MB UNIUD

Exercise 1

1. Who is the poem addressed to?
2. What is the introductory statement? Do you find it unusual?

3.   What is the final statement? Is it truthful or absurd?

1. The poet is addressed to the death
2. The introductory statement is unusual because
3. I think that the final statement says death don't exist and it will die.

Exercise 2

A.

•a)       the best of human kind desire death (lines 6 - 7)

•b)      sleeping potions can make people sleep better than death (line 11)

•c)       death falsely believes that it can kill people (lines 3 - 4)

•d)      Christian are promised eternal life (line 13)

•e)       death has repulsive companions (line 10)

•f)        death is a pleasurable experience, not a painful one (line 8)

•g)       death has no control over events and people (line 12)

B. Which of the arguments above do you think are offered in a playful tone and cannot be accepted unconditionally?

I think that death is a good and pleasure experience, not bad.

Exercise 3

•1.      Write down the rhyme - scheme. Is the structure that of the Italian sonnet or the English model?

•2.      Point out - on lines. Do breaks in syntax coincide with the end of lines and/or quatrains?

1. The rhyme - scheme is ABBA CDDC EFFE GH, It is the classical structure of the English poet.
2. The run - on lines coincide with the end of the lines and quatrains.

Questions

•1.      "I fixe mine eye on thine": Who is speaking to whom?

•2.      "My picture drown'd in a..." : Who is crying? Why?

•3.      "Hadst thouthe wicked skill": Which word rhymes with "skill" and justifies the use of wicked?

•4.      "My picture vanish'd, vanish feares": Who fears what? How can "feares" vanish?

•5.      "Thought thou retaine of mee one picture more": Is the picture tangibile? Where does it lie?

•6.      "Die not,poor Death": Who won't die?

•7.      "With thee do go": Who goes with Death?

•8.      "one short sleep past": What happens afterwards? 

1. There are two lovers the sonnet: the man is speaking to woman.
2. The woman is crying because he wants to leave her.
3. The word "kill" rhymes with "skill" and justifies the use of wicked.
4. The man fears his picture that he sees in her eyes.
5. People won't die.
6. The best men goes with death.
7. Afterwards people wake eternally.