Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Why does the speaker hate Brother Lawrence so much?
  2. Why is it important that Brother Lawrence is an avid gardener? How would the poem be different if he had a different hobby, like music or painting?
  3. How would you characterize the speaker's attitude toward religion?
  4. What is the effect of all the guttural sounds – the "g-r-r-r" and the "Whew!" of lines 1, 17, and 72?
  5. Why does the speaker use so many parenthetical asides (like lines 24 and 32)?