Life is a conflict. That is just the way that it is. The octet pivots into the sestet through a Volta that does not propose a solution to the emotional conflicts but rather states “why” the Poet must suffer so, and it is proclaimed rather blamefully, that it is “his lady” who has gifted him with such torment — “for you || my lady || am I in this state |” (l. 14); the change in syntax here serves to intimate an overtly dramatic tone as well as bring emphasis to “I”, hinting a bruise to the poet’s ego. It is common knowledge that a Petrarchan sonnet traditionally has the rhyme scheme: abba abba cde cde; but it is clear that this is not the case here. Using an inconsistent rhyme scheme: abab abab cde cde, the Poet corroborates the inconsistent emotions of the persona, wavering towards extremes. The poem is dominated by the rubato iambic pentameter that most sonnets are expected to have. The regularity of the iambic pentameter results in a continuous feeling: it is a meter of acceptance, as the true nature of life is not different, it too is continuous and one must accept
Life is a conflict. That is just the way that it is. The octet pivots into the sestet through a Volta that does not propose a solution to the emotional conflicts but rather states “why” the Poet must suffer so, and it is proclaimed rather blamefully, that it is “his lady” who has gifted him with such torment — “for you || my lady || am I in this state |” (l. 14); the change in syntax here serves to intimate an overtly dramatic tone as well as bring emphasis to “I”, hinting a bruise to the poet’s ego. It is common knowledge that a Petrarchan sonnet traditionally has the rhyme scheme: abba abba cde cde; but it is clear that this is not the case here. Using an inconsistent rhyme scheme: abab abab cde cde, the Poet corroborates the inconsistent emotions of the persona, wavering towards extremes. The poem is dominated by the rubato iambic pentameter that most sonnets are expected to have. The regularity of the iambic pentameter results in a continuous feeling: it is a meter of acceptance, as the true nature of life is not different, it too is continuous and one must accept