Read the following poem excerpt carefully:
*The shuttle flies, a swift and wooden bird,*
*To weave the silent landscape of the plain,*
*Where not a leaf by living wind is stirred,*
*Nor falls the shadow of a coming rain.*
*The quiet shepherd stands in wool suspended,*
*Beside a stream that has no voice to weep;*
*A peaceful world where nothing is amended,*
*And troubled souls might turn to them for sleep.*
*Yet look! The iron shears are raised to sever*
*The fragile warp that holds this painted grace;*
*The tapestry is rent and lost forever,*
*And empty air invades the quiet place.*
*The woven dream is scattered to the wind,*
*And cold winds blow where once the colors shined.*
In the poem, the tonal shift beginning in line 9 ('Yet look!...') functions primarily to do which of the following?
- contrast the static, idealized peace of the artistic creation with the sudden, destructive intrusion of changeAnswer
- Bmaintain the tranquil, pastoral mood of the opening lines by emphasizing the continuity of the landscape
- Cprovide a chronological summary of how a weaver works the loom and cuts the finished product
- Dexpress the poet's personal grief regarding their own family's financial loss during the industrial revolution
- Eidentify the poet's use of exclamation marks and alliteration in the final stanzas