"The Tables Turned" & "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: What metaphor does Wordsworth develop throughout the first poem?

• He compares a bird to a preacher, communicating religious

  devotion through its powerful song.

• He compares Nature to a teacher, communicating wisdom through health and cheerfulness.

• He compares a bird to a preacher, crying out against the study of

  science and art.

• He compares Nature to a teacher, encouraging the study of science and art.

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Part B: How does the metaphor identified in Part A help create mood and

add meaning?

• It creates an optimistic mood, leading readers to view the

  experience of nature as a more beneficial alternative to

  intellectual study.

• It creates a somber mood, leading readers to view the spiritual

  impact of nature as more valuable than its sensory pleasures.

• It creates a mistrustful mood, leading readers to question

  humanity’s chances of ever understanding the natural world.

• It creates a tense mood, leading readers to view traditional

  education as a corrupting influence.

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The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: Which of the following identifies a key idea of the first poem?

• Schools should teach students about nature.

• Studying books suppresses lively spirits.

• Open-minded students learn most.

• Happiness is a choice.

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Part B: Which quotation from the text is the best evidence for the answer to Part A?

• “Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;” (line 3)

• “Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife:” (line 9)

• “Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;” (line 25)

• “. . . bring with you a heart / That watches and receives.” (lines

  31–32)

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What complex idea is expressed by the metaphor in line 28, and what universal

theme does it help convey?

• Complex Idea: Scientific analysis is an act of violence that distorts

  nature.

  Theme: It is better to experience nature than study it.

• Complex Idea: Scientific analysis is an act of violence that distorts

  nature.

  Theme: Science strives to destroy the natural world.

• Complex Idea: Attempts to understand the world will never succeed.

  Theme: Human arrogance is its own undoing.

• Complex Idea: Attempts to understand the world will never succeed.

  Theme: The happiest life is the life of ignorance.

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In the second poem, Whitman uses juxtapositions to contrast two ways of looking at

nature. Which is an example of such a juxtaposition, and what is its effect?

• He juxtaposes the “proofs” and the “applause” at the lecture with the “mystical moist night air” and “perfect silence” outside. This juxtaposition helps readers see science as excluding what is important when it strives to analyze nature.

• He juxtaposes the “proofs” and the “applause” at the lecture with the “mystical moist night air” and “perfect silence” outside. This juxtaposition helps readers see science and poetry as two equally valid ways of approaching nature.

• He juxtaposes the “figures . . . ranged in columns before me” with the astronomer’s “charts” and “diagrams.” This juxtaposition helps readers see science as excluding what is important when it strives to analyze nature.

• He juxtaposes the “figures . . . ranged in columns before me” with the astronomer’s “charts” and “diagrams.” This juxtaposition helps readers see science and poetry as two equally valid ways of approaching nature.

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In what way does Whitman most clearly create ambiguity in the second poem?

• On the one hand, Whitman uses the terms learn’d and applause to describe the astronomer and others’ response to him. On the other hand, the poem is an account of the speaker’s private experience, leaving it ambiguous whether the speaker prefers fame or privacy.

• On the one hand, Whitman uses the terms learn’d and applause to

  describe the astronomer and others’ response to him. On the other hand,

  the poem is an account of the speaker’s private experience, leaving it

  ambiguous whether we can ever be truly alone.

• On the one hand, Whitman uses the terms unaccountable and perfect

  silence to suggest an encounter with nature without words. On the other

  hand, the poem itself is an account in words, leaving it ambiguous

  whether we ever encounter things without explaining or judging them.

• On the one hand, Whitman uses the terms unaccountable and perfect

  silence to suggest an encounter with nature without words. On the other

  hand, the poem itself is an account in words, leaving it ambiguous

  whether the speaker values the lecture more than the silence after all.

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Which is the best analysis of Whitman’s use of anaphora in the first four lines of the second poem?

• Anaphora: Ideas are presented in series, such as “proofs,” “figures," “charts,” and “diagrams.”

  Effect: It makes the main ideas in the lecture easier to follow and remember.

• Anaphora: Ideas are presented in series, such as “proofs,” “figures,” “charts,” and “diagrams.”

  Effect: It emphasizes the speaker’s mounting dissatisfaction with the astronomer’s lecture.

• Anaphora: The word When is repeated at the beginning of each clause.

  Effect: It makes the main ideas in the lecture easier to follow and remember.

• Anaphora: The word When is repeated at the beginning of each clause.

  Effect: It emphasizes the speaker’s mounting dissatisfaction with the

  astronomer’s lecture.

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The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: Which best describes Wordsworth’s and Whitman’s uses of imagery in

their depictions of nature and intellect?

• Wordsworth’s imagery emphasizes the toil of intellect (“’tis a dull and endless strife”), while Whitman’s imagery emphasizes the stability of intellect (“to add, divide, and measure them”).

• Wordsworth’s imagery emphasizes the stability of intellect (“Enough of Science and of Art”), while Whitman’s imagery emphasizes the toil of intellect (“I became tired and sick”).

• Wordsworth’s imagery emphasizes the physical experience of nature (“breathed by health”), while Whitman’s imagery emphasizes the spiritual communion with nature (“Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars”).

• Wordsworth’s imagery emphasizes the spiritual communion with

  nature (“Come forth into the light of things”), while Whitman’s imagery emphasizes the physical experience of nature (“rising and gliding out”).

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Part B: What common insight do the poets express using the imagery identified in Part A?

• Both show intellect conflicting with the direct enjoyment of nature.

• Both show experiencing nature as a complement to studying it.

• Both show that intellect enhances the enjoyment of nature.

• Both show experiencing nature as inferior to studying it.

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