Question

Which of the following elements does not contribute to the dreary mood of this short passage from the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens?

"Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little 'prentice boy on deck."

Infinitive phrases
Repetition
Absolute phrases
Punctuation

Answer 1

The option which does not contribute to the overall dreary mood of the excerpt are infinitive phrases.

The reason why that is the correct answer is because there are no infinitives or infinitive phrases in the excerpt above, which immediately means they cannot contribute to any mood whatsoever. The other options are present in the passage above and thus have an effect on the story, the setting, and the overall mood of the excerpt itself. Repetition is especially effective when it comes to creating dreary mood here, because it is constantly telling us that fog is everywhere.