Question

close read: analyze the text
identify the choice that best answers the question.

read the following stanza from \the raven.\
but the raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
straight i wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust, and door;
then, upon the velvet sinking, i betook myself to linking
fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—
5 what this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
meant in croaking,
evermore.\

which aspect of this stanza most clearly adds to the feeling of tension or dread in these lines?

○ a. the rhyme of \beguiling\ and \smiling\ in the first line and \sinking\ and \linking\ in the third line, suggesting a growing sadness

○ b. the series \bird, and bust, and door\ in the second line, suggesting a clear progression toward madness

○ c. the addition of a number of descriptive words to \ominous bird of yore\ in the fifth line, suggesting a growing frenzy

○ d. the use of the word croaking in the last line, suggesting a growing fear of the raven

Explanation:

• Option A: The rhymes "beguiling"/"smiling" and "sinking"/"linking" create a musical quality but don't directly add tension; "growing sadness" is not the main tension - creating element here.
• Option B: The series "bird, and bust, and door" is just a description of the setting and doesn't clearly suggest a progression toward madness.
• Option C: In the fifth line, adding descriptive words like "grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt" to "ominous bird of yore" intensifies the description of the raven, showing the speaker's growing frenzy as they try to understand the raven's meaning, which adds to the tension and dread.
• Option D: The word "croaking" describes how the raven speaks, but it doesn't strongly suggest a growing fear of the raven compared to the effect of the descriptive words in option C.

Answer:

C. the addition of a number of descriptive words to "ominous bird of yore" in the fifth line, suggesting a growing frenzy