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 believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

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

The speaker describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality
2 What does the phrase "fume of life" refer to?

Sexual desire

The holy spirit

Cigar smoke

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

That her physical attraction is a sign that she is impure or sexually experienced

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
4 What function does the poem's opening word serve?

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance

It tells us that the speaker is writing a letter

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

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

AABB AABB

ABA ABA ABA

ABAB ABAB

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

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

Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love
8 What does "zest" mean in the poem's context?

Desire

Citrus rind

Revulsion

Pain
9 Where is the poem's volta?

After line 8

After line 7

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 woman

They are a young man

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?

Revolution

Familial relationship

Violence

Sexual desire
13 What is this poem's form?

Italian sonnet

Ghazal

English sonnet

Sestina
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.

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

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

Fat

Sturdy

Loud
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?

undone, possessed

life designed

my stout blood

weight upon my breast
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?

Renascence and Other Poems

Aria da Capo

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

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

Trochaic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

Am urged by your propinquity to find

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

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

Blend

Breed

Season

Flavor
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Gentle

Apathetic

Passionate

Ironic
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?

Boldness

Proximity

Cleverness

Sarcasm
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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