Night is for sorrow and dawn is for joy,

Question

Chasing the troubles that fret and annoy;
Darkness for sighing and daylight for song,—
Cheery and chaste the strain, heartfelt and strong.
All the night through, though I moan in the dark,
I wake in the morning to sing with the lark.

Deep in the midnight the rain whips the leaves,
Softly and sadly the wood-spirit grieves.
But when the first hue of dawn tints the sky,
I shall shake out my wings like the birds and be dry,
And though, like the rain-drops, I grieved through the dark,
I shall wake in the morning to sing with the lark.



(from "With the Lark" by Paul Laurence Dunbar)

Question
Which statement ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, describes how the structure of lines 1–6 contributes to the central meaning of the poem?

Answer options with 4 options
1.
The lines end with pairs of rhyming words, mimicking the recurring shift from night to dawn.

2.
The lines focus on night first and dawn second, devoting three lines to night and three to dawn.

3.
The lines set up a contrast between night and dawn, developing distinct experiences of each.

4.
The lines consist of one longer and one shorter sentence, suggesting night is long and dawn is short.

Answer 1

The statement that best describes how the structure of lines 1–6 contributes to the central meaning of the poem is:

3. The lines set up a contrast between night and dawn, developing distinct experiences of each.

This option highlights how the poem contrasts the sorrow of night with the joy of dawn, reinforcing the theme of hope and renewal.