Mary Oliver's This World

By juxtaposing the two images contained in these lines, the poem suggests that--

• geese possess a beauty and strength

• like most animals, people are controlled by instinct

• the natural world is free of guilt and accusation

• animals are able to choose their own path

Which of these lines provides the best evidence that the poem promotes gaining self-awareness through intuition?

• You only have to let the soft animal of your body/love what it loves.

• Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,/ are heading home again.

• Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain/ are moving across the landscapes

• You do not have to walk on your knees/for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

Which definition best matches the use of the word "place" in line 17

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

"Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on.

• the futility of talk

• the need for forgiveness

• the desire for change

• the uselessness of hope

By beginning lines 1, 2, and 4 with "You" and then beginning lines 7, 8, and 12 with "Meanwhile," the poet emphasizes--

• the moral imperative for each person to take responsibility for protecting the natural world

• the contrast between the misery of a person lost in despair and the magnificence of the natural word

• the parallel between the changing phases in a person's life and the eternal cycles found in nature

• the need for each person to understand the geographic features of his or her environment.

The tone of this section of the poem can best be described as--

• uplifting

• straightforward

• conversational

• condescending

These lines suggest that the poet's purpose for writing the poem is to persuade the reader to

• re-examine old assumptions about human nature compared with the nature of animals

• appreciate how natural forces work in nature

• develop an understanding of the role people play in the natural world

• overcome alienation by creating a new relationship with the natural world

The tone of the photograph can best be described as

• scornful

• uninhibited

• fierce

• apprehensive