Question

Read these lines from the poem.

There are strange things done in the midnight sun


By the men who moil for gold;


The Arctic trails have their secret tales


That would make your blood run cold;



How do these lines evoke a sense of time and place in which this poem is set?



A.) The mention of "Arctic trails" and "make your blood run cold" suggests that the poem takes place during an expedition to the North Pole.


B.) The mention of the "midnight sun" and men who "moil for gold" indicates that the poem takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon in the late nineteenth century.


C.) The phrases "strange things" and "Arctic trails" suggest something supernatural happens in the poem in the wilderness.


D.) The phrases "strange things" and "secret tales" evoke a sense of mystery, indicating that the poem takes place during the Cold War in the 1950s in Russia.

Answer 1

How do these lines evoke a sense of time and place in which this poem is set?

B) The mention of the "midnight sun" and men who "moil for gold" indicates that the poem takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon in the late nineteenth century.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Yukon territory, north of the Arctic Circle, a phenomenon called the Midnight Sun occurs from June to September. The sun does not really set during summer, remaining visible even at midnight. Since the author of the poem mentions the Midnight Sun, we can safely assume he is talking about a place either north of the Arctic Circle, or south of the Antarctic Circle. How do we know, then, that this is about Yukon? Because of the phrase "moil for gold". The author is talking of the Klondike Gold Rush that took place in the Yukon territory. When news spread that gold had been found in the area, around 10,000 people migrated to Yukon to mine for the valuable metal.