Question

read the first stanza of \some keep the sabbath going to church.\

some keep the sabbath going to church -
i keep it, staying at home -
with a bobolink for a chorister -
and an orchard, for a dome -

what does the use of the words \orchard\ and \dome\ suggest?

that the speaker believes that faith can be glimpsed only in the natural world
that the speakers innocence allows her to view religion as an extension of nature
that the speaker is able to see and feel her faith in the nature that surrounds her
that the speaker only feels close to her faith when she is enjoying the world of nature

Explanation:

⚡ Using what you learned: close reading methods for poetic texts

Step 1: Analyze the Contrast in the Stanza

The speaker contrasts how "some" keep the Sabbath (by going to a physical church building) with how she keeps it (by staying at home in nature).

Step 2: Interpret the Metaphors

The speaker uses natural elements to replace traditional church features:

• A Bobolink (a type of songbird) serves as her Chorister (choir singer).
• An Orchard (a grove of fruit trees) serves as her Dome (the arched ceiling of a church cathedral).

By equating the open sky and trees of an orchard to a church dome, the speaker suggests that nature itself serves as her place of worship.

Step 3: Evaluate the Options

• Option 1: "that the speaker believes that faith can be glimpsed only in the natural world" — Too extreme. The word "only" is not supported, as she acknowledges others find faith in a traditional church.
• Option 2: "that the speaker's innocence allows her to view religion as an extension of nature" — The stanza focuses on her personal spiritual practice rather than her "innocence."
• Option 3: "that the speaker is able to see and feel her faith in the nature that surrounds her" — Correct. By substituting church elements with natural ones, she shows that she experiences her faith directly through the natural world around her.
• Option 4: "that the speaker only feels close to her faith when she is enjoying the world of nature" — Too restrictive. The poem does not state she only feels close to her faith in this single setting, but rather that this is how she chooses to practice her worship.

Answer:

that the speaker is able to see and feel her faith in the nature that surrounds her