Question

Read the poem.

The Whippoorwill
by Madison Julius Cawein

I.

Above lone woodland ways that led
To dells the stealthy twilights tread
The west was hot geranium red;
And still, and still,
Along old lanes the locusts sow
With clustered pearls the Maytimes know,
Deep in the crimson afterglow,
We heard the homeward cattle low,
And then the far-off, far-off woe
Of "whippoorwill!" of "whippoorwill!"

II.

Beneath the idle beechen boughs
We heard the far bells of the cows
Come slowly jangling towards the house;
And still, and still,
Beyond the light that would not die
Out of the scarlet-haunted sky;
Beyond the evening star's white eye
Of glittering chalcedony,
Drained out of dusk the plaintive cry
Of "whippoorwill," of "whippoorwill."

III.

And in the city oft, when swims
The pale moon o'er the smoke that dims
Its disc, I dream of wildwood limbs;
And still, and still,
I seem to hear, where shadows grope
Mid ferns and flowers that dewdrops rope,
Lost in faint deeps of heliotrope
Above the clover-sweetened slope,
Retreat, despairing, past all hope,
The whippoorwill, the whippoorwill.

Whippoorwill - a nocturnal bird with a distinctive call that is suggestive of its name

Part A

What is a theme of “The Whippoorwill”?

Responses

A) One can find serenity and hope in nature.

B) The mind can play tricks on a person.

C) Memories of our past will always linger.

D) Peace found in nature can sustain one in the city.

Question 2
Part B - Points depend on a correct response in Part A.

How does the theme in Part A develop in the poem?


A) The speaker regrets his move to the city and thinks only of his time in the countryside.

B) The countryside is full of the sounds of nature and the call of the whippoorwill.

C) Even though the moon is hidden by smoke in the city, the speaker thinks of the sights and sounds of the country.

D) Coming home in the evening to his place in the city, the speaker hears a whippoorwill.

Answer 1

B) The countryside is full of the sounds of nature and the call of the whippoorwill.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

Part A:

The theme of "The Whippoorwill" is A) One can find serenity and hope in nature.

Part B:

The theme in Part A develops in the poem as C) Even though the moon is hidden by smoke in the city, the speaker thinks of the sights and sounds of the country. The speaker in the poem recalls the peaceful and calming sounds of nature, particularly the call of the whippoorwill, and longs for the tranquility of the countryside, even when in the bustling city. The poem suggests that memories of nature can provide comfort and hope in difficult or stressful times.