Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumExtended Metaphors and Conceits

Read the following excerpt from Anne Bradstreet’s seventeenth-century poem "The Author to Her Book" carefully:

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth didst by my side remain,
Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad, exposed to public view,
Made thee in rags, halting to th' press to go,
Where errors were not lessened (all may know).
At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
Thy visage was so irksome in my sight;
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:

In the excerpt, how does the extended metaphor comparing the book to an "ill-formed offspring" primarily function to convey the speaker’s relationship to her writing?

  1. A
    It emphasizes the speaker's anger toward the friends who published her work without her consent.
  2. B
    It suggests that the speaker considers her intellectual efforts to be less valuable than domestic duties.
  3. It illustrates the speaker's conflicting feelings of embarrassment and protective affection toward her flawed creative work.Answer
  4. D
    It implies that the errors in the published text are entirely the fault of the printing press's technology.
  5. E
    It asserts that the speaker's creative output has no potential for revision or improvement.

Answer

The extended metaphor illustrates the speaker's conflicting feelings of embarrassment and protective affection toward her flawed creative work.
The correct answer is the option that identifies the speaker's conflicting feelings of embarrassment and protective affection. The speaker describes the book as an 'ill-formed offspring' and a 'rambling brat' that causes her to blush, showing embarrassment. However, she also notes that 'affection' leads her to want to 'amend' its 'blemishes' because it is 'mine own,' illustrating a maternal-like protective affection for her creative work.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the conceit established in the first two lines of the excerpt.
The speaker compares the book to an "ill-formed offspring" born of a "feeble brain," initiating the extended metaphor of the book as a child.
To identify the core elements of the extended comparison.
2
Examine the speaker's changing attitude or tone throughout the excerpt.
The speaker initially feels shame ("blushing," "irksome") but shifts to expressing maternal care ("affection," "amend") toward the child/book.
To trace the development of the metaphor's emotional complexity.
3
Synthesize these observations to determine the primary function of the conceit.
The conceit serves to illustrate the dual, conflicting nature of the speaker's relationship with her art: both a source of embarrassment and a recipient of protective care.
To match the analysis to the correct option describing the conflicted feelings of embarrassment and affection.

Key Concept

Extended Metaphors and Conceits
Rate this question

Topics

Extended Metaphors and Conceits

More questions from this topic