Question

Barter
by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings.
5 And children’s faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
10
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit’s still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
15 For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
____________________________________________________
Sara Teasdale, “Barter.” The Macmillan Company; Norwood, Mass; 1918.


Which best describes how the poem’s structure reflects its meaning?
A. The first two stanzas describe lovely things in life, and the final stanza emphasizes the great value of these lovely things.
B. The first two stanzas explain what makes something lovely, and the final stanza emphasizes how expensive lovely things are.
C. Each stanza builds on the previous to tell the story of the speaker’s struggle to hold on to the loveliness in life.
D. Each stanza builds on the previous to tell the story of the speaker’s discovery of the loveliness in life.

Answer 1

A.

The first two stanzas catalog beautiful things in life (waves, music, children's faces, etc.), and the final stanza shifts to an imperative—urging the reader to "Spend all you have for loveliness" and showing how priceless those moments are ("Count many a year of strife well lost"), which emphasizes their great value.