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 believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

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

The holy spirit

Sexual desire

Cigar smoke
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 writing a letter

It hints at the speaker's self-assurance

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 book

The fume

The blood

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

ABBA ABBA

ABAB ABAB

AABB AABB
7 How does the poem present the relationship between love and lust?
Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love

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?
Revulsion

Pain

Desire

Citrus rind
9 Where is the poem's volta?
After line 8

After line 4

After line 7

After line 12
10 Which social norms does the poem interrogate?
The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century

The norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society
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

Sexual desire

Violence

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

Sestina

Italian sonnet

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

season / My scorn with pity

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

feel a certain zest / To bear your body’s weight
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?
By all the needs and notions of my kind,

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

My scorn with pity,—let me make it plain:
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?
Loud

Small

Sturdy

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

weight upon my breast

life designed

my stout blood
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?
Renascence and Other Poems

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

A Few Figs and Thistles

Aria da Capo
19 What is the poem's primary meter?
Trochaic pentameter

Trochaic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?
To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

Am urged by your propinquity to find

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

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

Blend

Flavor

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

Passionate

Apathetic

Gentle
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?
Sarcasm

Cleverness

Proximity

Boldness
24 Which best describes the speaker?
Self-possessed woman

Mysterious, disembodied spirit

Wise mother

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

CD CE CD CE

CDECDE

CDED CDED

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