"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.