Question

question 2 of 20
read these lines from walt whitmans \song of myself\:
the last scud of day holds back for me,
it flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the
shadowd wilds,
it coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.
i depart as air, i shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
i effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
what is one purpose of the simile in this poem?
a. to make an animal seem like a peer to the speaker
b. to link two unlike concepts: mountains and burial mounds
c. to make a connection between the speaker and the reader
d. to compare the speaker to a force of nature

Explanation:

In the lines "I depart as air...", the speaker is compared to air (a force of nature) using the simile "as". This comparison emphasizes the speaker's connection to the natural world and their fluid, elemental nature. Options A, B, and C are not supported by the text. There is no mention of an animal (A), mountains or burial mounds (B), and the focus is on the speaker's relationship with nature, not directly with the reader (C).

Answer:

D. To compare the speaker to a force of nature