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There are no handles upon a language

Whereby men take hold of it
And mark it with signs for its remembrance.
It is a river, this language, Once in a thousand years Breaking a new course
Changing its way to the ocean.
It is mountain effluvia
Moving to valleys
And from nation to nation
Crossing borders and mixing.
Languages die like rivers.
Words wrapped round your tongue today
And broken to shape of thought
Between your teeth and lips speaking
Now and today
Shall be faded hieroglyphics?
Ten thousand years from now.
This question has two parts. Answer Part A, and then answer
Part B.
Part A
What is a theme of the poem?
1. All languages will disappear over time.
2. Languages bring people closer together.
3. Languages allow people to express ideas.
4. All languages must adjust to cultural change.
Part B
Select two excerpts from the poem that best support the correct answer from Part A.
1. "There are no handles upon a language
Whereby men take hold of it
And mark it with signs for its remembrance." (Lines 1-3)
2. "Once in a thousand years
Breaking a new course" (Lines 5-6)
3. "Moving to valleys
And from nation to nation
Crossing borders and mixing." (Lines 9-11)
4. "Words wrapped round your tongue today
And broken to shape of thought" (Lines 13-14)
5. "Shall be faded hieroglyphics
Ten thousand years from now." (Lines 17-18)

1 answer

Part A: The theme of the poem is best identified as 1. All languages will disappear over time.

Part B: The two excerpts that best support the correct answer from Part A are:

  1. "Words wrapped round your tongue today / And broken to shape of thought" (Lines 13-14) - This suggests the transient nature of language and how it is shaped by current usage.

  2. "Shall be faded hieroglyphics / Ten thousand years from now." (Lines 17-18) - This emphasizes that languages, like words, will eventually cease to exist and become relics of the past.