Page 47 - 2023-bfw-IdeasLit-TE-1e.indd

Explore Each Free-Response Question Type
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.

®
PREPARING FOR THE AP EXAM
Free-Response Question: PREPARING FOR THE AP ® EXAM
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
Poetry Analysis

AP Enduring Understanding (LAN-1)
®
Readers establish and communicate their interpretations of literature through
arguments supported by textual evidence.

Justifying a Thesis through a Line
of Reasoning

The first free-response essay prompt on the AP ® English Literature and Compo-
sition Exam requires you to write a literary argument analyzing a poem. In this
workshop, you will continue to develop the skills you need to complete this task
with a specific focus on establishing a line of reasoning.
Read the following practice prompt and the accompanying poem, which is
an adaptation of the type of prompt you may see on the exam. Please note that on
the actual exam, you will be required to write a full analytical essay about multiple
poetic elements and techniques.
Multiple-Choice Prose and Poetry Practice
Every unit also includes a set of multiple-choice prose analysis questions and a set
of multiple-choice poetry analysis questions so that students are prepared for all
Prompt:
In the following poem by William Shakespeare (published in 1609), the speaker addresses a loved
aspects of the exam.
one who has noticed that he is growing old and closer to death. Write a paragraph in which you
make a defensible claim regarding how Shakespeare uses metaphors to convey the complex rela-
tionship between the aging speaker and the loved one.
®
In your paragraph, you should incorporate at least one piece of evidence from the text to sup-
PREPARING FOR THE AP EXAM
port your claim.
Multiple-Choice Questions: Prose PREPARING FOR THE AP ® EXAM

In your response, you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a claim that presents a defensible interpretation
from The Comet
• Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning

®
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument

PREPARING FOR THE AP EXAM
W. E. B. Du Bois
Multiple-Choice Questions: Poetry
en
, a
es
a
id t
e m
s
g
h
er
s h
” s
,
t v
k
N
“
o
y
l
e
e wa
d
er
ollowing is an excerpt fr
T
om a short stor
The following is an excerpt from a short story “Not very,” said the messenger, as he walked
y
he f
o
out..
ut
published in 1920. A Noiseless Patient Spider
h
l
s
l
m
e
im, t
, J
et hi
e n
a
i
l o
“
W
w co
e
h
f t
ts u
e t
n
a
e b
k,
d a m
o
o
en
m
H
e s
t
He stood a moment on the steps of the bank, 35 “Well, Jim, the tail of the new comet hits us
o
eps o
t
h
f t
n t
t o
e s
h
35
at noon this time,” said the vault clerk, as he
Walt Whitman
watching the human river that swirled down
watching the human river that swirled down at noon this time,” said the vault clerk, as he
passed over the keys; but the messenger passed
Broadway. Few noticed him. Few ever noticed passed over the keys; but the messenger passed
Broadway. Few noticed him. Few ever noticed
t
a
silently down the stairs. Down he went beneath
him save in a way that stung. He was outside
him s a v e in a wa y t h a t s t un g . H e wa s o u tside si len t l y do w n t h e s t a ir s. D o w n h e w en t b en e 195 h
A noiseless patient spider,
5 the world — “nothing!” as he said bitterly. Bits Broadway, where the dim light filtered through
of the words of the walkers came to him. 40 the feet of hurrying men; down to the dark 1
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
“The comet?” basement beneath; down into the blackness
2
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
“The comet —” and silence beneath that lowest cavern. Here
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
Everybody was talking of it. Even the pres- with his dark lantern he groped in the bowels
5
1
And you O my soul where you stand,
10 ident, as he entered, smiled patronizingly at of the earth, under the world.
He drew a long breath as he threw back the
him, and asked: 45 last great iron door and stepped into the fetid
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
“Well, Jim, are you scared?” slime within. Here at last was peace, and he 3
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
“No,” said the messenger shortly. groped moodily forward. A great rat leaped rm’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the bridge you will need be fo
“I thought we’d journeyed through the past him and cobwebs crept across his face.
4
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
xvii
10
15 comet’s tail once,” broke in the junior clerk 50 He felt carefully around the room, shelf by xvii
affably.
“Oh, that was Halley’s,” said the president; shelf, on the muddied floor, and in crevice and
2. Use of the word “somewhere” (line 10)
1. Alliteration in line 3 (“Mark’d . . . surrounding,”)
“this is a new comet, quite a stranger, they emphasizes corner. Nothing. Then he went back to the far suggest that the speaker is
end, where somehow the wall felt different. He
say — wonderful, wonderful! I saw it last night. sounded and pushed and pried. Nothing. He (A) talking as much to himself as he is his
(A) the journey facing the spider.

(B) the enormity of the isolation perceived by
20 Oh, by the way, Jim,” turning again to the mes- soul.
started away. Then something brought him
55
senger, “I want you to go down into the lower
01_williamlit1e_46174_fm_i_xxxvii.indd 17 the spider. ( B) unable to accept responsibility for the
23/09/22 10:42 AM
back. He was sounding and working again
vaults today.” (C) how much the spider has explored in his actions of his own soul.

when suddenly the whole black wall swung
The messenger followed the president time. as on mighty hinges, and blackness yawned ( C) frightened of the growing distance
silently. Of course, they wanted him to go ( D) how lost the spider feels in his between himself and his soul.

beyond. He peered in; it was evidently a secret
25 down to the lower vaults. It was too dangerous unexplored surroundings. ( D) uncertain about his own direction and
vault — some hiding place of the old bank
for more valuable men. He smiled grimly and 60 existence.
( E) the dangers the spider perceives from his

unknown in newer times. He entered hesitat-
listened. high vantage point. ( E) willing to follow wherever his soul
ingly. It was a long, narrow room with shelves,
“Everything of value has been moved out may wander.
01_williamlitte1e_47545_FM_TE-i_xxxvii_1pp.indd 45 and at the far end, an old iron chest. On a high 25/01/23 11:38 AM
since the water began to seep in,” said the pres- shelf lay the two missing volumes of records,
30 ident; “but we miss two volumes of old records. 65 and others. He put them carefully aside and
Suppose you nose around down there, — it isn’t stepped to the chest. It was old, strong, and
very pleasant, I suppose.” rusty. He looked at the vast and old-fashioned
1 President of the bank for whom the main character works. lock and flashed his light on the hinges.
203
1 A point of high land that juts out into a large body of water.
2 In this case, a thread of spider’s web; some spiders begin building webs by releasing filaments into
the air until they stick to something nearby.
3 Heavenly bodies such as planets, sun, moon, and stars.
4 A fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders.
206