Lesson 36
Song
Q1.) What is the occasion of the poem? What literary device does the poet employ? Describe what you know of the speaker, the listener, and the “she” referred to in the poem.
A1.) The occasion of the poem is that the speaker is in love with this woman who he compares to a rose. Unfortunately, it sounds like the woman doesn’t know what to do with the admiration and attention the man is giving her; she’s kind of pushing him away. The literary device the poet employs is personification. The intended listener may be a friend and confidant because this man is openly revealing his feelings about the woman. **Is Rose the name of the woman?? If not, why is it capitalized??
Q2.) Paraphrase each of the four stanzas.
A2.) Stanza 1) Go beautiful Rose,
Tell her what that she’s losing time and me,
That she knows,
When I compare her to you (rose),
How nice and wonderful she appears to be.
Stanza 2) Tell her she is young,
And is timid when people point out her attributes,
You have bloomed
In deserts and dry places where no men live,
You must have been unappreciated and died without notice.
Stanza 3) The beauty of a dead light has a small worth:
Tell her to come forward,
Let herself be desired,
And not be shy of being loved.
Stanza 4) The die, so she
The common destiny of everything that is rare
May see in you,
How small a part of time they share,
That are so wonderful sweet and fair.
Q3.) Describe the prosody, including stanza form, rhyme, meter, and notable metrical substitutions (spondees), as well as the structure of the poem. How do these choices help to reinforce the poem’s content?
A3.) The stanza form is arranged in short lines and long lines that follow a rhyme scheme of abcbc. The book says that the spondees are located in the beginning of lines 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8. These words are command words and are telling the rose to “go, tell, bid, and suffer.” These choices help to reinforce the poem’s content because it keeps the poem moving by transitioning into the next topic.
Virtue
Q1.) Consider first Herbert’s use of metaphor and personification. In each case, what two unlike things are being compared, and what do they have in common?
A1.) The two unlike things that are being compared in each stanza are marriage and the earth and sky, and the dew is being personified. The two have the act of being joined or bonded in common.
Q2.) How is the poem structured, and how does this structure support its meaning? Consider parallelism, order, and the turn in the poem.
A2.) The poem contains parallelism because it is paralleling the day, the rose, the spring, and the soul. This structure supports the poem’s meaning because it these words are being described therefore, it shows how these things are nice compared to death.
Q3.) How does the prosody reinforce the poem’s meaning?
A3.) The prosody reinforces the poem’s meaning because it sets the tone and mood of the poem. It also, makes a stronger comparison between the good things and the bad things.
