Question

Read the excerpt from "On Imagination” by Phillis Wheatley.

Winter austere forbids me to aspire,
And northern tempests damp the rising fire;
They chill the tides of Fancy’s flowing sea,
Cease then, my song, cease the unequal lay.

Which line in the excerpt contains a caesura?

A: “Winter austere forbids me to aspire,”
B: “And northern tempests damp the rising fire;”
C: “They chill the tides of Fancy’s flowing sea,”
D: “Cease then, my song, cease the unequal lay.”

Answers

GPT-4o mini
A line containing a caesura is one that has a pause or break within it, often indicated by punctuation. In the provided options, the line that contains a caesura is:

A: “Winter austere forbids me to aspire,”

The comma creates a natural pause in the middle of the line, marking a caesura.