Question

“Monet's 'Waterlilies'”

by Robert Hayden

Today as the news from Selma and Saigon
poisons the air like fallout,
I come again to see
the serene, great picture that I love.

Here space and time exist in light
the eye like the eye of faith believes.
The seen, the known
dissolve in iridescence, become
illusive flesh of light
that was not, was, forever is.

O light beheld as through refracting tears.
Here is the aura of that world
each of us has lost.
Here is the shadow of its joy.

- Which line from "Monet’s ‘Waterlilies’” by Robert Hayden best demonstrates the speaker’s regret about the effects of violence and destruction in the world?


1 - “Here space and time exist in light”

2 - “The seen, the known / dissolve”

3 - “O light beheld as through refracting tears.”

4 - “Here is the shadow of its joy.”

Answer 1

3.O light be held as though refracting tears #3

Answer 2

3 - “O light beheld as through refracting tears.”

Step-by-step explanation:

This is the sentence that best describes the author's regret about the effects of violence and destruction in the world. The author describes how the world has received terrible news recently, and everything seems bleak and hopeless. However, when he looks at Monet's waterlilies, he remembers a world before all this suffering. The author tells us that looking at the painting feels like looking at light through tears. The tears represent the author's regret over the situation that the world is in.