Question

I am all alone in the house to-night;
They would not have gone away
Had they known of the terrible, bloodless fight
I have held with my heart to-day.
With the old sweet love and the old fierce pain
I have battled hour by hour;
But the fates have willed that the strife is vain.
Alone in the hour my thoughts have reign,
And I yield myself to their power.

How does the rhyme and meter in the stanzas affect the meaning?(1 point)

They mimic the speaker's emotions by creating a chaotic pattern.
They contradict the speaker's struggle by creating a songlike pattern.
They follow sonnet form to suggest the importance of the speaker's struggle.
They use iambic pentameter to highlight the speaker's back-and-forth thoughts.

Answer 1

They contradict the speaker's struggle by creating a songlike pattern.

The regular rhyme and rhythmic lines give a sing-song, orderly feel that contrasts with the speaker’s inner turmoil, emphasizing the tension between outward form and inward chaos.