Tone in Remember

Much like a traditional sonnet, the turn occurs at the volta in line 9. The first two quatrains build the speaker’s argument that her audience should “remember” her when she has died and is out of their reach. The “yet” that begins this line signals a change in the argument. She complicates this command to “remember” her by distinguishing between remembrance and grief; she does not want her audience to grieve.

In placing the imperative “Remember” at the beginning of the line, the speaker is able to emphasize the instruction and turn the word into a command. In repeating “Remember,” the poem takes the form of a lesson and the speaker assumes the tone of a teacher or instructor.