By the Stream
Paul Laurence Dunbar
By the stream I dream in calm delight, and watch as in a glass,
How the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued and white-robed maidens pass,
And the water into ripples breaks and sparkles as it spreads,
Like a host of armored knights with silver helmets on their heads.
And I deem the stream an emblem fit of human life may go, (5)
For I find a mind may sparkle much and yet but shallows show,
And a soul may glow with myriad lights and wondrous mysteries,
When it only lies a dormant thing and mirrors what it sees.
Which type of figurative language is used in lines two and four of this poem?
1. A simple, straightforward depiction of a natural scene.
2. An observation of nature that reveals something about human nature.
3. A complicated explanation of a scientific process at work in nature.
4. An unrealistic, exaggerated depiction of an observed scene.