Low Tide on Grade Pre
Which of the following best describes the structure of the poem?
A) It begins with the expression of a desire, then imagines the fulfillment of that desire, and finally describes the disillusionment with that desire.
B) It begins with an evening in the present, examines the significance of a memory, and returns to a somewhat later moment in the same evening.
C) Alternating stanzas depict the speaker's internal and external worlds.
B) It begins with an evening in the present, examines the significance of a memory, and returns to a somewhat later moment in the same evening.
The fourth stanza makes particular use of
A) third person point of view
B) an unreliable speaker
C) stream of consciousness
D) Direct address
D) Direct address
The image presented in line 11 (so all...new) significantly implies the speaker's...
A) skill in presenting the same thoughts in numerous poems
B) conviction that poetry is defined more by technique than substance
C) sense of being stifled by idioms that appear redundant
D) celebration of the most traditional poetic forms
A) skill in presenting the same thoughts in numerous poems
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses (EX: "we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow - this ground")
The purpose of lines 1-5 is to reveal the speaker's wish that...
Light of the sunset would last longer
The difference between line 38 "we will be sisters" and line 48 "come, my sister" implies that
The desire has been fulfilled
In line 12, the speaker compares the expression of romantic love to...
Elision
When a writers leaves out unstressed syllables or other sounds in a word (EX: o'er)
What do lines 6-9 "And yet...stream" suggest about nature and humanity?
Nature lacks any intention to comfort humanity
The speaker's primary motivation in addressing Nana is to...
Share in Nana's vitality
The overall tone of the poem is...
Purposeful and heartfelt
Caesura
A pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some form of punctuation such as a period, comma, ellipsis, or dash.
In line 8, the word "he" refers to...
The sun
The speaker's claim in lines 50-51 suggests that the speaker and Nana have....
Escaped from their later selves
The poem's final two lines accomplish...
Use a simile to resolve the contradiction
Volta
Another word for the shift, a turn or transition in the poem, specifically the last two lines of a sonnet.
Name all the shifts established in the first 4 stanzas. "from ___ to ____"
1) present to past
2) barrenness to abundance
3) sorrow to contentment
The images of "I have the sore toe you tend with cotton" and "our blue fingers" serve primarily to...
Signify a bond between speaker and Nana
How would you characterize the development of the poem as a whole?
The speaker acknowledges a weakness in his writing, only to turn this weakness into a means of affirming his devotion to his beloved.
Iambic pentameter
10 syllables, 5 beats, 5 iambs