City Planners

How does the poet’s use of the words sanities, levelness, and rational affect the tone of the poem?

• She purposefully chooses words which are nostalgic and remind the audience of the past.

• She purposefully chooses words which convey a sense of urgency about urban problems.

• She purposefully chooses words which will persuade and advise the audience against spontaneity.

• She purposefully chooses words which sound neutral to convey the idea of uniformity in suburban life.

What does the phrase “rational whine” mean in line 11?

• unusual designs

• a broken machine

• a routine activity

• unseen distractions

What is the purpose of the figurative language in lines 11–12?

• to show how much the speaker dislikes yard work

• to show how badly the landscape has been maintained

• to show how the equipment is unable to operate correctly

• to show how nature is not easily forced into a pattern

Which phrase provides a contrast to the uniformity of the neighborhood?

• “the roofs all display / the same slant of avoidance”

• “a splash of paint on brick surprising as a bruise”

• “a plastic hose poised in a vicious / coil”

• “the too-fixed stare of the wide windows”

How does the poem’s structure reveal conflicts between the ideals of the speaker and those of the City Planners?

• The speaker’s complaints in the opening stanzas transition to the adverse description of the City Planners in the last stanzas.

• Each stanza provides lengthy descriptions of the City Planners’ thoughts and minimal descriptions of the speaker’s motivations.

• The long stanzas reveal positive memories for the speaker, and the short stanzas convey negative remarks about the City Planners.

• Each stanza presents an unbiased view of the speaker’s emotions and then a biased interpretation of the City Planners’ actions.

How does the poet’s use of personification affect the poem?

• It directs the focus to the condition of the streets.

• It introduces a sense of suspense and a negative tone.

• It reinforces the sympathetic and emotional mood.

• It causes curiosity about what will happen to the houses.