Question

1. How are Crane’s "A Man Said to the Universe" and Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” different?

A.Crane’s poem addresses the consequences of ignorance; Dunbar’s poem addresses the consequences of hiding one’s true self.

B.Crane’s poem focuses on an individual’s power over the environment; Dunbar’s poem focuses on the individual’s power over society.

C.Crane’s poem suggests that each person is unique; Dunbar’s poem suggests that all people hide their emotions equally.

D. Crane’s poem examines the relationship between man and his environment; Dunbar’s poem examines the relationship between man and society.

2. Which lines from "Sympathy" best express the idea that the speaker can relate to the caged bird’s plight?
A. “When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;”

B. “When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—”

C. “I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;”

D. “When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,”

Answer 1

1. How are Crane’s "A Man Said to the Universe" and Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” different? D. Crane’s poem examines the relationship between man and his environment; Dunbar’s poem examines the relationship between man and society.
 2. Which lines from "Sympathy" best express the idea that the speaker can relate to the caged bird’s plight? C. “I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;”

Answer 2

1. Both poems show that people are vulnerable forces around them and they are part of a larger system, respectively society and environment. The correct answer is D according to the summary of the poems.

 2. Sympathy shows that psychological pain hurts more than physical pain. Indeed, the poem conveys both pains with its lines. This physical pain that is included in the lines of the question correctly described in C.