based on the passage, why is the narrator confused by the civilian's
surroundings?

The narrator is confused because it its unclear why does he live in a shabby home.

Explanation:

The civilian that the author is talking about in the passage had been retired from the service of the Hussars at a very young age of thirty five. Even though he settled in a wretched and a little village, still the life style he had was extravagant.

It was not clear to the people living in the surroundings that why was he living in such a shabby place. At his home, champagne flowed like water and the officers of high post of the regiment used to come for dinner. Even after this, he always used to be dressed shabbily so it was very confusing for the people living in the surroundings.

1.   in sonnet 18, the speaker wants to describe the beauty of his love, but can’t find the words to do so. the speaker says “then in mid-utterance the lay was lost” when he tries to think of the words to describe his love’s beauty.   through his defeat of finding words to describe his love, he shows his love for her.

2.   instead of describing how perfect his love is or comparing her to other beautiful things, he says she is average and there is nothing special about her.   at the last 2 lines of the poem, the volta changes the poem by saying that even though his love is average in beauty, his love for her is special and unique. so instead of praising her throughout the whole poem, he contrasts her average characteristics with his special love for her.

3.   the beloved asked the speaker to describe how he feels about her. she begins to describe what she feels but "drop the torch" and says that she can't do it because the words "hid in me out of reach." the the speaker says "nay, let the silence of my womanhood command my woman-love to thy belief" and that her silence will have to be the answer to his question.

last one is the answer