Question

Swan and Shadow
 

                                 Dusk

                             Above the

                      water hang the

                                        loud

                                      flies

                                    Here

                                  O so

                                gray

                              then

                            What                            A pale signal will appear

                          When                   Soon before its shadow fades

                        Where              Here in this pool of opened eye

                          In us          No Upon us As at the very edges

                             of where we take shape in the dark air

                             this object bares its image awakening

                                ripples of recognition that will

                                     brush darkness up into light

even after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now

                                     already passing out of sight

                                toward yet-untroubled reflection

                              this image bears its object darkening

                             into memorial shades Scattered bits of

                          light           No of water Or something across

                        water                Breaking up No Being regathered

                          soon                     Yet by then a swan will have

                            gone                            Yes out of mind into what

                              vast

                                pale

                                  hush

                                    of a

                                      place

                                        past

                      sudden dark as

                             if a swan

                                 sang

 

— John Hollander

“Swan and Shadow” by John Hollander. Copyright © 1970 by John Hollander. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Multiple Choice Question

The poet structures the lines in "Swan and Shadow" to suggest the poem's

A. 

speaker

B. 

setting

C. 

rhyme

D. 

theme

Answer 1

The poet structures the lines in "Swan and Shadow" to suggest the poem's

**D. theme**

The unique layout of the lines, as well as the varying line lengths and spacing, emphasizes exploration of themes such as reflection, memory, and the passage of time.