Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples - Shelley

Question 1

What is a Spenserian stanza?

Answer 1

Fixed verse form

Each stanza contains 9 lines
- 8 lines = iambic pentameter
- 1 line = alexandrine

Question 2

Who invented the Spenserian stanza?

Answer 2

Spenser for The Faerie Queene

Question 3

Why does Shelley use a Spenserian stanza in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 3

Makes the final line stand out even further from the rest
- reflects Shelley’s own lone status

Question 4

How is natural imagery presented in stanza 1 of Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 4

Positive

Question 5

What does punctuation emphasise in stanza 1 of Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 5

Taking the environment in

Question 6

Quote for personification of nature in stanza 1 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 6

“blue isles and snowy mountains wear”

Question 7

Quote for simile in stanza 1 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 7

“soft like Solitude’s”
- feeling of sadness
- lack of presence of anyone else
- observed everything listening to its voice

Question 8

What is the significance of “the deep’s” in stanza 2 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 8

Epithet for sea

Question 9

What is the sea described as in stanza 2 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 9

“untrampled floor”
- under the sea
- reference to the bottom of the ocean on which no one steps

Question 10

Quote for a simile in stanza 2 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 10

“like light dissolved in star-showers”
- all elements come together to form the light and is thrown out for all to enjoy where the beauty of land cannot cheer him up

Question 11

Significance of “did any heart now share in my emotion” in stanza 2 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 11

Loneliness follows him

Question 12

How does the tone change in stanza 3 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 12

“Alas!”

Question 13

Quote for anaphora in stanza 3 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 13

“nor”
- lack of hope

Question 14

What is stanza 3 surrounded by in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 14

Negative thoughts

Question 15

Which poet does Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples contrast?

Answer 15

Wordsworth

Question 16

How is Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples contrasted to Wordsworth?

Answer 16

Shelley views nature as not restorative

Shelley appreciates the beauty but no effect

Question 17

How is depression viewed as in stanza 4 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 17

“itself is mild”
- passing and formless

Question 18

Quote for simile in stanza 4 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 18

“lie down like a tired child”
- links to Clara
- one way he could spend the rest of his life

Question 19

What quote symbolises Shelley’s care might be able to be taken away once he’s dead in stanza 4 in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 19

“till death like sleep”

Question 20

Which poet does stanza 4 of Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples relate to?

Answer 20

Keats’ Ode on Melancholy and Ode to a Nightingale

Question 21

What does stanza 5 provide in Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 21

More optimistic outlook
- removing himself further from his own situation

Question 22

What quote shows Shelley is thinking of the memory of location despite not being happy now in stanza 5 of Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 22

“like joy in memory yet”

Question 23

What quote demonstrates estrangement and lost love in stanza 5 of Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples?

Answer 23

“for I am one whom men love not”