Question

We will never walk again
As we used to walk at night,
Watching our shadows lengthen
Under the gold streetlight
When the snow was new and white.

We will never walk again
Slowly, we two,
In spring when the park is sweet
With midnight and with dew,
And the passers-by are few.

I sit and think of it all,
And the blue June twilight dies,
Down in the clanging square
A street-piano cries
And stars come out in the skies.

___

Adapted from “Nightfall,” in Flame and Shadow, by Sara Teasdale, Public domain.


Questions
“Down in the clanging square
A street-piano cries”

What impact does this excerpt have on the meaning of the poem?

It reveals that the speaker misses the other person because the music reminds them of memories they had together.

It shifts the speaker’s tone from hopeful to hopeless.

It provides the imagery of a crying piano, which contributes to the poem’s sad mood.

It describes the sound of the speaker of the poem playing piano to emphasize the speaker’s heartbreak.

Answer 1

Correct answers: 1 and 3.

Explanation: “a street-piano cries” personifies the music and creates a mournful image that deepens the poem’s sadness (3). It also suggests the music evokes memories of the lost companion, so the speaker’s longing is reinforced (1). It does not imply the speaker is playing the piano (4), nor is it clearly a shift from hopeful to hopeless (2) — the lines mainly intensify the melancholic mood.