Question

Longing by Paul Laurence Dunbar

If you could sit with me beside the sea to-day.
And whisper with me sweetest dreamings o'er and o'er;
I think I should not find the clouds so dim and gray.
And not so loud the waves complaining at the shore.
If you could sit with me upon the shore to-day,
And hold my hand in yours as in the days of old,
I think I should not mind the chill baptismal spray,
Nor find my hand and heart and all the world so cold.
If you could walk with me upon the strand to-day.
And tell me that my longing love had won your own,
I think all my sad thoughts would then be put away,
And I could give back laughter for the Ocean's moan!

What can the reader most likely conclude about the speaker's emotional state by the end of the poem?
(1 point)
• The speaker feels indifferent and has accepted loss.
• The speaker is angry and blames fate for his sorrow.
• The speaker is hopeful and confident of reunion.
• The speaker remains deeply affected and emotionally longing.

Answer 1

The speaker remains deeply affected and emotionally longing.

He repeatedly imagines the beloved's presence as the only thing that could ease his sadness, showing continued yearning rather than acceptance, anger, or certainty of reunion.