Study the structure of "Sonnet 14” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say,"I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day”—For these things in themselves, Belovèd, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry:A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
Answer
A
It is an Italian sonnet because the octave is followed by a sestet.
B
It is a Shakespearean sonnet because it relies on quatrains and a volta.
C
It is a Spenserian sonnet because it contains quatrains with an abab bcbc cdcd ee rhyme scheme.
D
It is an English sonnet because the abba rhyme scheme continues throughout each section of the poem.
Explanation
The poem has 14 lines, with the first eight lines forming an octave and the final six forming a sestet. The octave follows an ABBAABBA rhyme scheme, and the sestet follows a pattern of alternating rhymes (CDCDCD). This octave-and-sestet structure identifies it as an Italian sonnet, so choice A is correct.
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