SAT II Literature : Grammar and Syntax: Poetry
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Literature
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Example Questions
Example Question #21 : Grammar And Syntax
What is the antecedent of the pronoun "That" in line 29?
"happy love" (line 25)
"a parching tongue" (line 30)
"A burning forehead" (line 30)
the beauty of the artwork being described (implied)
"All breathing human passion" (line 28)
"All breathing human passion" (line 28)
The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun to which the pronoun refers. For example, in the sentence, "I found the book that I was looking for," the pronoun "that" refers back to the noun "book." Therefore "book" is the antecedent of the pronoun "that" in this sentence. Â
In Line 29 of the poem, "That" is referring back to "All breathing human passion" in the previous line.
Passage adapted from John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" (1819)
Example Question #21 : Grammar And Syntax: Poetry
- One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
- But came the waves and washed it away:
- Again I wrote it with a second hand,
- But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
- Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay
- A mortal thing so to immortalize,
- For I myself shall like to this decay,
- And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
- Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise
- To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
- My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
- And in the heavens write your glorious name.
- Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue,
- Our love shall live, and later life renew.
The adjective “rare” (line 11 ) modifies which noun?
you
fame
virtues
verse
eternize
virtues
"Rare" (that is, unusual and precious) modifies the noun "virtues".
In modern English, we usually put the subject first, then the verb, then the object:
"My verse shall eternize your virtues rare."
In addition, we almost always put the adjective in front of the noun that it modifies:
My verse shall eternize your rare virtues."
The archaic syntax of this poem may mislead us into interpreting "rare" as an adverb modifying "eternize" (as in, "My verse shall rarely eternize your virtues.")
Passage adapted from Edmund Spenser's "Sonnet 75" (1594)
Example Question #21 : Grammar And Syntax: Poetry
1. Better to see your cheek grown hollow,
2. Better to see your temple worn,
3. Than to forget to follow, follow,
4. After the sound of a silver horn.
5. Better to bind your brow with willow
6. And follow, follow until you die,
7. Than to sleep with your head on a golden pillow,
8. Nor lift it up when the hunt goes by.
9. Better to see your cheek grow sallow
10. And your hair grown gray, so soon, so soon,
11. Than to forget to hallo, hallo,
12. After the milk-white hounds of the moon.
The poem’s point of view is best characterized as _________________.
Second and third person combined
First and second person combined
Second person only
Third person limited only
Third person omniscient only
Second person only
The poem is written entirely in the second person (“Better to see YOUR cheek grown hollow…”.) There are no occurrences of first person (“I . . . “) or of third person (“he/she/it . . .”).
Passage adapted from Eleanor Wylie's "A Madman's Song" (1921)
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