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?

Cigar smoke

Sexual desire

The holy spirit

Food and water
3 Which assumption does the speaker attempt to dismantle?

That her physical attraction is a sign of love

That her love means she consents to sex

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
4 What function does the poem's opening word serve?

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance

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

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 fume

The brain

The book

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

ABA ABA ABA

ABBA ABBA

AABB AABB

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

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

Love is portrayed as the domain of women and lust as the domain of men

Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love
8 What does "zest" mean in the poem's context?

Desire

Pain

Citrus rind

Revulsion
9 Where is the poem's volta?

After line 8

After line 4

After line 12

After line 7
10 Which social norms does the poem interrogate?

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century

The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household
11 Which of the following is true of the addressee?

They are a young man

They are an older man

We know nothing of the addressee except that the speaker dislikes them

They are a young woman
12 Which of the following does "blood" symbolize?

Violence

Sexual desire

Familial relationship

Revolution
13 What is this poem's form?

Italian sonnet

Ghazal

Sestina

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

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

season / My scorn with pity

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind

the poor treason / Of my stout blood
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

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

And leave me once again undone, possessed.
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?

Loud

Sturdy

Small

Fat
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?

undone, possessed

my stout blood

life designed

weight upon my breast
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?

Aria da Capo

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

Renascence and Other Poems

A Few Figs and Thistles
19 What is the poem's primary meter?

Trochaic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

Am urged by your propinquity to find

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

I shall remember you with love, or season
21 Which verb is metaphorically used to describe the mixing of emotions?

Blend

Season

Breed

Flavor
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Passionate

Ironic

Apathetic

Gentle
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?

Proximity

Cleverness

Sarcasm

Boldness
24 Which best describes the speaker?

Mysterious, disembodied spirit

Wise mother

Frightened young girl

Self-possessed woman
25 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem's second half?

CD CE CD CE

CDED CDED

CDECDE

CDCDCD

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