Read the following poem carefully before you choose your answer.
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
(5) This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I'd rather be
(10) A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus 1 rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton 2 blow his wreathèd horn.
1 A sea god in Greek mythology with the ability to prophesize the future.
2 A son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, who can excite or calm the seas with his conch shell.
Which of the following statements best describes the function of the poet's allusion to Proteus?
Group of answer choices
It demonstrates the poet's extensive mythological knowledge.
It identifies the ancient source of humanity's current problems.
It implies a need to consider the future of humanity.
It provides an entertaining diversion to lighten the mood.
It suggests a unique opportunity to appreciate nature.
2A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.1
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
(5) Fired at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts,
While from the bounded level of our mind
Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind;
But more advanced, behold with strange surprise
(10) New distant scenes of endless science rise!
So pleased at first the towering Alps we try,
Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky,
Th' eternal snows appear already past,
And the first clouds and mountains seem the last;
(15) But, those attained, we tremble to survey
The growing labors of the lengthened way,
Th' increasing prospect tires our wandering eyes,
Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise!
A perfect judge will read each work of wit
(20) With the same spirit that its author writ:
Survey the WHOLE, nor seek slight faults to find
Where nature moves, and rapture warms the mind;
Nor lose, for that malignant dull delight,
The generous pleasure to be charmed with wit.
(25) But in such lays as neither ebb, nor flow,
Correctly cold, and regularly low,
That shunning faults, one quiet tenor keep,
We cannot blame indeed—but we may sleep.
In wit, as nature, what affects our hearts
(30) Is not th' exactness of peculiar parts;
'Tis not a lip, or eye, we beauty call,
But the joint force and full result of all.
Thus when we view some well-proportioned dome,
(The world's just wonder, and even thine, O Rome!)
(35) No single parts unequally surprise,
All comes united to th' admiring eyes;
No monstrous height, or breadth, or length appear;
The whole at once is bold, and regular.
Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
(40) Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be.
In every work regard the writer's end,
Since none can compass more than they intend;
And if the means be just, the conduct true,
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due;
(45) As men of breeding, sometimes men of wit,
T' avoid great errors, must the less commit:
Neglect the rules each verbal critic lays,
For not to know some trifles, is a praise.
Most critics, fond of some subservient art,
(50) Still make the whole depend upon a part:
They talk of principles, but notions prize,
And all to one loved folly sacrifice.
(1711)
1A spring sacred to the Muses
In context, the "writer's end" referred to in line 41 is best understood to mean
Group of answer choices
plot resolution
final scene
story purpose
writer's demise
writer's goal
3According to the speaker, the success of a creative work should be found by
Group of answer choices
collecting the critical reviews of contemporary writers
deconstructing the execution of the writer's intentions
examining the stylistic choices in light of current trends
focusing on the skill demonstrated in the individual parts
looking at the work as a whole rather than as its parts
4In which of the following lines does the speaker make a humorous comment?
Group of answer choices
Line 11
Line 17
Line 21
Line 28
Line 31
