Question

feet pound pavement as miles pass,
steady as tides, they approach their shore,
training is tested, strength is stretched—
buoyed by the pack, one mile more.
sweat streaks, muscles tense, eager for the end,
final flags beckon, the crowd grows loud.
tested vessels reach their harbor—
runners hearts beat proud.
which statements describe the poem? choose three correct answers.
the poem has an
abcb rhyme scheme.
the meter is fixed
throughout the poem.
the poem contains
two stanzas.
each stanza is a
quatrain.
every line length is
the same.

Explanation:

• "The poem has an abcb rhyme scheme": In poetry, a rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line. An abcb rhyme scheme means the second and fourth lines of a stanza rhyme. For example, if we label the first line as "a" (no rhyme), the second as "b", the third as "c" (no rhyme with "a" or "b"), and the fourth as "b" (rhymes with the second line).
• "The poem contains two stanzas": A stanza is a group of lines in a poem. By counting the groupings of lines in the poem (assuming the visual separation in the original - since the text is presented in two distinct "blocks" of lines which are stanzas).
• "Each stanza is a quatrain": A quatrain is a stanza with four lines. If we count the number of lines in each stanza (assuming each group of four lines forms a stanza as per typical quatrain structure).

Answer:

• The poem has an abcb rhyme scheme.
• The poem contains two stanzas.
• Each stanza is a quatrain.