WAEC Literature in English 2022 Theory — Question 19

Model answer

Points to develop: i. Relation to theme; ii. Explanation of mood; iii. The discovery of new love; iv. Embracing the new love; v. Stability of the new love. The poem is a metaphysical poem. Two people in love with each other can create a world of their own in which nothing else that is outside it, matters. The poet uses extended metaphor to relate the love between the two lovers. They are described as two better hemispheres. The persona and the lover have been relating with each other for long, on a childish note. However, their relationship develops and leads to love. Mood is the poet's attitude to the subject of the poem; it is about one's mental or emotional disposition towards an object or a given situation in the poem. The mood in this poem conveys the excitement and certainty about the lovers' new found love. The persona discovers a new love and this shows in the persona's mood of excitement: 'I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I/Did, till we lov'd?' The excitement is based on the realisation that they had been acting childishly at first, or were merely resting for the unexpected joy at dawn. How is Massa buried in the novel? How does the expulsion of 'aliens' from Nigeria affect Nii in the novel? The mood changes from excitement to certainty as the persona is sure that this new love is not subject to fear or distraction of the external world. This is also evident in the fact that the room they occupy is all the world to them – an attestation to the fact that the poem is a metaphysical poem through the use of extended metaphor. The new love which the persona and the lover now find themselves is now stable. The persona and his loved one are in a perfectly harmonious relationship: 'where can we find two better hemispheres without sharp north, without declining west?' There is a great feeling of confidence and compatibility. The new love is not subject to death which means it is immortal: 'If out two loves be one, or, thou and I/ Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die'. In conclusion, the mood of the persona is that of excitement, certainty, assurance and confidence.