Is there a change in this sonnet from the octave to the sestet? ...

[Mimi]

Is there a change in this sonnet from the octave to the sestet?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Identify the rime scheme. Does the poem follow the rules of the Italian orEnglish sonnet, or is it a combination of the two?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[matt95]

Answer to Question 1

• The octave essentially bears out the poems title, describing the things that need to be done in order to allay the deadthat is, to keep them away. In the sestet, the emphasis is on why they need to be held at bay, on what is likely to happen if they are not. As the poem moves from octave to sestetfrom a precise particularization of the rituals to be performed, to the zeal that consumes the restless spirits of the departedthere is also a noticeable heightening of intensity.

Answer to Question 2

The rime scheme is a b a b, b c b c, c d c d, e e. The poem has some apparent features of the Italian sonnet, especially multiple use of the same rimes, and some obvious features of the English sonnet, including alternating rimes. In fact, it strictly follows the structure of a sonnet pattern in English that predates Shakespearethat of the Spenserian sonnet, named for the poet Edmund Spenser (15521599), who created it in his Amoretti, a sequence of 89 sonnets published in 1595.