“How Nature’s Beauties Should Be Viewed”

“How Nature’s Beauties Should Be Viewed”

Multiple Choice

Should man, with microscopic eye,

View the details of Nature’s plan,

Into each nook and corner pry,

And needlessly the hidden scan?

5Should he inspect each bud and flow’r,

With close, unmeant, uncall’d-for look,

And, by his analytic pow’r,

Dissolve each charm of vale or brook?

How do the words “microscopic eye,” “pry,” “inspect,” and “dissolve” in stanzas 1-2 affect the tone of the poem?

• The word choice introduces a reverent tone about the allure of natural landscapes that can only be found in the wild.

• The word choice introduces a friendly tone and encourages the audience to make time to explore nature.

• The word choice introduces a critical tone to imply that scientific inquiry ruins the appeal of nature.

• The word choice introduces an earnest tone and reminds the audience that people’s actions have profound impacts on nature.

Multiple Choice

Should he resolve the rainbow’s hues,

10 Into their prime and simple forms,

And thus the charm dispel, unloose,

Which gladdens us, amid the storms?

What can be inferred from lines 9-12?

• Rainbows symbolize new beginnings.

• Rainbows should be admired, not analyzed.

• Rainbows are beloved because they are so rare.

• Rainbows are wrongly associated with magical qualities.

Multiple Choice

Should he, with keen, inquiring look,

Insist on knowing, seeing all,

15 Which nature made a sealed book

On this, our strange, terrestrial ball?

How does the metaphor developed in lines 13-16 help the reader understand the speaker’s perception of nature?

• It emphasizes the mysteriousness of nature.

• It emphasizes man’s lack of control over nature.

• It emphasizes the simplicity of nature.

• It emphasizes man’s responsibility to protect nature.

Multiple Choice

And so, I apprehend, that we

30 Should oft restrain our thoughts and sigh,

Nor delve too far, not try to see,

With deeper, but more painful light.

What does the phrase “painful light” mean in line 32?

• blind indifference

• casual glance

• daily routine

• destructive investigation