since feeling is first Quizzes

since feeling is first Quiz

1 Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of "since feeling is first"?
You must be conscious of the consequences of your actions.

Love is but an illusion.

Both in love and in life, you must prioritize feeling over thinking.

Wisdom is the highest virtue.
2 What does "syntax" stand for in the poem?
Reason

Emotion

Inefficiency

Love
3 Why is the person "who pays any attention to the syntax of things" unable to "wholly kiss" the addressee?
Because this person has a short attention span

Because a kiss requires feeling, and this person prioritizes reason over feeling

Because this person is too emotional for the addressee

Because the addressee dislikes people who study syntax and grammar
4 Which of the following best describes the form and meter of this poem?
Sonnet

Blank verse

Ballad meter

Free verse
5 Which of the following is not a major theme of this poem?
Life and death

Religion

Love

Language
6 Which of the following does NOT contain an example of alliteration or consonance?
“eyelids’ flutter”

"laugh, leaning”

“death i think is no parenthesis”

“feeling is first”
7 What is ironic about this poem?
The speaker does not actually love the addressee.

We know, but the speaker does not, that this love is going to fail.

It is not actually about feeling.

Cummings uses syntax to write this poem.
8 Which of the following best describes the structure of this poem?
Evocative of the structure of another poem

Loose; resisting a narrative structure

Heavily based on repetition

Following a linear narrative
9 Which of the following is a personification?
"life's not a paragraph"

"i swear by all flowers"

"kisses are a better fate"

“my blood approves"
10 Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the tone of the speaker?
Pessimistic

Philosophical

Assertive

Affectionate
11 Which of the following best describes the setting of the poem?
Pastoral

Intergalactic

Unspecified, abstract

Urban
12 Which of the following is not an example of synecdoche in this poem?
“my blood”

“my brain”

“your eyelids’”

"Spring is in the world"
13 "Spring" symbolize which of the following?
Aging, senility, and vulnerability

Fertility, vitality, and youth

Death, trauma, and pain

War, violence, and discord
14 Which of the following is NOT a symbolic meaning that "flowers" may have in this poem?
Ephemerality

Artificiality

Nature

Fertility
15 Which of the following best describes the word play between "Spring" and "blood"?
The speaker is trying to be resilient like a "spring" after witnessing "bloodshed" and violence.

Hot water "springs" are good for "blood" circulation.

"Blood" can "spring" forth.

"Spring" is a "bloody" season.
16 What does the speaker mean when they say "death i think is no parenthesis"?
Death is something that can be ignored.

Death is not something we should keep in mind in everyday life.

Death is an inevitable part of the human experience.

What happens after death is a mystery.
17 How is the lady's attitude different from that of the speaker?
She is more aggressive.

She believes in logic and reason.

She is more religious.

She is less optimistic.
18 "since feeling is first" was published in which of the following books?
The Enormous Room

Tulips & Chimneys

EIMI

is 5
19 In what year was this poem published?
1926

1936

1916

1946
20 Which of the following best describes the collection in which this poem was published?
Experimental and unconventional

Violent and gory

Traditional and conforming

Kitsch and cheesy
21 Which of the following is an example of mathematical language within the poem?
"[...] is less than [...]"

"wholly to be a fool"

"i swear by all flowers"

"we are for each other"
22 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the use of the word "wholly" in the poem?
It is repeated twice.

It is used in an alliteration.

It evokes a sense of holiness and sacredness in addition to perfection.

It is evocative of the word "holy."
23 "the best gesture of my brain is less than / your eyelids’ flutter" is an example of which of the following?
Personification

Asyndeton

Alliteration

Synecdoche
24 "laugh, leaning back in my arms / for life’s not a paragraph" does NOT contain which of the following?
Synecdoche

Metaphor

Alliteration

Sarcasm
25 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the use of the word "paragraph" in this poem?
It is antithetical to the word "syntax" in an earlier stanza.

It may symbolize the artificiality of linguistic constructs.

It is parallel to the word "parenthesis" in the subsequent line.

It may symbolize the simplicity of linguistic constructs.

since feeling is first Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for since feeling is first is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for since feeling is first

since feeling is first study guide contains a biography of E. E. Cummings, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for since feeling is first…