Question

Read the poem.

Aphra Behn lived and wrote in the 1600s and was the first woman in England to make a living as a professional writer. A political spy, playwright, novelist, and poet, Aphra broke social barriers while her literary works tackled controversial topics, including slavery, racism, desire, and gender. Her writings were considered scandalous for the time.

A Thousand Martyrs by Aphra Behn A thousand martyrs I have made, All sacrificed to my desire; A thousand beauties have betrayed, That languish in resistless fire. The untamed heart to hand I brought, And fixed the wild and wandering thought. I never vowed nor sighed in vain But both, though false, were well received. The fair are pleased to give us pain, And what they wish is soon believed. And though I talked of wounds and smart, Love’s pleasures only touched my heart. Alone the glory and the spoil I always laughing bore away; The triumphs, without pain or toil, Without the hell, the heav’n of joy. And while I thus at random rove Despise the fools that whine for love.

Read these lines from the poem.

And though I talked of wounds and smart, Love’s pleasures only touched my heart.

How do these lines reflect the central idea that the speaker uses people in relationships?
(A) The words reflect the insincerity of the speaker's appeal to emotions.

(B) The lines show that the speaker only pretends to have feelings for others.

(C) The lines are a statement of the speaker's embarrassment.

(D) The lines imply that the speaker has felt passion deeply.

Answer 1

Read these lines from the poem.

And though I talked of wounds and smart, Love’s pleasures only touched my heart.

How do these lines reflect the central idea that the speaker uses people in relationships?

The answer is:

(B) The lines show that the speaker only pretends to have feelings for others.

The speaker is talking about how he has enjoyed from relationships without compromise his heart pretending his feelings as we can observe from the line "love's pleasures only touched my heart" making reference he did not suffer of love. In addition, at the end he said "Despise the fools that whine for love.", it means that he never felt love for anyone.

So, he is just bragging his "thousand of beauties" thus reflecting the central idea that he uses people in relationships.