Question

lyric poems often deal with intense emotion. Which statement best describes the shift in emotion in "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as it moves from the first into the second stanza

Answer 1

The poem feels joyful at a victory for the whole of the first stanza, but the second stanza starts to sound much more cold and stony, as if someone died. It's a very big difference, and it's like a story about a journey home from a long battle.

Answer 2

The joyful call of the first stanza gives way to a bitter recounting of history in the second.