The following excerpt is taken from a 14‑line sonnet:

1. Upon the waning tide of summer's glow,\
2. The roses fade, their petals bruised with night.\
3. A lover's promise, whispered soft and low,\
4. Now lies in ash, consumed by fickle light.\
5. Yet hope, a stubborn seed, refuses death,\
6. It sprouts anew where shadows dare to cling.\
7. The heart, though bruised, beats on with quiet breath,\
8. And seeks the dawn beyond the winter's sting.

The rhyme scheme of the first eight lines is ABAB CDCD, and the volta (turn) occurs at line 9.

Identify the sonnet form (Shakespearean or Petrarchan) and state the central theme expressed by the volta.

Question

The following excerpt is taken from a 14‑line sonnet:

1. Upon the waning tide of summer's glow,\
2. The roses fade, their petals bruised with night.\
3. A lover's promise, whispered soft and low,\
4. Now lies in ash, consumed by fickle light.\
5. Yet hope, a stubborn seed, refuses death,\
6. It sprouts anew where shadows dare to cling.\
7. The heart, though bruised, beats on with quiet breath,\
8. And seeks the dawn beyond the winter's sting.

The rhyme scheme of the first eight lines is ABAB CDCD, and the volta (turn) occurs at line 9.

Identify the sonnet form (Shakespearean or Petrarchan) and state the central theme expressed by the volta.

Accepted Answer

Shakespearean sonnet; the volta introduces the theme of resilience - hope can regenerate and bring renewal after loss.

Neco 2021 Literature In English Question 60

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