Borders—and if we’re attentive, we realize we all live on borders, whether they are national or not—are sites of tension and sites for learning. Borders invite us to confront differences, inequities and stereotypes. They invite us to work for multicultural cooperation and to celebrate multilingual richness. –“The Leader in the Mirror,”
Pat Mora

What tone of voice should a reader use when reading the passage aloud?

humorous
angered
inspired
nervous

i love cake

and don't hate

i know i'm fat

but what's wrong with that

i cant rap

but im sure ya know that

its just for fun

so quit hatin' son

~courtney

1.   in sonnet 18, the speaker wants to describe the beauty of his love, but can’t find the words to do so. the speaker says “then in mid-utterance the lay was lost” when he tries to think of the words to describe his love’s beauty.   through his defeat of finding words to describe his love, he shows his love for her.

2.   instead of describing how perfect his love is or comparing her to other beautiful things, he says she is average and there is nothing special about her.   at the last 2 lines of the poem, the volta changes the poem by saying that even though his love is average in beauty, his love for her is special and unique. so instead of praising her throughout the whole poem, he contrasts her average characteristics with his special love for her.

3.   the beloved asked the speaker to describe how he feels about her. she begins to describe what she feels but "drop the torch" and says that she can't do it because the words "hid in me out of reach." the the speaker says "nay, let the silence of my womanhood command my woman-love to thy belief" and that her silence will have to be the answer to his question.