Question

Read these lines from the poem "In Thai Binh (Peace) Province" by Denise Levertov:

It is that life, unhurried, sure, persistent,
I must bring home when I try to bring
the war home.
Child, river, light.

Here the future, fabled bird that has migrated away from America,
nests, and breeds, and sings,

common as any sparrow.

Which best describes one effect of the poet's use of metaphor in this excerpt?
A. It attributes the qualities of postwar peace in Vietnam to a bird, suggesting that the war has left America divided.
B. It implies that a hawkish foreign policy has displaced a dovish foreign policy in America after the war.
C. It compares two unlike things: peace and a fabled bird to emphasize that a lasting peace is unattainable.
D. It attributes human qualities to peace in order to emphasize the idea that it is a common goal for all people.

Answer 1

It attributes the qualities of postwar peace in Vietnam to a bird, suggesting that the war has left America divided. (Apex)

Answer 2

The correct answer is option A: It attributes the qualities of postwar peace in Vietnam to a bird, suggesting that the war has left America divided. This best describes the effect of the poet's use of metaphor in the excerpt. A metaphor is a figure of speech that consists in a comparison. This comparison is made between two things that are not related but have a certain characteristic in common. In this case, the comparison is made between the bird and the postwar peace.