Excerpt from "Brown's Descent, or the Willy-nilly Slide" Robert Frost Brown lived at such a lofty farm That everyone for miles could see His lantern when he did his chores In winter after half-past three. 5And many must have seen him make His wild descent from there one night, ’Cross lots, ’cross walls, ’cross everything, Describing rings of lantern light. Between the house and barn the gale 10Got him by something he had on And blew him out on the icy crust That cased the world, and he was gone! Walls were all buried, trees were few: He saw no stay unless he stove 15A hole in somewhere with his heel. But though repeatedly he strove And stamped and said things to himself, And sometimes something seemed to yield, He gained no foothold, but pursued 20 His journey down from field to field. Sometimes he came with arms outspread Like wings, revolving in the scene Upon his longer axis, and With no small dignity of mien. 25 Faster or slower as he chanced, Sitting or standing as he chose, According as he feared to risk His neck, or thought to spare his clothes, He never let the lantern drop. 30 And some exclaimed who saw afar The figures he described with it, “I wonder what those signals are Brown makes at such an hour of night! He’s celebrating something strange. 35 I wonder if he’s sold his farm, Or been made Master of the Grange.” He reeled, he lurched, he bobbed, he checked; He fell and made the lantern rattle (But saved the light from going out.) 40 So half-way down he fought the battle Incredulous of his own bad luck. And then becoming reconciled To everything, he gave it up And came down like a coasting child. 45 “Well––I––be––” that was all he said, As standing in the river road, He looked back up the slippery slope (Two miles it was) to his abode. Excerpt from “Brown’s Descent, or the Willy-nilly Slide” by Robert Frost, from The Poetry of Robert Frost. In the public domain. Multiple Choice Question What is the effect of the comical resolution provided in the last stanza? A. It increases the overall satire in the poem. B. It allows the rest of the poem to become sarcastic. C . It creates a shift from a serious to a humorous tone. D . It provides a pause for the reader to take in the poem.

Answer 1

C. It creates a shift from a serious to a humorous tone.

The comical resolution in the last stanza, where Brown simply states, “Well––I––be––,” after his chaotic descent, introduces a humorous and light-hearted tone to the poem, contrasting with the more serious and chaotic moments of his journey.