english_9_lm_draft

READING TEXT 2
Motive Question: How does the persona deal with the circumstance he is in?
SONNET 29
GEORGE SANTAYANA (1863-1952)
SOURCE: http://www.rrb3.com/breaker/poetry/poems%20by%20others/sonnet_29.htm
What riches have you that you deem me poor,
Or what large comfort that you call me sad?
Tell me what makes you so exceeding glad:
Is your earth happy or your heaven sure?
I hope for heaven, since the stars endure
And bring such tidings as our fathers had.
I know no deeper doubt to make me mad,
I need no brighter love to keep me pure.
DRAFT
To me the faiths of old are daily bread;
I bless their hope, I bless their will to save,
And my deep heart still meaneth what they said.
It makes me happy that the soul is brave,
And, being so much kinsman to the dead,
I walk contented to the peopled grave.
April 10, 2014
Questions to answer:
1. What does the opening line of the poem mean?
2. Who is being addressed by the poet?
3. Why does the poet consider the faiths of old his daily bread?
4. What makes the persona happy?
5. How do you view the persona’s circumstance?