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 believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

The speaker describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality

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

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally
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 love means she consents to sex

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

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 lets us know that the speaker has never met her listener

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

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance

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

The book

The blood

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

ABA ABA ABA

ABBA ABBA

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

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent
8 What does "zest" mean in the poem's context?
Pain

Desire

Citrus rind

Revulsion
9 Where is the poem's volta?
After line 12

After line 7

After line 4

After line 8
10 Which social norms does the poem interrogate?
The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century

The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household
11 Which of the following is true of the addressee?
They are a young woman

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

They are a young man

They are an older man
12 Which of the following does "blood" symbolize?
Violence

Revolution

Sexual desire

Familial relationship
13 What is this poem's form?
Ghazal

English sonnet

Italian sonnet

Sestina
14 Which of the following is an example of personification?
distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

season / My scorn with pity

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

Fat

Small

Loud
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?
weight upon my breast

life designed

my stout blood

undone, possessed
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?
Renascence and Other Poems

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

Aria da Capo

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

Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Trochaic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?
I find this frenzy insufficient reason

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

Am urged by your propinquity to find

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

Season

Blend

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

Apathetic

Gentle

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

Cleverness

Sarcasm

Proximity
24 Which best describes the speaker?
Wise mother

Self-possessed woman

Mysterious, disembodied spirit

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

CD CE CD CE

CDED CDED

CDECDE

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