And I live on, but in grief and self-contempt,

Left here without the light I loved so much,

In a great tempest and with shrouds unkempt.

No more love songs, then, I have done with such;

My old skill now runs thin at each attempt,

And tears are heard within the harp I touch. (lines 9-14)

Which of the lines, taken from the sestet shown above, is the volta?

Question

Maddox Hines

English

4 July, 19:55

And I live on, but in grief and self-contempt,

Left here without the light I loved so much,

In a great tempest and with shrouds unkempt.

No more love songs, then, I have done with such;

My old skill now runs thin at each attempt,

And tears are heard within the harp I touch. (lines 9-14)

Which of the lines, taken from the sestet shown above, is the volta?

+3

Answers (2)

Know the Answer?

America Coleman · Answer 1

And I live on, but in grief and self-contempt is the correct answer

Dalton Hess · Answer 2

In poetry, we used the volta (a word from the Italian language that means turn) to change the thought, tone or argument in a sonnet, usually indicated with words like But, Yet, And yet, etc. in this passage, the tone changes in the first line "And I live on, but in grief and self-contempt". From now on we can notice that the tone is sadder than before and starts seeing life from another perspective, not a happy one, leaving all the light the narrator had in life behind.