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 describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally

The speaker believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

The speaker thinks of herself as rational, but is clearly irrational
2 What does the phrase "fume of life" refer to?
Sexual desire

Food and water

The holy spirit

Cigar smoke
3 Which assumption does the speaker attempt to dismantle?
That her physical attraction is a sign of love

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

That her love means she consents to sex

That her physical attraction is a sign that she is impure or sexually experienced
4 What function does the poem's opening word serve?
It tells us that the speaker is writing a letter

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
5 Which of the following is used as a metonymic representation of rationality?
The brain

The fume

The blood

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

ABAB ABAB

AABB AABB

ABBA ABBA
7 How does the poem present the relationship between love and lust?
Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love

Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

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
8 What does "zest" mean in the poem's context?
Revulsion

Desire

Citrus rind

Pain
9 Where is the poem's volta?
After line 7

After line 8

After line 4

After line 12
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

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

They are an older man

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?
Sestina

Italian sonnet

English sonnet

Ghazal
14 Which of the following is an example of personification?
the poor treason / Of my stout blood

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

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind

season / My scorn with pity
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?
And leave me once again undone, possessed.

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

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

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

Fat

Small

Sturdy
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?
life designed

my stout blood

undone, possessed

weight upon my breast
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?
The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

Renascence and Other Poems

A Few Figs and Thistles

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

Trochaic pentameter

Trochaic trimeter

Iambic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?
To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

I shall remember you with love, or season

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

Am urged by your propinquity to find
21 Which verb is metaphorically used to describe the mixing of emotions?
Breed

Flavor

Season

Blend
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?
Passionate

Apathetic

Ironic

Gentle
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?
Boldness

Cleverness

Sarcasm

Proximity
24 Which best describes the speaker?
Self-possessed woman

Frightened young girl

Wise mother

Mysterious, disembodied spirit
25 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem's second half?
CDCDCD

CDECDE

CD CE CD CE

CDED CDED

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