Question

How does the structure of this Italian sonnet by Petrarch support its theme? Those eyes, 'neath which my passionate rapture rose, The arms, hands, feet, the beauty that erewhile Could my own soul from its own self beguile, And in a separate world of dreams enclose, The hair's bright tresses, full of golden glows, And the soft lightning of the angelic smile That changed this earth to some celestial isle, Are now but dust, poor dust, that nothing knows. And yet I live! Myself I grieve and scorn, Left dark without the light I loved in vain, Adrift in tempest on a bark forlorn; Dead is the source of all my amorous strain, Dry is the channel of my thoughts outworn, And my sad harp can sound but notes of pain. The structure of an octave and a sestet confirm that the poet is longing for love. The overall structure conveys the theme of humanism, which considers worldly love to be superior. The octave displays a musical quality, while the sestet has a jarring quality that shows conflict. The octave builds an idea about love, while the sestet comments on that idea.

Answer 1

Answer: The octave displays a musical quality, while the sestet has a jarring quality that shows conflict. 

As the narrator describes beauty and love in the octave, it sounds lovely; however, when they describe death in the sestet, it sounds jarring, just as the death that is being described.

hope this helps