Poetic Devices
What poetic device is used in the line “her tiger’s tooth”?
(Answer: Metaphor)
How does the speaker feel toward America in the beginning?
(Answer: Bitter)
What is the main theme of the poem?
(Answer: The complex relationship between oppression and resilience.)
What is the form of the poem?
(Answer: Shakespearean sonnet)
Which device is used to describe America as “her vigor flows”?
(Answer: Personification)
What word in line 4 shows the speaker’s complicated affection for America?
(Answer: "Love")
How does the speaker view America’s strength?
(Answer: As both oppressive and empowering.)
How many quatrains are in the poem?
(Answer: Three)
What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
(Answer: ABABCDCDEFEFGG)
What is the speaker’s tone after the volta in line 9?
(Answer: Defiant)
What does the line "beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand" suggest?
(Answer: That America's power will eventually decline.)
How does the formal structure of the sonnet contribute to the speaker’s complex attitude?
(Answer: The structured form contrasts with the speaker’s emotional conflict, enhancing the tension.)
What is the term for the poem’s shift in tone at line 9?
(Answer: Volta)
Which line shows the speaker’s resilience against oppression?
(Answer: “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood”)
How does the speaker's defiance shape the meaning of the poem?
(Answer: It shows that despite oppression, the speaker draws strength from resisting.)
What is the meter of the poem?
(Answer: Iambic pentameter)
(Answer: It emphasizes the bitterness and harshness the speaker feels toward America.)
How does the tone shift between the quatrains and the final couplet?
(Answer: It moves from conflicted feelings to a reflection on the eventual decline of America's power.)
Why is the speaker’s attitude described as complex?
(Answer: Because they feel both bitterness and admiration for America, reflecting a deep internal conflict.)
What purpose does the couplet serve in the sonnet?
(Answer: It reflects the speaker’s final reflection on America’s eventual decline.)