Question

the following text is from robert frosts 1916 poem \the oven bird.\ there is a singer everyone has heard, loud, a mid - summer and a mid - wood bird, who makes the solid tree trunks sound again. he says that leaves are old and that for flowers mid - summer is to spring as one to ten. he says the early petal - fall is past when pear and cherry bloom went down in showers on sunny days a moment overcast; and comes that other fall we name the fall. he says the highway dust is over all. 10 mark for review what does the text most strongly suggest about the speakers interpretation of the birds song? a the bird celebrates the enduring vitality of the forest even as summer progresses. b the bird mourns the destruction caused by storms that damaged the spring blossoms. c the birds song conveys that mid - summer represents a decline from the abundance of spring. d the bird warns that autumn will arrive more suddenly than most observers expect.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option by matching it with the poem's lines:

• Option A: The poem doesn't emphasize the forest's vitality; instead, it focuses on the contrast between summer and spring. Eliminate A.
• Option B: There's no mention of storms damaging spring blossoms. The "early petal - fall" and "pear and cherry bloom went down" seem more about the natural progression of seasons, not storm - caused destruction. Eliminate B.
• Option C: The line "Mid - summer is to spring as one to ten" shows that mid - summer is much less abundant than spring. Also, the references to "early petal - fall", "other fall we name the fall", and "highway dust is over all" suggest a decline from spring's abundance. This option matches the poem's tone.
• Option D: The poem doesn't focus on the suddenness of autumn's arrival but on the decline from spring to mid - summer and the approach of fall. Eliminate D.

Answer:

C. The bird's song conveys that mid - summer represents a decline from the abundance of spring.