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Difficulty: HardPoetic Structure and Form

Read the poetic excerpt below:

'The silent shadows stretch across the plain,
As evening folds the golden hills in peace;
The weary day at last has found release,
And washed away the bitter hours of pain.
The gentle stars resume their quiet reign,
While all the troubles of the spirit cease;
Now troubled hearts may find a soft surcease,
And shed the heavy burden of strain.

Yet in the quiet darkness of the mind,
A sudden flash of memory awakes;
The silent calm is broken by a sigh.
For phantom griefs no solace ever find,
And though the outer world no longer shakes,
The inner tempest will not pass us by.'

Which of the following best describes the structural form of the poem and the function of its volta?

  1. It is an Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet where the volta at line 9 shifts the focus from external tranquility to internal emotional turmoil.Answer
  2. B
    It is a Shakespearean sonnet where the volta occurs in the final rhyming couplet to summarize the preceding three quatrains.
  3. C
    It is a Spenserian sonnet characterized by an interlocking rhyme scheme connecting the octave directly to the sestet without a volta.
  4. D
    It is an Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet where alliterative patterns in the octave create a structural turn from inner anxiety to outer calm.

Answer

The excerpt is an Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet in which the turn (volta) at line 9 marks a structural and thematic transition from external tranquility in the octave to internal emotional turmoil in the sestet.
The poem is composed of 14 lines divided into an eight-line octave (rhyming abbaabba) and a six-line sestet (rhyming cdecde). This formal division defines the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet. The transition at line 9, introduced by 'Yet', represents the volta, turning the poem's thematic focus from the serene external atmosphere in the octave to unresolved psychological anguish in the sestet.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the rhyme scheme and stanzaic division of the 14-line poem.
Lines 1–8 follow the rhyme pattern abbaabba (plain/pain/reign/strain = 'a', peace/release/cease/surcease = 'b'). Lines 9–14 follow the pattern cdecde (mind/find = 'c', awakes/shakes = 'd', sigh/by = 'e'). This structure (octave + sestet) defines an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet.
Identifying rhyme pattern and line grouping establishes the specific sonnet genre.
2
Locate the structural turn (volta) and analyze its thematic purpose.
The word 'Yet' at line 9 signals the volta, shifting the focus from the peaceful evening landscape described in the octave to the persistent internal anguish detailed in the sestet.
The volta in a Petrarchan sonnet typically occurs between the octave and sestet to contrast or answer the premise introduced in the first eight lines.

Key Concept

Petrarchan Sonnet Structure and Volta Analysis
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Poetic Structure and Form

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