Question

Select the correct answers.

Read the following excerpt from "An Essay on Criticism" by Alexander Pope. What are two of the effects of the caesura in line 12?

Now they who reach Parnassus' lofty crown,
Employ their pains to spurn some others down;
And, while self-love each jealous writer rules,
Contending wits become the sport of fools:
But still the worst with most regret commend,
For each ill author is as bad a friend
To what base ends, and by what abject ways,

Are mortals urged, through sacred lust of praise!
Ah, ne'er so dire a thirst of glory boast,
Nor in the critic let the man be lost
Good-nature and good sense must ever join;
To err is human, to forgive, divine.

A. It sets up a contrast between "To err" and "to forgive."
B. It helps the speaker emphasize the idea of forgiveness.
C. It shows that the speaker is changing the subject.
D. It creates conflict between the speaker and the reader.

Answer 1

My guess is A. It sets up a contrast between "To err" and "to forgive." had to look up caesura on poetry to really understand the question.

Answer 2

Answer: A) It sets up a contrast between "To err" and "to forgive" and B) It helps the speaker emphasize the idea of forgiveness.

Explanation: In poetry, a caesura is a pause in a line that is formed by the rhythms of natural speech rather than meter. A caesura will usually occur in the middle of a line of poetry but can occur at the beginning or the end of a line. In the given excerpt the use of the caesura in the last line, shows contrast between to err and to forgive and it helps the speaker emphasize the idea of forgiveness.