Question 53
NECO
•
2024
•
LITERATURE_IN_ENGLISH
•
objective
Read the following 14‑line excerpt:
1. When dawn awakes the silent hill, (A)
2. The shadows melt in amber light, (B)
3. A whispered wind recalls the night's still, (A)
4. While birds begin their hopeful flight. (B)
5. The meadow's breath, a fragrant sigh, (C)
6. Holds secrets that the earth has kept, (D)
7. Yet in the distance, clouds draw nigh, (C)
8. Foretelling storms that never slept. (D)
9. Yet now the heart, once bound by fear, (E)
10. Finds strength within the rising sun, (F)
11. And sings a tune that all can hear, (E)
12. As doubts dissolve, the battle's won. (F)
13. So let the world its colors blend, (G)
14. In harmony, our souls ascend. (G)
Identify the poetic form of this excerpt and explain how the placement of the volta after line 8 influences the overall meaning.
Answer Options
A.
The excerpt is a Petrarchan sonnet (rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA CDE CDE). The volta is said to occur after line 8, but in a Petrarchan sonnet the turn typically follows the octave, shifting from the problem of the storm to a resolution, which does not match the poem's actual structure.
Correct Answer
B.
The excerpt is a Shakespearean sonnet (rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). The volta occurs after line 8, marking the shift from the descriptive octave about nature and looming storms to the speaker's internal change and optimism. By placing the turn early, the poet shows that personal renewal and hope arise before the full impact of the external threat, deepening the poem's message of inner resilience.
C.
The excerpt is a villanelle (rhyme scheme ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA A). The poem's refrain appears after line 8, creating a turn that emphasizes recurring hope, but the piece follows a sonnet form rather than a villanelle.
D.
The excerpt is a Spenserian sonnet (rhyme scheme ABAB BCBC CDCD EE). The volta is placed after line 12, suggesting a late change from nature to personal optimism, which is inconsistent with the early turn indicated in the poem.
Correct Answer
B
Correct Option:
The excerpt is a Shakespearean sonnet (rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). The volta occurs after line 8, marking the shift from the descriptive octave about nature and looming storms to the speaker's internal change and optimism. By placing the turn early, the poet shows that personal renewal and hope arise before the full impact of the external threat, deepening the poem's message of inner resilience.
About This Question
This is
Neco
2024
Literature In English
Question 53.
It is one of the
objective
questions from the
2024
Neco
Literature In English
examination.
Difficulty level:
Hard
.