Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae

Question 1

Time period

Answer 1

Decadent movement- hedonistic

Question 2

Form

Answer 2

Four 6 lines stanzas
complex rhyme scheme repeated in each stanza ABACBC
metrical rhythm is irregular, with varying line lengths
complex thoughts/ lifestyle lacks order
the fourth line and sixth line is repeated in each stanza

Question 3

Context

Answer 3

Lived in London, worked at his parents’ dry-docking business, and was a member of the Rhymers’ Club with W.B. Yeats and Arthur Symons. ​

Dowson’s poems trace the sorrow of unrequited love and are the source of the phrases “gone with the wind” and “days of wine and roses.” ​

Both of Dowson’s parents committed suicide, and Dowson, who rarely had a fixed home, died at the age of 32.​

Question 4

Methods

Answer 4

Metaphor
Exclamation
Repetition
Hedonistic lifestyle
Alliteration

Question 5

Message

Answer 5

He has remained faithful to Cynara but in his own way.

Lives a hedonistic lifestyle but is unfulfilling

Question 6

Themes

Answer 6

Love and isolation

Question 7

Critical view

Answer 7

Christopher Neild
‘simple phrases that prick the heart and stick in the mind’
‘magnificent theatricality’