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Difficulty: HardExtended Metaphors and Conceits

Read the following sixteenth-century poem by Edmund Spenser carefully before choosing your answer:

Like as a ship, that through the ocean wide,
By conduct of some star, doth make her way,
Whenas a storm hath dimmed her trusty guide,
Out of her course doth wander far astray;
So I, whose star, that wont with her bright ray
Me to direct, with clouds is overcast,
Do wander now, in darkness and dismay,
Through hidden rocks and dangers inly cast:
Yet hope I well that, when this storm is past,
My Helice, the lodestar of my life,
Will shine again, and look on me at last,
With lovely light to clear my cloudy grief:
Till then I wander careful, comfortless,
In secret sorrow, and sad pensiveness.

In the context of the poem's extended metaphor, which of the following best describes the function of the shift in the speaker's relationship to the 'star' in lines 9–12 ('Yet hope I well... cloudy grief')?

  1. A
    It details a literal change in weather patterns that allows the vessel to navigate away from the hidden rocks mentioned in the second quatrain.
  2. B
    It reflects the poet's biographical relief after returning safely from a hazardous transatlantic voyage that inspired the poem's nautical imagery.
  3. C
    It suggests that the star and the storm are independent, warring external forces fighting for control over the speaker's physical destiny.
  4. It introduces a temporary note of optimism that frames the speaker's emotional isolation as a passing, survivable trial rather than a permanent state of abandonment.Answer
  5. E
    It resolves the poem's central conflict by showing that the speaker has completely overcome his sorrow by the poem's conclusion.

Answer

The correct answer is the option that explains how the shift in lines 9–12 introduces a temporary note of optimism, framing the speaker's emotional isolation as a passing, survivable trial rather than a permanent state of abandonment.
The correct option is correct because the shift introduced by 'Yet hope I well' alters the direction of the conceit. Having compared his emotional distress to a storm-tossed vessel lost in darkness, the speaker uses the projection of the storm clearing and the lodestar returning to frame his current sorrow as temporary and endurable, transforming a lament of despair into a statement of patient waiting.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary conceit and map its vehicle and tenor.
The speaker compares himself to a ship lost at sea (vehicle) due to his beloved (the guiding star) being obscured by clouds/storm (tenor).
Establishing the baseline of the extended metaphor is necessary to track how it develops.
2
Locate the shift in lines 9–12 and analyze its tone.
The transition word 'Yet' introduces a projection of future hope where the 'lodestar' will shine again, clearing the 'cloudy grief'.
This reveals a change in the speaker's attitude from passive despair to active, hopeful waiting.
3
Synthesize the development of the conceit with the poem's ending to determine its structural function.
The brief hope in lines 9–12 is bracketed by the final couplet, which returns to the present reality of 'secret sorrow' until the star returns, confirming that the optimism is a temporary mental framework to endure the current trial.
Understanding the tension between the temporary hope and the lingering sorrow is key to evaluating the overall development of the conceit.

Key Concept

Analysing shifts and development in extended metaphors and conceits
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Topics

Extended Metaphors and Conceits

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