Interboro Institute

Practice Literary Analysis on Poetry

Each set of questions addresses some features of the literary selection that may be distinctive or even unique. For example, because this poem presents a complex reading task, the set includes some questions that focus on the meaning of specific words or lines in order to measure your ability to read and understand the poem accurately.

Read the following poem carefully before you choose your answers.

   

Against that time (if ever that time come)
When I shall see thee frown on my defects,
When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum,
Called to that audit by advised respects—

Line (5)   

Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass,
And scarcely greet me with that sun, thine eye,
When love, converted from the thing it was,
Shall reasons find of settled gravity—
Against that time do I ensconce me here

Line (10)   

Within the knowledge of mine own desert,
And this my hand against myself uprear,
To guard the lawful reasons on thy part.
To leave poor me thou has the strength of laws,
Since why to love I can allege no cause.


(1609)

 

The speaker of the poem is addressing

(A) 

an unspecified general audience

(B) 

a friend of the speaker's beloved

(C) 

a lover

(D) 

a former lover

(E) 

a legal adviser

The speaker imagines a time in the future when he might

(A) 

no longer be in love

(B) 

no longer be loved

(C) 

be even more deeply in love

(D) 

be able to explain why he is in love

(E) 

look back fondly on his present happiness

The "reasons" mentioned in line 8 are best characterized as:

(A) 

scientific explanations for a natural force

(B) 

arguments against rationality itself

(C) 

arguments for the importance of loving

(D) 

logical explanations for the absence of love

(E) 

counterarguments to the speaker's propositions

If the speaker is implying in line 10 that he is not deserving of love, which of the following most strongly supports the implication?

(A) 

"defects" (line 2)

(B) 

"utmost sum" (line 3)

(C) 

"strangely" (line 5)

(D) 

"love, converted" (line 7)

(E) 

"settled gravity" (line 8)

The tone of the poem can best be described as

(A) 

playful and lighthearted

(B) 

hesitant and confused

(C) 

confident and determined

(D) 

reasoned and optimistic

(E) 

self-deprecating and apprehensive

One theme of the poem appears to be that:

(A) 

unrequited love is still sweet

(B) 

time transforms lust into love

(C) 

the value of true love cannot be calculated

(D) 

relationships should be controlled by laws

(E) 

reason is insufficient to explain love

Which of the following best describes the language of the poem?

(A) 

Concrete and matter-of-fact

(B) 

Euphemistic and prosaic

(C) 

Metaphoric and logical

(D) 

Informal and conversational

(E) 

Ironic and amused