since feeling is first Quizzes

since feeling is first Quiz

1 Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of "since feeling is first"?

Wisdom is the highest virtue.

Both in love and in life, you must prioritize feeling over thinking.

Love is but an illusion.

You must be conscious of the consequences of your actions.
2 What does "syntax" stand for in the poem?

Love

Reason

Emotion

Inefficiency
3 Why is the person "who pays any attention to the syntax of things" unable to "wholly kiss" the addressee?

Because this person has a short attention span

Because this person is too emotional for the addressee

Because a kiss requires feeling, and this person prioritizes reason over feeling

Because the addressee dislikes people who study syntax and grammar
4 Which of the following best describes the form and meter of this poem?

Ballad meter

Sonnet

Free verse

Blank verse
5 Which of the following is not a major theme of this poem?

Love

Life and death

Religion

Language
6 Which of the following does NOT contain an example of alliteration or consonance?

“eyelids’ flutter”

“death i think is no parenthesis”

“feeling is first”

"laugh, leaning”
7 What is ironic about this poem?

It is not actually about feeling.

The speaker does not actually love the addressee.

We know, but the speaker does not, that this love is going to fail.

Cummings uses syntax to write this poem.
8 Which of the following best describes the structure of this poem?

Evocative of the structure of another poem

Loose; resisting a narrative structure

Following a linear narrative

Heavily based on repetition
9 Which of the following is a personification?

"life's not a paragraph"

"i swear by all flowers"

"kisses are a better fate"

“my blood approves"
10 Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the tone of the speaker?

Pessimistic

Philosophical

Assertive

Affectionate
11 Which of the following best describes the setting of the poem?

Pastoral

Unspecified, abstract

Urban

Intergalactic
12 Which of the following is not an example of synecdoche in this poem?

“your eyelids’”

"Spring is in the world"

“my brain”

“my blood”
13 "Spring" symbolize which of the following?

War, violence, and discord

Death, trauma, and pain

Aging, senility, and vulnerability

Fertility, vitality, and youth
14 Which of the following is NOT a symbolic meaning that "flowers" may have in this poem?

Artificiality

Nature

Ephemerality

Fertility
15 Which of the following best describes the word play between "Spring" and "blood"?

The speaker is trying to be resilient like a "spring" after witnessing "bloodshed" and violence.

"Spring" is a "bloody" season.

"Blood" can "spring" forth.

Hot water "springs" are good for "blood" circulation.
16 What does the speaker mean when they say "death i think is no parenthesis"?

Death is an inevitable part of the human experience.

What happens after death is a mystery.

Death is something that can be ignored.

Death is not something we should keep in mind in everyday life.
17 How is the lady's attitude different from that of the speaker?

She believes in logic and reason.

She is less optimistic.

She is more religious.

She is more aggressive.
18 "since feeling is first" was published in which of the following books?

Tulips & Chimneys

is 5

The Enormous Room

EIMI
19 In what year was this poem published?

1926

1946

1916

1936
20 Which of the following best describes the collection in which this poem was published?

Violent and gory

Kitsch and cheesy

Experimental and unconventional

Traditional and conforming
21 Which of the following is an example of mathematical language within the poem?

"we are for each other"

"[...] is less than [...]"

"i swear by all flowers"

"wholly to be a fool"
22 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the use of the word "wholly" in the poem?

It is evocative of the word "holy."

It is used in an alliteration.

It is repeated twice.

It evokes a sense of holiness and sacredness in addition to perfection.
23 "the best gesture of my brain is less than / your eyelids’ flutter" is an example of which of the following?

Synecdoche

Alliteration

Personification

Asyndeton
24 "laugh, leaning back in my arms / for life’s not a paragraph" does NOT contain which of the following?

Alliteration

Metaphor

Sarcasm

Synecdoche
25 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the use of the word "paragraph" in this poem?

It is parallel to the word "parenthesis" in the subsequent line.

It may symbolize the artificiality of linguistic constructs.

It is antithetical to the word "syntax" in an earlier stanza.

It may symbolize the simplicity of linguistic constructs.

since feeling is first Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for since feeling is first is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for since feeling is first

since feeling is first study guide contains a biography of E. E. Cummings, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for since feeling is first…