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 describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally

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

The holy spirit

Food and water

Cigar smoke

Sexual desire
3 Which assumption does the speaker attempt to dismantle?

That her love means she consents to sex

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 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 tells us that the speaker is taking on a false identity

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 blood

The fume

The book

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

ABBA ABBA

ABA ABA ABA

AABB AABB

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

Lust is portrayed as a force tarnishing the purity of love

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

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
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 7

After line 12

After line 4
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 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?

We know nothing of the addressee except that the speaker dislikes them

They are an older man

They are a young man

They are a young woman
12 Which of the following does "blood" symbolize?

Revolution

Sexual desire

Familial relationship

Violence
13 What is this poem's form?

English sonnet

Italian sonnet

Sestina

Ghazal
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?

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

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

And leave me once again undone, possessed.
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?

Loud

Fat

Sturdy

Small
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?

weight upon my breast

life designed

my stout blood

undone, possessed
18 In which poetry collection did this work first appear?

The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems

Renascence and Other Poems

Aria da Capo

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

Iambic trimeter

Trochaic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

Trochaic pentameter
20 Which line contains alliterative B sounds?

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

I shall remember you with love, or season

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

Flavor

Blend

Season
22 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Ironic

Gentle

Passionate

Apathetic
23 What does the word "propinquity" mean?

Boldness

Cleverness

Proximity

Sarcasm
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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