Love Poetry

Question 1

What are the Love poems?

Answer 1

Valentine, Sonnet 43, She Walks in Beauty and Cozy Apologia.

Question 2

Who was Valentine written by?

Answer 2

Carol Ann Duffy

Question 3

Who was Sonnet 43 written by?

Answer 3

Elizabeth Barret Browning

Question 4

Who was She Walks in Beauty written by?

Answer 4

Lord George Byron

Question 5

Who was Cozy Apologia written?

Answer 5

Rita Dove

Question 6

Give 6 context points about Carol Ann Duffy and Valentine.

Answer 6

• Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright.
• She was the first female poet, the first Scottish born poet and the first openly gay poet to be Poet Laureate.
• Duffy often wrote love poems from a slightly different point of view.
• She was known for her feministic poems.
• When she was 16, she met Adrian Henri, 39 at the time, one of the Liverpool poets, and decided she wanted to be with him; she then lived with him for 10 years until they split in 1982.
• Valentine was not written in Duffy’s persona, but tries to show the manipulativeness that love can be.

Question 7

In Valentine, name 4 things that the speaker says she will NOT give her lover.

Answer 7

• Red rose
• Satin heart
• Cute card
• Kissogram

Question 8

In Valentine, what object doe she compare the onion to?

Answer 8

A moon wrapped in brown paper.

Question 9

In Valentine, True or False: the speaker just sees herself as honest.

Answer 9

True.

Question 10

In Valentine, what do the rings of an onion shrink to?

Answer 10

A wedding ring.

Question 11

In Valentine, what will the scent of the onion always do?

Answer 11

Cling to their fingers, cling to their knife.

Question 12

Give 6 context points about Sonnet 43 and Elizabeth Barret Browning.

Answer 12

• Browning was an English poet of the Victorian Era.
• At 15 she became ill suffering intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her life. Later in life Browning also developed lung problems.
• She was the eldest of 12 children and from a wealthy and extremely religious family. Her father was a vicar. - Her father bitterly opposed the idea of her getting married because of her state of health. He believed that it was a sign from God that she should never get married.
• She campaigned the abolishment of slavery and her work helped influence reform in the child labour legislation.
• She met Robert Browning who admired her poetry. They fell in love and asked permission from her father to get married. He opposed them and they eloped and moved to Italy, secretly.
• Sonnet 43 is a justification for her love for Robert Browning.

Question 13

What form is Sonnet 43 written in?

Answer 13

A sonnet

Question 14

In Sonnet 43, how many times does the speaker say “I love thee”?

Answer 14

8

Question 15

In Sonnet 43, what are two symbols of light?

Answer 15

Sun and candlelight

Question 16

In Sonnet 43, whom does she hope will let her love him better after death?

Answer 16

God

Question 17

In Sonnet 43, which five things does she say that she will love him with lines 12/13?

Answer 17

Breath, smiles, tears, all her life and lost saints.

Question 18

Give 6 context points about Lord Byron and She Walks in Beauty.

Answer 18

• The poem is about a dark haired woman seen by the poet at an evening party. She was wearing a black dress with starry spangles.
• Lord Byron was from a noble family.
• Lord Byron was a poet of the Romantic movement and has been regarded as one of the greatest English poets.
• Romantics celebrated nature and love - in this poem we see a celebration of natural beauty and human nature. Byron believed in freedom and free love.
• In April 1816, Byron fled England, leaving behind a failed marriage, notorious affairs and mounting debts.
• Byron died in Greece, whilst fighting for the Greeks against the Turks.

Question 19

In She Walks in Beauty, what time of day does the poet associate the woman with?

Answer 19

Night.

Question 20

In She Walks in Beauty, what does gaudy mean and why does the poet use it to compare day unfavourably to night?

Answer 20

Gaudy means overbearingly flashy and tasteless. This suggests that day is unfavourable and a false sense of beauty. People are overwhelmed by the light and this blinds their vision and lead them to think that day is beautiful.

Question 21

In She Walks in Beauty, what bird is the colour of the woman’s hair compared to?

Answer 21

A raven.

Question 22

In She Walks in Beauty, how is her heart described?

Answer 22

Her heart is described as having innocent love. This juxtaposes night and shows the depth and extent of her beauty.

Question 23

In She Walks in Beauty, what is the semantic field created with “pure”, “tender”, “serenely sweet”?

Answer 23

The semantic field created is one of gentleness, innocence and youth. Byron doesn’t know his muse for this poem and this shows that this semantic field is just his ideals about femininity and perfection.

Question 24

Give 6 context points about Rita Dove, Cozy Apologia and Storm Floyd.

Answer 24

• Rita Dove served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the library of Congress and was the first African American to be appointed.
• Hurricane Floyd triggered the fourth largest evacuation in US history.
• Floyd caused $ 6.5 billion USD.
• Fred Viebahn was her husband, he was a German writer.
• Hurricane Floyd occurred in 1999.
• Dove suggests that for relationships to service the storms of life, it has to be stable and committed but not necessarily serious all the time, there is some fun and laughter involved.

Question 25

In Cozy Apologia, what does Apologia mean?

Answer 25

An apologia is a way of explaining one’s motives.

Question 26

In Cozy Apologia, which line lets her beloved know all her thoughts return to him?

Answer 26

Line 1: I could pick anything and think of you.

Question 27

In Cozy Apologia, describe the structure of the poem?

Answer 27

Regular, AA rhyme scheme, 3 stanzas.

Question 28

In Cozy Apologia, what weather event provides the backdrop for this poem?

Answer 28

Hurricane Floyd.

Question 29

In Cozy Apologia, what short quotation to show that the speaker sees the storm as non-threatening?

Answer 29

“Big Bad Floyd” is mocking the storm.