WR In Sickness

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WR In Sickness

WRITTEN IN OCTOBER, 1714

Soon after the author's coming to live in Ireland, upon the Queen's death.[1] - Swift.

'Tis true - then why should I repine
To see my life so fast decline?
But why obscurely here alone,
Where I am neither loved nor known?
My state of health none care to learn; 5
My life is here no soul's concern:
And those with whom I now converse
Without a tear will tend my hearse.
Removed from kind Arbuthnot's aid,
Who knows his art, but not his trade, 10
Preferring his regard for me
Before his credit, or his fee.
Some formal visits, looks, and words,
What mere humanity affords,
I meet perhaps from three or four, 15
From whom I once expected more;
Which those who tend the sick for pay,
Can act as decently as they:
But no obliging, tender friend,
To help at my approaching end. 20
My life is now a burthen grown
To others, ere it be my own.

Ye formal weepers for the sick,
In your last offices be quick;
And spare my absent friends the grief 25
To hear, yet give me no relief;
Expired to-day, entomb'd to-morrow,
When known, will save a double sorrow.

Extra Info:
repine=complain
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735) was a Scottish physician.
burthen=burden
Queen Anne died 1st August, 1714.
This poem was written in 1714, soon after the author, an Anglo-Irish satirist, moved from England to Ireland.

Name *

Hour *

Which of the following is not evident in the poetic structure of the poem? *

consistent rhyming pattern

consistent metric count per line

rhyming couplets

varying stanza length

use of enjambment

The opening words of the poem, "Tis true (line 1), indicate that the speaker has begun with which of the following techniques? *

juxtaposition

in media res

flashback

dialogue

symbolism

The narrator's insistence in lines 3-6 that he is "alone" and "neither lov'd nor known," that "none care," and that he is "no Soul's Concern" is called into question by which of the following lines? *

without a tear will tend my hearse (line 8)

kind Arbuthnot's aid (line 9)

some formal visits, looks, and words (line 13)

those who tend the sick for pay (line 17)

no obliging, tender friend (line 19)

The syntax in line 27 (Expir'd ... To-morrow) emphasizes the speaker's sense of the *

poignancy of loss

passage of time

indifference of others

brevity of friendship

solitude of death

The contrast between the "three or four" (line 15) and the "tender Friend" (line 19) serves primarily to highlight the speaker's *

difficulty finding professional help

disappointment in his situation

appreciation for his caregivers

attempts to make new friends

feelings upon learning of his illness

In the context of the poem as a whole, a complexity in the speaker's character is revealed by the inconsistency between his stated desire to "spare my absent friends the grief" (line 25) and his *

disappointment that he has no friends to grieve for or comfort him

preference for professional mourners over heartfelt expressions of grief

forgiveness toward friends who have been unkind to him in the past

insistence that he desires only quiet solitude in his final days

rejection of the formal ceremonial rites at his funeral

The speaker of the poem most closely embodies which of the following archetypes? *

the wise elder

the loyal friend

the self-pitying invalid

the brave warrior against disease

the martyr for a worthy cause

The speaker mentions Arbuthnot (lines 9-12) primarily in order to *

criticize the current state of the medical profession

point out a striking contrast with his present company

illustrate his assertion that he receives only polite attention

substatiante his claim about the seriousness of his illness

invent a persona that represents his intended audience

The speaker speaks of sparing his absent friends the grief (lines 25) primarily in order to *

show his genuine concern for the pain his loved ones may feel

show that he wants to allow them time to grieve for him properly

show that he is angry and sullen, noticing that they could not spare the time for him when he was sick

show that he intends to reward those friends who have stayed by his side

show that he intends to reward the nursing staff because of the professional care he has received.

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