16Hit1600
Information and IdeasHardQuotation supporting a claim about a poem's structure

Information and Ideas practice question

A critic argues that the poem's final line reverses the mood of everything before it.

Which quotation would best support the critic's claim?

  1. A. '…and so I closed the shutters on the night, / the cold, the dark, the long unanswered years — / and found the morning waiting on the sill.'Correct
  2. B. 'The night was cold and the dark was long.'
  3. C. 'I closed the shutters and I went to bed.'
  4. D. 'The years went by unanswered, one by one.'

Answer: A. '…and so I closed the shutters on the night, / the cold, the dark, the long unanswered years — / and found the morning waiting on the sill.'

Cold, dark, unanswered — then a morning waiting: the turn in the last line.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. 'The night was cold and the dark was long.'
Bleak throughout, no reversal.
C. 'I closed the shutters and I went to bed.'
Neutral, no reversal.
D. 'The years went by unanswered, one by one.'
Bleak, no reversal.

More Information and Ideas questions

Not affiliated with the College Board. SAT is a trademark of the College Board.