to the river otter

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1. A. 

14 lines. Each line contains 10 syllables.

The majority of the lines (though not all!) are iambic.

There is a break of thought (not between lines 8 and 9, but between lines 11 and 12); the first part describes the river; while in the second, the poet compares his careless childhood and current manhood.

b. Italian. The final two lines do not rhyme.

c. No. Between lines 11 and 12. From that point onward, the poet’s description of the river becomes personal

2. A. the river.

B. woman

C. breast (= waves)

3. Brook and streamlet: the suffix let is a diminutive.

4. Various-fated

5. Skimming flat stones across the surface of the water and counting the number of times they skip.

6. No. He states in lines 5 to 7 that the scenes from his childhood are so deeply embedded in his memory, that he doesn’t even need to close his eye to conjure them up. The images appear to arise spontaneously (explanation: people often close their eyes when they have trouble remembering something).

 

7. The water takes on numerous tints.

 plank used to cross the river bank grey willows sandy river bed

various coloured bands in the sand crystal clear water.

1. The coloured bands of sand in the river bed were clearly visible.

 

2. He considers it quite a burden: lonesome and fraught with worries.

(Background information: He had encountered serious difficulties at the time in Cambridge, primarily due to his abuse of opium. He ran up considerable debt, then fled to avoid his creditors, joining the King’s Light Dragoons using the false name Silas Tomkyn Comberback).

3. Short unfinished sentences (calls) in line 1 Numerous exclamation marks Use of the call Ah