Question

adapted from One of the Crowd by Witter Bynner Oh I longed, when I went in the woods today, To see the fauns come out and play, To see a satyr try to seize A dryad by his knobby knees, 5 To see a river-nymph waylay And shock him with a dash of spray! And I teased like a child, by brooks and trees "Come back again we need you please! Come back and teach us how to play!" 10 But nowhere in the woods were they. I found, when I went in the town today A thousand people on their way to offices and factories And never a single soul at ease And how could I help but sigh and say 15 "What can it profit them, how can it pay To strain the eye with rivalries Until the dark is all it sees? Or to manage more than others may To store the wasted gain away? 20 But one of the crowd stepped from the throng today With pointed brows and I heard him say "Out of the meadows and rivers and trees We fauns and many companies Of nymphs have come and we are these, 25 These people, each upon his way, Looking for work, and working for pay— 5 Select the correct note. Which lines from the passage best reveal the theme that magic can be lost to industry

Answer 1

The theme that magic can be lost to industry is best revealed in the lines 18-20 of the passage, that magic can be lost to industry, showing the strain of life in offices and factories and the yearning for the mystical elements of nature that are replaced by industrial and mechanical concerns.

Step-by-step explanation:

The theme that magic can be lost to industry is best revealed in the lines 18-20 of the passage:

But one of the crowd stepped from the throng today
With pointed brows and I heard him say
"Out of the meadows and rivers and trees

We fauns and many companies
Of nymphs have come and we are these

These people, each upon his way,
Looking for work, and working for pay—

These lines suggest that the fauns and nymphs, symbolic of magic and nature, have become a part of the crowd of people who are focused on industry and work. The speaker longs for the presence of these magical creatures but realizes that in the modern world, the pursuit of industry has caused the loss of magic.