Question

read this sonnet, and then complete the sentences that follow. sonnet 4 by edmund spenser. be not dismayed that her unmoved mind doth still persist in her rebellious pride and love not like to lusts of baser kind, the harder won, the firmer will abide. the durefull oak, whose sap is not yet dried, is long ere it conceive the kindling fire; but when it once doth burn, it doth divide great heat, and makes his flames to heaven aspire. so hard it is to kindle new desire, in gentle breast that shall endure for ever. deep is the wound, that dints the parts entire with chaste affects, that naught but death can sever. then think not long in taking little pain, to knit the knot, that ever shall remain. the sonnet is written in the spenserian form. the rhyme scheme is ababbccdcddee. the main idea of the poem is lasting love. the poet has used the metaphor of burning an oak to emphasize how patient one needs to be when trying to win the love of a lady. he also uses the metaphor to emphasize the depth of love.

Explanation:

The poem uses the process of burning an oak as an extended metaphor to show the difficulty of kindling love and the need for patience. Just as it's hard to make an oak burn but once it does it burns brightly, so is love hard - won but long - lasting. The metaphor of a deep wound that only death can sever is used to emphasize the depth of chaste love.

Answer:

metaphor; metaphor