Poetry Reading Test #2

The phrase "knuckled grip" (line 20) implies that the jack-pine

has roots that grasp like a hand

According to the speaker, the prophet's "word of weapons" (line 5) will probably not be headed because

People cannot comprehend abstract descriptions of power

According to the speaker, we use the images of the rose (line 29), the horse, and the locust

as metaphors to aid in comprehending abstractions

In line 13 the speaker is doing which of the following?

Prescribing what the prophet should say

The phrase "that live tongue" (line 27) is best understood as

a metaphor for nature

Which of the following best describes the poem as a whole

a philosophical and didactic poem about man and nature

In lines 14-16, the speaker is asserting that we

have all experienced loss and disapointment

The speaker implies that without "the dolphin's arc, the dove's return" (line 24)

have less understanding of ourselves and our lives

The speaker assumes that the prophet referred to in lines 1-12 will come proclaiming

the horror of self-descruction

In the phrase, "A stone look on the stone's face," (line 12) the speaker is suggesting that

it is human beings who see a face on stones

The dolphin's arc (line 24) refers to the

leap of a dolphin

Which of the following best paraphrases the meaning of line 36

when nature has ceased to exist

Which of the following best describes and effect of the repetition of the phrase "ask us" in line 33?

It provides a tone of imploring earnestness