The Forerunners
What is the speaker describing in lines 1-2
A sign of old age
Which description best characterizes the poem?
a. A recollection of a remarkable occurrence
b. A lament for a vanished way of life
c. An analysis of a momentous decision
d. An invitation to celebrate a hard-fought victory
a. A recollection of a remarkable occurrence
The phrase "dangerous fire" in line 2 most likely refers to...
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")
In line 6, the speaker suggests that his relationship with God...
Will withstand his mortal decline
What is the primary purpose of lines 1-8?
Provide the poem's central image
The purpose of the speaker's question in lines 3-4 is to...
Reproach the lady's encouragement of love in others when she does not feel it herself
Elision
In the first stanza (lines 1-6) the speaker expresses dismay at the possibility that he will...
Lose his creative powers
What technique is used in lines 4-8? ("the branch...ground")
Examples of death in nature to provide emphasis
In context, the word alone primarily serves to...
Define the limits of the relationship
Caesura
A caesura is a pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some form of punctuation such as a period, comma, ellipsis, or dash.
The speaker's references to Church in lines 17 and 22 primarily serves to...
underscore the laudable purpose of his poetic work
In line 5, "failed in its function as" is understood to mean
"was useless as"
The second stanza (lines 5-8) primarily reveals the
speaker's internal conflict
Volta
Another word for the shift, a turn or transition in the poem, specifically the last two lines of a sonnet.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker addresses "louely enchanting language" (line 19) from the perspective of...
A spurned lover
If the context of the poem is interpreted broadly, the cotton flower most likely symbolizes...
The possibility of miraculous change
The repetition of "Vainly" in the third stanza (lines 9-12) serves primarily to emphasize the extent to which...
the lady's discouragement fails to affect her suitors
Iambic pentameter
10 syllables, 5 beats, 5 iambs