China.
The Silk Road is a trading route from the Middle East to China, and the ancient civilizaitons practiced ancestor worship. The Mandate of Heaven dictates that good weather and general prosperity are because of divine approval of the leader of China. If there is famine, invasion, or other natural disasters, it was interpreted as needing a new ruler, aka losing the mandate of heaven.
Here' the antidote to the Petrarch you just posted. This is far more realistic, wouldn't you say? Just list her qualities.
Let's start with the theme. The theme in the first 12 lines seems to be "How ordinary and plain she is."
Her eyes do not shine as the sun does [at mid day -- something other poets have noted many times about the women they love].
Her lips are not as red as coral. Do look that word up. Can you believe that anything that color would be classified as a deep orange!!??
Dun is sort of a tan color. It is the color of a very light tan. Her breasts are not an outstanding white -- another common analogy used by many poets. They are sort of well in need of a bath is as close as I can come.
I'm sure you get the idea. Most women would cringe at such descriptions. It almost sounds as an insult. We have negated hair, cheeks (not red as roses), the perfume that she uses, her breath (now we are getting personal), her voice (even though modified, perhaps by what she says).
By the end, any woman would be ready to throttle Shakespeare. He spends 12 lines talking about what she is not and spends 2 praising her. Do you believe him? I wouldn't. Not in a million, which does not mean it is not good poetry. It is. The detail is wonderfully covered. What he conveys is masterly done and his hands, mind and heart are not tied in knots. No false modesty for him. He calls the shot as he sees it.
The volta is in the last two lines where there is a turn of thought. (Volta means turn). The last two lines in Shakespearean Sonnets is the volta. I think that most of his sonnets contain a change in the last 2 lines.
Answer:
The underlined portion of the sentence is an:
C. adverbial phrase.
Explanation:
We must be careful not to be fooled by the use of "before". In the context and manner it is used here, "before" is a synonym for "in front of". It is heading the phrase that modifies the verb "brought", and it is indicating a place. Therefore, we are talking of an adverb of place. The whole phrase functions as an adverb, indicating to where Charles Darnay would be brought. We have, thus, an adverbial phrase.
