English poems analysis. William Shakespeare’s “Who will believe my verse in time to come”

(a) In which literary period did Pound translate this Tang poem? How does Pound’s adaptation of this Tang poem reflect the spirit of his time? (4 marks)
(b) Comment on the use of language in line 7. Explain your observation in relation to the identity of the speaker. (4 marks)
(c) Each stanza of this poem marks something important about the marriage of the speaker. State one observation from each stanza. (8 marks)
(d) Which line in the fourth stanza indicates that the atmosphere echoes the mood of the speaker? Explain briefly. (4 marks)
ENGL A132F Introduction to English Drama and Poetry (January 2020) Take-home Assignment
Deadline: 5 May 2020 (noon)
Submission method: Submit MS Word file to OLE
This assignment aims to assess your understanding of all the topics taught in our
course. It serves to replace the examination. Allow sufficient time to upload your
work, late submission will not be accepted.
Guidelines:
(1) The submission must be your own work. No score will be given to plagiarized work (no matter your work is 1% or 100% plagiarized).
(2) You should only be referring to the literary works and the materials provided by the course as you complete the questions. You must acknowledge your sources.
(3) You must not seek help from other reference books or online resources.
(4) Your teacher and the programme team may ask for a question-and-answer session with you after you have submitted your work.
(5) As this assignment serves to replace the examination, the teacher will not provide any guidance to you and this assignment will not be returned.
Part I (50 marks)
Read the excerpts/poems and answer all the following questions (Questions 1 to 3).
1. Read the excerpt from William Shakespeare’s “Who will believe my verse in time to come” (also known as “Sonnet 17”) (lines 5-14) and answer the questions.
If I could write the beauty of your eyes, 5
And in fresh numbers number all your graces,
The age to come would say This poet lies;
Such heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly faces.'
So should my papers, yellow'd with their age,
Be scorn'd, like old men of less truth than tongue, 10
And your true rights be term'd a poet's rage And stretched metre of an antique song:
But were some child of yours alive that time,
You should live twice, in it, and in my rhyme.
(a) Is the rhyme scheme of the above excerpt similar to or different from most of the other Shakespearean sonnets? Briefly explain your answer. (4 marks)
(b) State the suggestion made by the speaker to the addressee in the couplet. What does the suggestion imply in relation to the theme of this sonnet? (6 marks)
2. Read Ezra Pound’s “The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter” and answer the questions.
While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse;
You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.
And we went on living in the village of Chokan: 5
Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.
At fourteen I married My Lord you.
I never laughed, being bashful.
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back. 10
At fifteen I stopped scowling,
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever.
Why should I climb the lookout?
At sixteen you departed, 15
You went into far Ku-to-en, by the river of swirling eddies,
And you have been gone five months.
The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.
You dragged your feet when you went out.
By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses, 20 Too deep to clear them away!
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind.
The paired butterflies are already yellow with August Over the grass in the West garden —
They hurt me. 25
I grow older.
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river,
Please let me know beforehand,
And I will come out to meet you
As far as Cho-fo-Sa.
Part II (50 marks)
Write an essay on ONE of the following topics (Question 4 or 5). Write 350-400 words.
4. Analyze human-immortal relation in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
5. George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man is a comedy with two couples heading for marriage. Discuss the “battle of the sexes” in the play and how the “marriage market” works out for Raina and Louka.
Note: The “marriage market” is a phrase that expresses the fact that marriage was and is economically important for both partners.- END OF THE ASSIGNMENT -