Read the lines from Spenser's "Sonnet 75."

Vain man, said she, that dost in vain assay

A mortal thing so to immortalize;

For I myself shall like to this decay,

And eke my name be wiped out likewise.

Now read the lines from Donne's "Holy Sonnet 10."

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Which statement best describes how the sonnets convey the idea of mortality?

A) In both sonnets, the speakers seek to understand why mortality is so final and unavoidable.

B) In both sonnets, the speakers say that people need to be immortalized to be remembered after death.

C) The speaker in the first sonnet seeks immortality, while the speaker in the second emphasizes the need to accept mortality.

D) The speaker in the first sonnet says mortality is inevitable, while the speaker in the second emphasizes that the soul continues on.

Question

English

Madeline Snow

7 May, 19:19

Read the lines from Spenser's "Sonnet 75."

Vain man, said she, that dost in vain assay

A mortal thing so to immortalize;

For I myself shall like to this decay,

And eke my name be wiped out likewise.

Now read the lines from Donne's "Holy Sonnet 10."

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Which statement best describes how the sonnets convey the idea of mortality?

A) In both sonnets, the speakers seek to understand why mortality is so final and unavoidable.

B) In both sonnets, the speakers say that people need to be immortalized to be remembered after death.

C) The speaker in the first sonnet seeks immortality, while the speaker in the second emphasizes the need to accept mortality.

D) The speaker in the first sonnet says mortality is inevitable, while the speaker in the second emphasizes that the soul continues on.

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Answers (1)

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Aden Carpenter · Answer 1

In my opinion, the correct answer is D) The speaker in the first sonnet says mortality is inevitable, while the speaker in the second emphasizes that the soul continues on. The speaker in the first sonnet nearly ridicules anyone who might think that death can be defeated by immortalizing someone in a work of art. Trying to conquer death is something only a vain person can fancy. On the other hand, the speaker in the second sonnet says that life itself is just a short sleep that precedes what really matters - and that is the eternity, which conquers death itself.