Question

10. Read these final lines from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 43".

"I love thee with a love I seemed to lose/With my lost saints–I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death."

With which of these does Browning conclude her poem?
a) A prayer that her love will live eternally
b) Grief over the religious faith she has lost
c) Anxiety that her saints have abandoned her
d) A plea that her loved one will always love her in return

9. "My love involves the love before;/My love is vaster passion now;/ Tho' mix'd with God and Nature thou,/I seem to love thee more and more."

Which of the following effects has grief had upon the speaker?
a) It has increased the depth of his love for the departed.
b) It has forced him to live in his memories of the departed.
c) It has transformed his love for the departed into sadness.
d) It has shifted his love from the departed, toward God and nature.

11. Which excerpt from Thomas Hardy's "Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave" most clearly points out the fickleness of human affection?
a) "Then who is digging on my grave?/My nearest dearest kin?"
b) "Ah, are you digging on my grave,/My loved one–planting rue?"
c) "Why flashed it not on me/That one true heart was left behind!"
d) She thought you no more worth her hate,/And cares not where you lie".

Answer 1

10. If my memory serves me well, this is the conclusion of Browning's poem: a) A prayer that her love will live eternally. "I shall but love thee better after death."- I think that this line leads us to this answer showing that main character's love will be live after death.

9. In my opinion this effect suits best: a) It has increased the depth of his love for the departed. The lines "My love is vaster passion now;" and "I seem to love thee more and more." led me to this answer as it shows that he loves the departed more and more even after death.

11. I think that this excerpt D) "She thought you no more worth her hate,/And cares not where you lie." most clearly points out the fickleness of human affection. This lines shows how her affection shifts because of particular events.