Question

Flitting, flickering, flashing
black, white, and a note of red
passes beneath trees
that were already old at the end
of the Civil War.
The lovely departed species
announces its fearless
refusal to cease to be.
And as we stand in awe of life’s
determination, it hammers
its note of hope against the
dead dry bark that sleeves a meal.
Can an old being be resurrected?
Can a people be saved?
And at what cost?

Multiple Choice

8. In the poem, the ivory-billed woodpecker could symbolize all of the following except (1 point)
life.
despair.
hope.

Answer 1

Which literary element appears at the beginning of the twelfth line? (1 point)
cultural reference
irony
humor
alliteration

Answer 2

@chelsea15

Answer 3

Despair is the only thing the bird can't symbolize because it flies in the face of despair and death. It is a symbol of endurance and hope.

"Dead, dry" utilizes alliteration, which is seen in the repetition of the letter "d" at the beginning of both words.

A good resource is literary-devices.com. You can read about and compare literary devices in order to better choose the correct answer on questions like this one. I hope this helps!