Unit Test: Love Sonnets
Answer the questions below in complete sentences. You may consult your Journeys anthology while writing your responses.
Why might Sonnet 18 by Francesco Petrarcha be interpreted as a poem about defeat as much as a poem about love? Use specific examples from the text in your response.
Read Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare now. It is located on page 73 of your Journeys anthology.
What elements of this sonnet are unusual? Where is the volta, or turn, in the poem? How does the poem change at the volta? What is the central theme of the work?
Read Sonnet 13 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning now. It is located on page 76 of your Journeys anthology. What does this poem say the beloved wants the speaker to do?
How does she respond to his request? What does her response suggest about her and about her feelings for her beloved? Use examples from the text in your response.