Study Questions on "Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward"

1. Show that lines 9-10 are examples of the general principles put forward in the previous six lines.
2. Resolve the paradox in line 12.
3. In what senses did Christ both "rise and fall" (line 13)?
4. What does "self-life" (line 17) mean?

5. In line 22, what does the word "those" add to the effect of the line?
6. Water can turn dust to dirt, but in line 27 of this poem, a different liquid is turning dust into dirt. What is that liquid?
7. Why is the speaker afraid to see dirt made of dust?
8. In the middle of line 35, the speaker suddenly begins an apostrophe. Who is being addressed and what is the effect?
9. How does line 37 refer back to lines 9-10?
10. How does "deformity" (line 40) refer back to line 10?
11. Paraphrase the following from the last two lines: "Restore thine image so much . . . / That thou may'st know me."
12. How does this poem solve the problem presented in Holy Sonnet #18?