Read the following unseen poetic passage carefully:
1 Upon the crest where ancient cedars grow,
2 I stood to watch the dying of the day;
3 The crimson fading to a shadowy grey,
4 While valleys slumbered in the dusk below.
5 And as the mountain breezes ceased to blow,
6 A sudden stillness swept the paths away;
7 No lingering traveller remained to stray,
8 Nor bird to sing where silent waters flow.
9 Yet in this hush a sudden spirit wakes!
10 The dark surrenders to a silver light,
11 As moonbeams shatter all the forest shades,
12 And hope renewed across the summit breaks.
Match each structural element or line section from the poem on the left with its correct poetic form or structural designation on the right.
- Lines 1–4 ('grow...below')Enclosed (envelope) rhyme quatrain with an scheme
- Lines 1–8 ('grow...flow')Petrarchan (Italian) octave built on two end-rhymes ()
- Line 9 ('Yet in this hush...')Volta (the structural and emotional turn of the poem)
- Lines 9–12 ('wakes...breaks')Sestet opening establishing a new rhyme pattern ()
Answer
Lines 1–4 match with the enclosed rhyme quatrain (); Lines 1–8 match with the Petrarchan octave (); Line 9 matches with the volta (structural turn); Lines 9–12 match with the sestet opening ().
Each structural section corresponds precisely to its Petrarchan sonnet designation: Lines 1–4 form an envelope quatrain; Lines 1–8 comprise a two-rhyme octave; Line 9 marks the volta with the transitional 'Yet'; and Lines 9–12 initiate the sestet with new end-rhymes ().
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Analysis of Petrarchan sonnet structure, octave envelope rhyme (), volta detection, and sestet rhyme progression