Try It
You have read Ben Jonson's two poems, "On My First Son" and "Song to Celia." Read each question to see if you can determine the answer. The first five questions go with "On My First Son" and the last three go with "Song to Celia."
1.) What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Answer: The poem is written in rhyming couplets and in iambic pentameter. aa bb cc dd ee ff
2.) What is the tone, or mood, of the poem?
Answer: Sorrow
3.) What is a line in the poem that suggests this tone?
Answer: Line 1- "Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;"
4.) What is the theme, or message, of the poem?
Answer: People shouldn't take life for granted because it could be taken away at any moment.
5.) What is the extended metaphor in the poem?
Answer: Johnson uses metaphors about debt and money when considering why his son died, "Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay."
6.) For what does the soul thirst in lines 5-6 of "Song to Celia"?
Answer: The soul thirsts for Celia's love.
7.) What is the allusion in the poem?
Answer: The allusion is in the line, "But might I of Jove's nectar sup," implying that the speaker would refuse Jupiter or Zeus' drink to have that of Celia's.
8.) Which images suggest sensory experiences?
Answer: Sight- Drink to me only with thine eyes, rosy wreath,
Smell- breathe, Since when it grows, and smells, I swear, Not of itself, but thee.
Taste- And I'll not look for wine. The thirst that from the soul doth rise Jove's nectar sup,
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