Question

Read this excerpt from Sonnet 11 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: This weary minstrel-life that once was girt To climb Aornus, and can scarce avail To pipe now 'gainst the valley nightingale A melancholy music— What impact do the allusion to Aornus and the description of the speaker's singing voice have on readers? They show readers that the speaker once was strong but now is weak. They show readers that the speaker once was lonely but now is in love. They show readers that the speaker once was ill but now is well. They show readers that the speaker once was humble but now is proud.

Answer 1

Answer:

She once was strong, but now she is weak.

Answer 2

Answer:

They show readers that the speaker once was strong but now is weak.

Explanation:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 11" is all about the speaker's attempts at coming to terms with who she really is. Accepting her flaws and the person she is constitutes the core of this poem.

The speaker had always berated herself, thinking low of herself. This poem deals with how she is walking on the path of self acceptance. She is learning, finding the courage to believe in herself and not comparing herself with others. The excerpt provided is taken from the lines 5 till 8, where she tells of how she used to be melancholy and sad, beating herself over her own insecurities. With the allusion to Aornus, Alexander the Great's last seige, she is implying that she has become weak, unable to even compose poems.