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Difficulty: EasyClosed Poetic Forms and Structural Conventions

Read the following poem carefully before choosing your answer:

Sonnet 29

[1] When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
[2] I all alone beweep my outcast state,
[3] And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
[4] And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
[5] Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
[6] Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
[7] Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
[8] With what I most enjoy contented least;
[9] Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
[10] Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
[11] Like to the lark at break of day arising
[12] From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
[13] For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
[14] That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Which of the following best describes the function of the transition (volta) in line 9 ("Yet in these thoughts...")?

  1. It signals a shift from the speaker's self-pitying despair to a feeling of joyful consolation.Answer
  2. B
    It maintains the speaker's original sorrow by emphasizing their permanent separation from society.
  3. C
    It documents Shakespeare's real-life transition from financial struggle to critical acclaim as a playwright.
  4. D
    It functions primarily to label the lark as a simile for daybreak without changing the emotional tone.
  5. E
    It disrupts the flow of the poem by forcing a pause that ignores the grammatical continuity between lines 8 and 9.

Answer

It signals a shift from the speaker's self-pitying despair to a feeling of joyful consolation.
The correct answer identifies the structural function of the volta in a sonnet. In line 9, the transition word 'Yet' shifts the speaker's focus away from self-pity and envy (lines 1-8) toward the thought of a beloved person, which brings immediate joy and consolation (lines 10-14).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the poem and identify the transition at line 9.
The poem is a Shakespearean sonnet where the first eight lines (octave) establish a state of deep despondency and envy.
Understanding the division between the octave and the sestet is essential to recognizing the function of the volta.
2
Examine the semantic shift introduced by the word 'Yet' in line 9.
The conjunction 'Yet' marks the volta, turning the speaker's focus from their own perceived shortcomings to the memory of a beloved person.
Analyzing the volta's language reveals how the poem's argument and tone change.
3
Evaluate how this transition affects the overall meaning of the poem.
The recollection of love brings a sense of spiritual wealth that completely counteracts the speaker's previous misery, showing that love is a redemptive force.
This establishes the thematic purpose of the structural turn.

Key Concept

The volta, or thematic turn, in a sonnet structure marks a shift in the speaker's tone, attitude, or argument, resolving or recontextualizing the tension established in the preceding lines.
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Closed Poetic Forms and Structural Conventions

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