Question

hope
i hope was but a timid friend—
she sat without my guarded den
watching how my fate would tend
even as selfish-hearted men.

5 she was clad in her fear.
through the bars, one dreary day,
i looked out to see her there
and she turned her face away!

like a false guard false watch keeping
still in strife she whispered peace;
she would sing while i was weeping;
if i listened, the world cease.

false she was, and unrelenting,
when my last joys strewed the ground
even sorrow saw repenting
those sad relics scattered round;

hope—whose whisper would have given
balm to all that frenzied pain - “
in lines 17-18?

○ feeling calmed by quiet support is hard when in the midst of suffering.
○ in the middle of a crisis, people cannot often see the positives.
○ just a little bit of hope can help heal a sad spirit.
○ we cannot see the good in people while focused on the negatives.

what does the poet mean when she writes “hope - whose whisper would have given
balm to all that frenzied pain - ” in lines 17-18?

Explanation:

The poem "Hope" and the question about the meaning of a line relate to analyzing literary works, which falls under Literature (a subfield of Arts). The line "Hope - whose whisper would have given Balm to all that frenzied pain" suggests hope's healing effect. Among the options, "Just a little bit of hope can help heal a sad spirit" matches this idea as "balm" implies healing, and "frenzied pain" relates to a sad spirit. Other options don't align: the first is about support being hard, the second about not seeing positives in crisis, the fourth about focusing on negatives.

Answer:

Just a little bit of hope can help heal a sad spirit.