May

Question 1

Summarise ‘May’

Answer 1

• A truncated Petrarchan Sonnet in which the speaker reminisces about a lost, “pleasant” past, which came and passed away.

Question 2

What’s the significance of the title ‘May’?

Answer 2

• May represents growth and new beginnings in Spring
• Leaving behind and starting a new chapter

Question 3

What could the ‘pleasant’ past she refers to actually be?

Answer 3

• A loved one now deceased or lost connection
• Her youth - reflective of may(growth, new beginning)
• The time of Victorian society which was indulged in Faith and Religion - no there is a rise on crisis of faith due to scientific discoveries

Question 4

What poetic form does ‘May’ use?

Answer 4

• Truncated Petrarchan Sonnet (the sonnet is not complete)
• Idyll - the natural imagery becomes a psychological landscape for her thoughts and feelings of reflecting

Question 5

What Victorian context ‘May’ be centred around?

Answer 5

• Rise in crisis of faith