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 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?
Sexual desire

Food and water

Cigar smoke

The holy spirit
3 Which assumption does the speaker attempt to dismantle?
That her physical attraction is a sign of love

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

That her love means she consents to sex
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 writing a letter

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

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

The blood

The book

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

ABAB ABAB

ABBA ABBA

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

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love

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 7

After line 8

After line 12

After line 4
10 Which social norms does the poem interrogate?
The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century

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?
English sonnet

Sestina

Italian sonnet

Ghazal
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

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?
My scorn with pity,—let me make it plain:

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

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?
Fat

Sturdy

Small

Loud
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?
undone, possessed

weight upon my breast

my stout blood

life designed
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?
Renascence and Other Poems

A Few Figs and Thistles

Aria da Capo

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems
19 What is the poem's primary meter?
Iambic trimeter

Trochaic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

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

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

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

Blend

Flavor

Season
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?
Gentle

Ironic

Passionate

Apathetic
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?
Proximity

Cleverness

Sarcasm

Boldness
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?
CD CE CD CE

CDECDE

CDED CDED

CDCDCD

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