Question

Sonnet—To Science
Reader
1 Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!

2 Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.

3 Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,

4 Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?

5 How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,

6 Who wouldst not leave him in his wanderin

7 To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,

8 Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?

9 Hast thou not dragged Diana[1] from her car,

10 And driven the Hamadryad[2] from the wood

11 To seek a shelter in some happier star?

12 Hast thou not torn the Naiad[3] from her flood,

13 The Elfin[4] from the green grass, and from me

14 The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree[5]?



[1] Diana: Roman goddess of the moon and hunting.

[2] Hamadryad: A tree nymph from Greek mythology who lives in and is connected to a specific tree.\

[3] Naiad: A Greek water nymph who lives in rivers, streams, and fountains.

[4] Elfin: An elf or fairly-like creature

[5] Tamarind tree: A tropical tree known for it’s fruit; often associated with warm, dreamy landscapes.

Question 15
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Read these lines from the poem.

9 “Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car,

10 And driven the Hamadryad from the wood

11 To seek a shelter in some happier star?”

What is the significance of this rhetorical question?


A. It emphasizes the speaker’s belief that science restores harmony to the world.

B. It emphasizes the speaker’s belief that science destroys myth and imagination.

C. It emphasizes the speaker’s belief that science celebrates nature and tradition.

D. It emphasizes the speaker’s belief that science strengthens magic and creativity.

Answer 1

B. It emphasizes the speaker’s belief that science destroys myth and imagination.

The rhetorical question accuses Science of banishing mythic figures (Diana, the hamadryad) from the natural world, underscoring the poet’s complaint that scientific explanation strips away the wonders and illusions that fuel poetic imagination.