The Harbor Gate
The iron steamer groans against the dock,
Discharging crates and souls onto the stone;
The custom house stands rigid as a block
Of grey granite, where fortunes are made known.
Here, languages collide like harbor waves,
A Babel built of hope and heavy chests;
The clerk behind the desk, indifferent, writes
The new-made names of weary, traveling guests.
Behind them lies the salt-worn, empty sea,
Before them rises brick and smoke and glass—
A crowded street of unfamiliar tongues,
Where all must wait for permission to pass.
In the poem, how does the description of the setting in lines 9–10 ("Behind them... glass") primarily function?
- AIt provides a literal description of the weather conditions and visibility at the harbor.
- BIt reflects the biographical details of the poet's own historical voyage across the ocean.
- It establishes a contrast between the vast space of the completed journey and the industrialized urban world they are entering.Answer
- DIt outlines the step-by-step chronological process of unloading passengers from the ship.
- EIt makes a direct historical allusion to a specific naval battle fought on the open ocean.
Answer
It establishes a contrast between the vast space of the completed journey and the industrialized urban world they are entering.
The correct answer is correct because the sea represents the journey that has ended, while the brick, smoke, and glass represent the industrial, urban landscape of the new country.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Analyzing the thematic and symbolic function of setting details in poetry to understand character transition and historical context.
Estimated Time:1m 0s