"I shall forget you presently, my dear (Sonnet IV)"
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892 - 1950

I shall forget you presently, my dear,
So make the most of this, your little day,
Your little month, your little half a year
Ere I forget, or die, or move away,
And we are done forever; by and by
I shall forget you, as I said, but now,
If you entreat me with your loveliest lie
I will protest you with my favorite vow.
I would indeed that love were longer-lived,
And vows were not so brittle as they are,
But so it is, and nature has contrived
To struggle on without a break thus far,—
Whether or not we find what we are seeking
Is idle, biologically speaking.
How does the sonnet structure contribute to the meaning of the poem?

A) It does not have any effect on the meaning of the poem.
B) It sets up a mystery at the beginning and then solves it with the couplet at the end.
C) It sets up a humorous situation in the first part, then changes to a more serious one with the couplet at the end.
D) It sets up an idea at the start, then explores another, and comes back to the first idea with the couplet at the end.

The answer is D. It sets up an idea at the start, then explores another, and comes back to the first idea with the couplet at the end.

I hope this helps!

Explanation:

answer; /// (the anagnorisis )

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)