Question

Why does Theodore Roethke compare Jane to birds in "Elegy for Jane"?

A.
to emphasize her prettiness

B.
to indicate her weak, frail self in relation to a horse

C.
to emphasize her symbolic flight to heaven

D.
because he himself loved birds so much

Answer 1

Answer:

C

Explanation:

Jane is dead as can be seen here:

My sparrow, you are not here,

Waiting like a fern, making a spiney shadow.

The sides of wet stones cannot console me,

Nor the moss, wound with the last light.

Moreover, the following verses are in past:

I remember the neckcurls, limp and damp as tendrils;

And her quick look, a sidelong pickerel smile;

And how, once startled into talk, the light syllables leaped for her,

And she balanced in the delight of her thought,

Therefore, it must be C.