhymes with “date.” This is the English or Shakespearean rhyme scheme (no surprise – look who wrote it!)

Division of thought:

In a Shakespearean sonnet, the division will come between the three quatrains and the couplet. The three quatrains introduce the main idea. The poet is comparing the beauty of his loved one to the beauty of a summer’s day. The first quatrain says that she comes out better in this comparison because she is “more lovely” and even-tempered than summer weather can be; besides, summer’s beauty doesn’t last too long. The second quatrain again refers to the extremes of summer weather: the sun can shine too hot, or it can be “dimmed” by clouds. The “eye of heaven” is a metaphor for the sun. Line 6 uses personification in making the sun sound human: “often is his gold complexion dimmed.” Line 7 suggests that summer’s beauties inevitably start to decline shortly after they appear. The third quatrain further indicates the superiority of his loved one in this comparison by indicating that she will never lose her beauty: “thy eternal summer shall not fade.” Furthermore, she will never die. This claim raises questions because beauty fades with age, and everyone dies sometime.

The couplet provides the resolution to the main idea that the first part (the three quatrains) develops. The comment actually begins in the line before the concluding couplet when the poet mentions the “eternal lines” that will make his loved one immortal. The concluding line is: “So long lives this , and this gives life to thee.” “This” refers to the sonnet Shakespeare has written about his loved one; in writing a poem about her that people can read forever, he has in a way immortalized her. Ironically, the end of the poem becomes a tribute not only to the beauty of his beloved, but also to the power of his own poetry!

II. Read “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning on p. 672, and answer the following questions. Use the lecture notes and poetry terms that I sent you.

1. Is this an Italian or English sonnet? 1.__________________

2. What is the rhyme scheme? 2. __________________

3. This poem leaves questions as to the extent of the poet’s love

for her beloved. (True or False) 3. __________________

4. The poet states that unfortunately, her love for her beloved will

have to end with her death. (True or False) 4. __________________

5. Which poetry term do the following lines illustrate? (Note

part in boldface print.) Choose from: simile; alliteration;

internal rhyme; hyperbole.

a. “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height” 5.a. __________________

b. “I love thee with a love I seemed to lose” 5.b. __________________

III. Read “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay on p. 673, and answer the following questions. Use the lecture notes and poetry terms that I sent you.

1. Is this an Italian or English sonnet? 1.__________________

2. What is the rhyme scheme? 2. __________________

3. The tone of this poem is: a. angry b. sad c. annoyed. 3. __________________

4. The speaker of the poem is recalling a time in her life when

she had: a. many lovers b. a long-term relationship c. ghosts in

her house. 4. __________________

5. The speaker compares her present state to that of a “lonely

tree.” Which poetry term does this illustrate?

a. apostrophe b. assonance c. personification 5. __________________

IV. Briefly discuss which of these three love sonnets you like the best, and explain why.