Read the poem carefully, then answer the question.
The Cable and the Tide
Under the grey, salt-crusted pier,
The dark tide pulls the kelp aside,
And crabs in silent circles steer
Through shadows where the limpets hide;
A cold, unmastered rhythm beats
Against the timber, green with slime,
As every surging wave retreats
To mock the measured tick of time.
But overhead, the copper lines
In humming conduits, straight and dry,
Transmit in neat, unseen designs
A million voices to the sky.
No dampness mars the plastic sleeve,
No seaweed grips the copper thread;
Above the wash, the signals weave
A clean, immortal path instead.
Which of the following best describes the thematic function of the juxtaposition between the coastal tide beneath the pier and the copper conduits overhead?
- Athe physical depth of the aquatic habitat below the pier and the literal vertical clearance of the utility lines above the water
- Bthe threatening, destructive violence of the untamed ocean and the sheltering security of the industrial structures built to withstand it
- the decaying, cyclical impermanence of the natural world and the pristine, engineered immortality of modern human connectionAnswer
- Dthe speaker’s personal nostalgia for maritime traditions and the poet's own professional anxieties about the rise of telecommunications
- Ethe use of alliterative imagery in describing the tide and the strict metrical constraints that govern the description of the cables