AP English Literature & Composition B UNIT 3
Poetry: Sound, Syntax, and Structure Unit Test (15 points)
“LXV [Once, I knew a fine song]” by Stephen Crane
Once, I knew a fine song,
—It is true, believe me,—
It was all of birds,
And I held them in a basket;
When I opened the wicket,
Heavens! They all flew away.
I cried, “Come back, little thoughts!”
But they only laughed.
They flew on
Until they were as sand
Thrown between me and the sky.
Use the poem to answer the question.
7. If this poem were written in a closed form, how might it be different?
A. The tone would be more formal.
B. There would be a stronger rhyme scheme.
C. There would be more use of poetic devices.
D. The poet would not use first-person references.
E. The parallels between form and subject would decrease.
8. Which of the following best describes the relationship between meaning and meter in this poem?
A. The trochaic meter mimics the sound of the speaker's breath.
B. The strict meter parallels the sound of the birds' wings beating.
C. The shifting meter emphasizes the erratic behavior of the birds.
D. The iambic meter highlights the classic nature of the bird as subject.
E. The anapestic meter illustrates the unexpected movement of the birds.
9. Which of the following reading strategies is most helpful for analyzing the sound devices in the poem?
A. annotating
B. reading aloud
C. analyzing symbols
D. reading with a partner
E. summarizing the poem
10. In lines 4–5, the poet uses which of the following rhythmic elements?
A. end rhyme
B. exact rhyme
C. half rhyme
D. identical rhyme
E. internal rhyme
11. What is the purpose of the sound devices in lines 4–6?
A. The onomatopoeia makes reader feel closer to and present for the birds' movement.
B. The assonance shows the sound of the speaker's feet as he moves to free the birds.
C. The cacophony illustrates that the speaker has mixed feelings about opening the basket.
D. The alliteration demonstrates the speaker is lighthearted about his decision to let the birds go.
E. The consonance emphasizes the regularity of the speaker's movements to contrast them with the birds'.
12. The shift in syntax in lines 9–11 is likely designed to
A. provide a parallel structure to the lines 1–3.
B. mimic the fleeting nature of thoughts with informal open form poetry.
C. imitate the rhyme scheme found in a sonnet.
D. illustrate the growing distance of the birds with lines that grow in length.
E. show the speaker's loss through lack of meter.
“Swallows” by Leonora Speyer
They dip their wings in the sunset,
They dash against the air
As if to break themselves upon its stillness:
In every movement, too swift to count,
Is a revelry of indecision,
A furtive delight in trees they do not desire
And in grasses that shall not know their weight.
They hover and lean toward the meadow
With little edged cries;
And then,
As if frightened at the earth’s nearness,
They seek the high austerity of evening sky
And swirl into its depth.
“LXV [Once, I knew a fine song]” by Stephen Crane
Once, I knew a fine song,
—It is true, believe me,—
It was all of birds,
And I held them in a basket;
When I opened the wicket,
Heavens! They all flew away.
I cried, “Come back, little thoughts!”
But they only laughed.
They flew on
Until they were as sand
Thrown between me and the sky.
Use the poems to answer the question.
13. How do the themes in the two poems differ?
A. One theme in "Swallows" is the creation of joy, while a theme in "LXV" is the loss of that same type of joy.
B. One theme in "Swallows" is the necessity of movement, while a theme in "LXV" is the necessity of limitations.
C. One theme in "Swallows" is the importance of the spectator, while a theme in "LXV" is the importance of the subject.
D. One theme in "Swallows" is the beauty of freedom, while a theme in "LXV" is the loss felt when witnessing that freedom.
E. One theme in "Swallows" is the power of the creative spirit, while a theme in "LXV" is the necessary constraints on creativity.
