ShmoopTube

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Here's your shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Human Soul. If you have one, we apologize.

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Your chances of making it on Capitol Hill just took a serious hit.

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Which line indicates the turn or shift in this poem?

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And here are the potential answers...

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If we were watching a thriller, we would call this "the twist."

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So... let's M. Night Shyamalan this baby and see what we get...

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We're looking for the line -- it's a sonnet, so we've got a 1 in 14 shot -- where a shift takes place.

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Well, the author starts out by basically saying that Death... isn't such a tough guy.

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He says that others may call him "mighty and dreadful," but our hero feels he's... really

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just a dreadful excuse for a villain.

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So... where does the tone change?

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The author never goes back on his word and decides that yes, in fact, Death IS a terrifying dude...

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...nor does he change the subject and start talking about the weather, or say, "How 'bout them Knicks!?"

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So it's a subtle change... but there is indeed a change.

01:10

At one point in the poem, the author goes from slinging insults... to backing 'em up.

01:14

Instead of just saying that Death isn't so scary, he starts explaining why.

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"Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men," says the poem.

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And this is where we get our shift. Now we know why Death shouldn't keep us up at night...

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because he's a slave to fate.

01:28

In terms Breaking Bad aficionados will understand, he's not really... the one who knocks.

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So line 9 is the one we're looking for...

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...which means that C is our answer.

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If you'll excuse us, it sounds like there's someone at the door. Probably just a vacuum

01:42

cleaner salesman or something...

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