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