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 describes her sexual desires as contradictory to her rationality

The speaker believes objectivity and rationality to be nonexistent and impossible

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

The speaker admires her lover's ability to behave rationally
2 What does the phrase "fume of life" refer to?
Cigar smoke

The holy spirit

Food and water

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 of love

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
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 hints at the speaker's self-assurance

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 brain

The fume

The blood
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 the domain of women and lust as the domain of men

Love and lust are portrayed as being distinct and independent

Love is portrayed as inevitably resulting from lust and attraction

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 norms of politeness and veiled language predominant in Victorian society

The norms surrounding division of labor in the Edwardian household

The labor structures and inequalities of the gilded age

The sexual and gender norms of the early twentieth century
11 Which of the following is true of the addressee?
They are a young man

They are an older man

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

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

Sexual desire

Revolution

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

Ghazal

Italian sonnet

English sonnet
14 Which of the following is an example of personification?
feel a certain zest / To bear your body’s weight

distressed / By all the needs and notions of my kind

the poor treason / Of my stout blood

season / My scorn with pity
15 Which line contains alliterative N sounds?
My scorn with pity,—let me make it plain:

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest
16 What does "stout" mean in the context of this poem?
Small

Sturdy

Fat

Loud
17 Which phrase contains alliterative I sounds?
weight upon my breast

undone, possessed

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 pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

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

Am urged by your propinquity to find

To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:

I find this frenzy insufficient reason
21 Which verb is metaphorically used to describe the mixing of emotions?
Season

Breed

Flavor

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

Passionate

Gentle

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

Boldness

Proximity

Sarcasm
24 Which best describes the speaker?
Mysterious, disembodied spirit

Wise mother

Self-possessed woman

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

CDED CDED

CDCDCD

CD CE CD CE

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