ELA 11 – Literature – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
How do "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex" differ in how they describe the concept of time
answer
"Psalm" suggests that the passage of time cannot defeat the soul, while "Auspex" indicates that it can.
question
What is the main idea of the first stanza of "Auspex"?
answer
NOT: My heart is beating very quickly at the moment, and I wonder how long it will last.
question
The speaker compares his heart to an empty nest in order to
answer
emphasize the fact that his love has left.
question
What is the purpose of the third stanza of "Auspex"?
answer
It contrasts the image of the birds from the first stanza.
question
Which best describes the rhyme schemes in "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex"?
answer
The poems follow different rhyme schemes.
question
What does each stanza in "Auspex" show?
answer
the different stages of a natural process
question
The use of the words "stout and brave" suggests that "our hearts" are
answer
NOT: ferocious and fearless.
question
Read the quotation from "A Psalm of Life." Let the dead past bury its dead! What is the effect of the repetition of the word "dead" in this line?
answer
It reinforces the idea that one should live in the present, not in the past.
question
How does the second stanza of "Auspex" tie the first and third stanzas together?
answer
NOT: It resolves the crucial problem that is raised in the first and third stanzas.
question
Which best describes the tone shared by "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex"?
answer
serious
question
Which is the best summary of Emerson's view of solitude expressed in Society and Solitude?
answer
NOT A. Spending time in solitude is preferable to spending time in society, and it is ultimately more beneficial.
question
Which statement best describes how the tone of Society and Solitude is different from the tone of Chapter I of Nature?
answer
Society and Solitude has a contemplative tone, while Nature has a more lyrical and whimsical tone
question
Which is the best summary of paragraph six of Chapter I of Nature?
answer
To experience nature at its fullest requires mental effort.
question
How does the relationship between "man and vegetable" described in paragraph five of Chapter I of Nature support the piece's central idea?
answer
NOT A. It indicates that a better relationship with the natural world would help improve human society.
question
How does Emerson relate independence and friendships in Society and Solitude
answer
NOT B. He considers true independence impossible within a friendship
question
What attitude toward the stars does Emerson express in the first paragraph of Chapter I of Nature?
answer
He feels they represent awe-inspiring beauty.
question
Which statement would be included in a summary of the first paragraph of Chapter I of Nature?
answer
The stars at night are beautiful but sometimes unappreciated.
question
How is the concept of solitude portrayed in both Society and Solitude and Chapter I of Nature?
answer
Solitude is viewed as a source of strength.
question
Which statement best describes how the author's purpose differs in Chapter I of Nature and Society and Solitude?
answer
NOT A. Nature is an essay in praise of nature's sublimity, while Society and Solitude is an essay in praise of being alone.
question
According to the third paragraph of Chapter I of Nature, how does Emerson define the poet's view of nature?
answer
The poet sees something in nature that cannot be quantified.
question
In paragraphs three and four of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" in Walden, how does Thoreau contrast the way he lives with the way others live?
answer
He believes his life to be extremely simple, and he believes others' lives to be needlessly complicated.
question
Read the excerpt from Walden. I am on the alert for the first signs of spring, to hear the chance note of some arriving bird, or the striped squirrel's chirp, for his stores must be now nearly exhausted, or see the woodchuck venture out of his winter quarters. How do the images in the excerpt relate to Thoreau's overall quest in Walden?
answer
NOT B. They demonstrate that Thoreau has a greater understanding of animals now than he used to have.
question
How does the progress of the last paragraph of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" communicate the main idea of Walden?
answer
Thoreau moves from gazing at the water to burrowing into the earth, just as the excerpt shows a progress from observation to contemplation.
question
[A]s the sun arose, I saw it [the pond] throwing off its nightly clothing of mist, and here and there, by degrees, its soft ripples or its smooth reflecting surface was revealed, while the mists, like ghosts, were stealthily withdrawing in every direction into the woods, as at the breaking up of some nocturnal conventicle [secret meeting]. In the excerpt, Thoreau uses imagery to describe
answer
fog slowly rising from the surface of the pond.
question
Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. Heaven is under our feet is well as over our heads. Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in this excerpt?
answer
to illustrate the author's calm, contemplative mood
question
Based on the ideas in Walden, how would Thoreau most likely feel about recent advances in technology, such as cell phones and handheld computers?
answer
He would believe they were destructive to a person's thinking ability.
question
In the first paragraph of "Conclusion" in Walden, how does Thoreau explain his departure from the woods?
answer
He explains his departure as the movement from one part of his life to another.
question
In the second paragraph of "Spring" in Walden, how does the contrast of two time periods aid the development of a theme?
answer
NOT D. The feeling of happiness Thoreau describes at the changing of the seasons parallels his contentment as his self-knowledge grows.
question
Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry—determined to make a day of it. How does Thoreau use the imagery of bells in the excerpt?
answer
NOT A. The bells represent festivity.
question
Read the excerpt from a letter Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote while imprisoned in Birmingham Jail in 1963. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. Based on his behavior in "Civil Disobedience," how would Thoreau most likely feel about King's statement?
answer
He would agree with King that one should engage in polictical protest peacefully.
question
Considering "Civil Disobedience," which best describes how Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. both felt about acts of civil disobedience?
answer
They both believed that individuals have the right and the responsibility to protest unjust laws.
