16Hit1600
Information and IdeasHardQuotation supporting a claim about a poem's use of sound

Information and Ideas practice question

A critic argues that the poem uses the sounds of words to imitate the thing it describes.

Which quotation from the poem would best support the critic's claim?

  1. A. 'The stream slid slick and silver over stone, / hissing where it thinned across the shallows.'Correct
  2. B. 'The stream was cold and I did not go in.'
  3. C. 'We walked beside the water for an hour.'
  4. D. 'The map showed a stream, and there it was.'

Answer: A. 'The stream slid slick and silver over stone, / hissing where it thinned across the shallows.'

Hissing s-sounds imitate the water over stone.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. 'The stream was cold and I did not go in.'
Plain statement, no sound effect.
C. 'We walked beside the water for an hour.'
Narration, no imitation.
D. 'The map showed a stream, and there it was.'
Plain statement.

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