I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed Quizzes

I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed Quiz

1 Which of the following is true of the poem's theme of rationality?

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally

The speaker thinks of herself as rational, but is clearly irrational

The speaker believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

The speaker describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality
2 What does the phrase "fume of life" refer to?

The holy spirit

Sexual desire

Food and water

Cigar smoke
3 Which assumption does the speaker attempt to dismantle?

That her physical attraction is a sign of love

That her physical attraction is a sign that she is impure or sexually experienced

That her lack of interest in conversation means she is not attracted to her listener

That her love means she consents to sex
4 What function does the poem's opening word serve?

It tells us that the speaker is taking on a false identity

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance

It lets us know that the speaker has never met her listener

It tells us that the speaker is writing a letter
5 Which of the following is used as a metonymic representation of rationality?

The blood

The fume

The brain

The book
6 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem's first half?

ABA ABA ABA

ABAB ABAB

ABBA ABBA

AABB AABB
7 How does the poem present the relationship between love and lust?

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

Love is portrayed as the domain of women and lust as the domain of men
8 What does "zest" mean in the poem's context?

Desire

Pain

Revulsion

Citrus rind
9 Where is the poem's volta?

After line 8

After line 7

After line 12

After line 4
10 Which social norms does the poem interrogate?

The norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household

The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age
11 Which of the following is true of the addressee?

They are an older man

They are a young woman

They are a young man

We know nothing of the addressee except that the speaker dislikes them
12 Which of the following does "blood" symbolize?

Violence

Sexual desire

Familial relationship

Revolution
13 What is this poem's form?

Ghazal

Sestina

Italian sonnet

English sonnet
14 Which of the following is an example of personification?

season / My scorn with pity

feel a certain zest / To bear your body’s weight

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

My scorn with pity,—let me make it plain:

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

By all the needs and notions of my kind,
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?

Loud

Fat

Sturdy

Small
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?

my stout blood

undone, possessed

weight upon my breast

life designed
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?

A Few Figs and Thistles

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

Renascence and Other Poems

Aria da Capo
19 What is the poem's primary meter?

Trochaic pentameter

Trochaic trimeter

Iambic trimeter

Iambic pentameter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

I shall remember you with love, or season

Am urged by your propinquity to find

I find this frenzy insufficient reason
21 Which verb is metaphorically used to describe the mixing of emotions?

Blend

Breed

Flavor

Season
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Ironic

Passionate

Gentle

Apathetic
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?

Cleverness

Boldness

Proximity

Sarcasm
24 Which best describes the speaker?

Self-possessed woman

Wise mother

Mysterious, disembodied spirit

Frightened young girl
25 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem's second half?

CDECDE

CD CE CD CE

CDCDCD

CDED CDED

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