Sonnet XVII - Pablo Neruda

What figurative language does Neruda use in Sonnet XVII?

• Metaphor

• Symbolism

• Simile

• He doesn't use figurative language

Why does the speaker talk about dark, obscure things and a shadow in his poem?

• To symbolize the honesty of the love

• To symbolize the secrets

• To symbolize sleep

Why is this poem considered a sonnet?

• It has iambic pantameter

• It has three quatrains and a couplet

• Its rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

• It has fourteen lines and talks about love

What is the problem in the sonnet?

• He knows exactly how to express his love

• He cannot find the right way to leave his lover

• He needs to tell his lover the truth

• He cannot find the right way to express how much he loves his lover

What is the turning point in the poem?

• He goes to sleep

• He admits that he does not know exactly how to express his love

What's the resolution of the sonnet?

• He accepts that he cannot fully express his love, but understands their love binds them together

• Since he cannot express his love fully, he decides to leave his lover.

• He falls asleep peacefully

What is the theme of the poem?

• Love is always wonderful

• True love cannot be explained and has no limitations

• True love will destroy you in the end

Which line is the best evidence to support the idea of the theme?

• “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved”

• “I love you as the plant that never blooms”

• “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where” (Line 9)

• “Where I does not exist, nor you” (Line 12)