Close Reading
In lines 6 through 8, "it" leaves the man's mouth, melts from his eyes, and dives into the earth. What is "it" actually referring to?
A) His voice
B) His music
C) His heart
D) His tears
C) His heart.
Line 5 says the player has no heart, and lines 6-8 show where that heart seems to go.
What is the point of Cruz repeating "I have seen" in lines 6 and 7?
A) To emphasize how many times the guitar has been played in emotional settings
B) To emphasize that the guitar directly saw the emotional release of the player
C) To create a rhythm that sounds like someone strumming
D) To suggest the guitar is bragging about its experiences
B) To emphasize that the guitar directly saw the emotional release of the player.
Repeating "I have seen" makes the guitar sound like a witness stressing what it directly observed.
How would you describe the shift in tone between the first guitar's section and the second guitar's section?
A) Angry and accusatory to calm and forgiving
B) Intense and reverent to grounded and nostalgic
C) Sad and hopeless to cheerful and carefree
D) Philosophical and detached to emotional and personal
B) Intense and reverent to grounded and nostalgic.
The first section uses angels, mountains, and passion; the second names 1944, New York, 102nd Street, and a baptism.
How do the two guitars' perspectives connect to each other?
A) They use similar language and ideas but apply them to different kinds of experience
B) They repeat the same ideas to say that all musical experiences are universal
C) They present unrelated viewpoints that do not connect
D) They build on each other, with the second guitar finishing the first guitar's thought
A) They use similar language and ideas but apply them to different kinds of experience.
Both guitars talk about music and passion, but one speaks abstractly while the other anchors music in cultural memory.
What does the first guitar probably mean when it says "The man who plays me has no heart"?
A) The player pours so much emotion into his music that it feels like his heart physically leaves his body
B) The player is emotionless and treats music like a routine
C) The guitar feels neglected because its player does not care for it
D) The guitar is describing a medical condition the player suffers from
A) The player pours so much emotion into his music that it feels like his heart physically leaves his body.
The next lines show the heart leaving through the mouth, melting from the eyes, and entering the earth.
Why does the line "Their throats gardenia gardens" work so well?
A) It sounds like a trio singing through onomatopoeia
B) It gives the garden human qualities
C) The "g" alliteration creates a harsh sound
D) The metaphor connects voices to something lush and beautiful, and the repeated "g" sounds give it a musical feel
D) The metaphor connects voices to something lush and beautiful, and the repeated "g" sounds give it a musical feel.
The voices are compared to lush gardens, and the repeated g sounds add a musical texture.
What does the spiritual imagery in lines 10 through 12 do?
A) It raises the emotional stakes by connecting music to something sacred
B) It makes the guitar seem more important than the musicians who play it
C) It creates distance between the listener and the music by making it feel otherworldly
D) It says that the player is playing religious music
A) It raises the emotional stakes by connecting music to something sacred.
Images of angels and chorus make the music feel sacred and emotionally powerful without making the song literally religious.
What is the biggest difference in how the two guitars talk about what they have been through?
A) The first guitar focuses on emotions while the second talks about specific places, people, and dates
B) The first guitar admires its player while the second guitar resents the way it has been treated
C) The first guitar uses figurative language while the second speaks in plain language
D) The first guitar is focused on sadness while the second is focused on celebration
A) The first guitar focuses on emotions while the second talks about specific places, people, and dates.
The first guitar centers on abstract passion and harmony; the second names Trio Los Panchos, New York, 102nd Street, and social events.
The word "tight" shows up in both line 4 and line 24. How does its meaning change?
A) Line 4 suggests emotional tension while line 24 suggests physical intimacy
B) Line 4 suggests control, while line 24 suggests chaos
C) Line 4 suggests sound quality, while line 24 suggests musical skill
D) Both lines use "tight" the same way
A) Line 4 suggests emotional tension while line 24 suggests physical intimacy.
Line 4 carries strain and tears; line 24 suggests closeness when the guitar is held tight.
What does the metaphor "a song is a mountain put into words" get at?
A) Music can compress human experience into song
B) Songwriting requires as much effort as climbing a mountain
C) The best songs are inspired by nature and landscape
D) Songs can only capture big, dramatic emotions, not small ones
A) Music can compress human experience into song.
A mountain suggests something huge, while words are compact, so the metaphor shows how song can hold a large emotional world.
What do the final three lines of the poem accomplish?
A) They show that one guitar's story was more meaningful than the other's
B) They go back to the narrator and let both conversations just sit in the room
C) They rank the second guitar's story as more important because the bolero connects to its cultural background
D) They introduce a completely new type of music that does not really relate to anything the guitars said
B) They go back to the narrator and let both conversations just sit in the room.
The narrator returns, the guitars fall silent, and both stories linger together as resonance after the last chord.
Looking at the poem as a whole, what are the two guitars really being used to do?
A) Say that traditional music is disappearing and needs to be preserved
B) Show that instruments understand music better than the people who play them
C) Present two different sides of what music carries
D) Show that Trio Los Panchos is the most important Latin musical group
C) Present two different sides of what music carries.
Together, the guitars show music carrying intense feeling as well as lived cultural memory.