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 thinks of herself as rational, but is clearly irrational

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally

The speaker describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality

The speaker believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible
2 What does the phrase "fume of life" refer to?
The holy spirit

Sexual desire

Cigar smoke

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

That her physical attraction is a sign of love
4 What function does the poem's opening word serve?
It tells us that the speaker is taking on a false identity

It tells us that the speaker is writing a letter

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

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance
5 Which of the following is used as a metonymic representation of rationality?
The brain

The book

The fume

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

AABB AABB

ABBA ABBA

ABAB ABAB
7 How does the poem present the relationship between love and lust?
Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

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

Desire

Pain

Citrus rind
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 norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century
11 Which of the following is true of the addressee?
They are a young man

They are a young woman

They are an older man

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

Violence

Revolution

Sexual desire
13 What is this poem's form?
Sestina

Ghazal

Italian sonnet

English sonnet
14 Which of the following is an example of personification?
feel a certain zest / To bear your body’s weight

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

season / My scorn with pity
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?
By all the needs and notions of my kind,

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

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

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?
Small

Loud

Fat

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

undone, possessed

life designed

my stout blood
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?
Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

Trochaic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?
I shall remember you with love, or season

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

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?
Breed

Blend

Season

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

Gentle

Apathetic

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

Sarcasm

Proximity

Cleverness
24 Which best describes the speaker?
Wise mother

Mysterious, disembodied spirit

Frightened young girl

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

CD CE CD CE

CDECDE

CDED CDED

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