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Select the correct text in the passage. Which excerpt in the poem expresses the view that death is an enviable state that frees the departed from the miseries of the body and old age? On My First Son by Ben Jonson Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy ; My sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy. Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. Oh, could I lose all father now ! For why Will man lament the state he should envy? To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage, And if no other misery, yet age ! Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say, Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry. For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such As what he loves may never like too much.

Answer :

finnforthewin

"And if no other misery, yet age!" This excerpt implies that aging causes misery due to losing the health and energy of youth. It implies that, through death, the soul may be free from the body to do as it pleases with energy, suggesting death is a type of freedom from the constraints of life.

Answer:

Oh, could I lose all father now ! For why

Will man lament the state he should envy?

To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage,

And if no other misery, yet age !

Explanation:

In this section of the poem, Jonson tells us how enviable it is to be able to escape the miseries of old age, even through death. In these lines, Jonson tells us that perhaps he should not mourn the death of his son, as in fact this has created an enviable situation. He should instead envy the fact that his son "escaped" the miseries of humans, and particularly that of old age (And if no other misery, yet age).

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