Asked by kj

Read the excerpt from "Fountains of Aix” by May Swenson.



Beards of water

some of them have.

Others are blowing whistles of water.

Faces astonished that constant water

jumps from their mouths.

Jaws of lions are snarling water

through green teeth over chins of moss.

Dolphins toss jets of water

from open snouts

to an upper theater of water.

Children are riding swans and water

coils from the S-shaped necks and spills

in flat foils from pincered bills.

A solemn curly-headed bull

puts out a swollen tongue of water.

Which word best describes the tone created by the word placement in this excerpt?

angry
confused
playful
lonely

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
playful

The staggered spacing and unexpected line breaks mimic the splashing, tossing motion of fountains and create a whimsical, imaginative feeling (children riding swans, dolphins, snarling lions), which is playful rather than angry, confused, or lonely.