Question

What is the main message of the octet or the first 8 lines in george santayana sonnet 29

Answer 1

The main message of the octet or the first 8 lines in george santayana sonnet 29  that the poem narrator is questioning the reasons he/she believes the narrator is “poor” and “sad.” He does not believe at all that he is poor or sad and is defending himself about this.

Further explanation

The sonnet is split in two groups: the "octave" (of 8 lines) and the "sestet" (of 6 lines), for a total of 14 lines. The octave (the first 8 lines) typically introduces the theme or problem using a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA.

SONNET 29  by  GEORGE SANTAYANA (1863-1952)

What riches have you that you deem me poor,

Or what large comfort that you call me sad?

Tell me what makes you so exceeding glad:

Is your earth happy or your heaven sure?

I hope for heaven, since the stars endure

And bring such tidings as our fathers had.

I know no deeper doubt to make me mad,

I need no brighter love to keep me pure.

To me the faiths of old are daily bread;

I bless their hope, I bless their will to save,

And my deep heart still meaneth what they said.

It makes me happy that the soul is brave,

And, being so much kinsman to the dead,

I walk contented to the peopled grave.

According to poem above, the speaker has been told he is poor by someone with whom he converses, and it shows exactly what the speaker truly values. The first line expressed his own ideas about the non-materialistic aspects of his life: heaven. He mentioned about the "faiths" and his elders held in high regard, and his connection to those who have gone before him. He also create the reflective and responsive nature of the rest of the poem.

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Answer details

Grade:  9

Subject:  english

Chapter:  poem

Keywords:   george santayana sonnet 29

Answer 2

The speaker doesn't allow anyone to label him as either poor, or sad, or unhappy. Nobody's position in this world is secure. Therefore, nobody should estimate other people's state. In reality, everything is relative and we aren't capable of objectivity. The speaker, however, defends his right to "hope for heaven", although the heaven might mean nothing to someone else.