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But came the waves and washèd it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
“Vain man,” said she, “that dost in vain assay,
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek^2 my name be wipèd out likewise.”
“Not so,” quod^3 I, “let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.”- strand beach.
- eek also.
- quod said.
5Mark context clues or indicate
another strategy you used that
helped you determine meaning.
assay (uh SAY) v.
MEANING:devise (dih VYZ) v.(^10) MEANING:
POETRY
Edmund Spenser
Sonnet 75
Edmund Spenser
Sonnet 75
Sonnet 75 377
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Strategic Support
Choral Reading Point out that there are
three speakers in Sonnet 75—the narrator
(first quatrain), the narrator’s beloved (second
quatrain), and the narrator using direct quotation
(third quatrain and final couplet).
Have students form three subgroups within each
group. Have each subgroup read chorally one of
the three narrative roles in the sonnet. Afterward,
have groups discuss how choral reading enhanced
their understanding and appreciation of the
poem.
Concept Vocabulary
ASSAY If groups are struggling to define the
word assay (line 5), point out context clues that
can help students determine the word’s meaning.
Have them annotate the phrases One day I
wrote her name, Again I wrote it, dost in vain,
and A mortal thing so to immortalize. Suggest
that these context clues reveal someone who is
repeating an action even though it is in vain. Ask
students what assay must mean.
Possible response: Assay must mean “try,
attempt.”
DEVISE If groups are struggling to define the
word devise (line 9), point out context clues that
can help students determine the word’s meaning.
Have them annotate the phrases let baser things,
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame, and
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize. Suggest
that these context clues reveal a dichotomy:
baser things will die in the dust, but the speaker’s
beloved will be eternalized by his poetry. Ask
students how these context clues reveal the
meaning of the word devise.
Possible response: Devise must mean “form by
new applications of ideas.”
Small-Group Learning 377
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