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AP English Literature and Composition 1.7 Passage Drill 5 239 Views


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AP English Literature and Composition 1.7 Passage Drill 5. Which line indicates the turn or shift in this poem?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Human Soul. If you have one, we apologize.

00:08

Your chances of making it on Capitol Hill just took a serious hit.

00:20

Which line indicates the turn or shift in this poem?

00:24

And here are the potential answers...

00:29

If we were watching a thriller, we would call this "the twist."

00:33

So... let's M. Night Shyamalan this baby and see what we get...

00:37

We're looking for the line -- it's a sonnet, so we've got a 1 in 14 shot -- where a shift takes place.

00:44

Well, the author starts out by basically saying that Death... isn't such a tough guy.

00:48

He says that others may call him "mighty and dreadful," but our hero feels he's... really

00:53

just a dreadful excuse for a villain.

00:55

So... where does the tone change?

00:57

The author never goes back on his word and decides that yes, in fact, Death IS a terrifying dude...

01:02

...nor does he change the subject and start talking about the weather, or say, "How 'bout them Knicks!?"

01:06

So it's a subtle change... but there is indeed a change.

01:10

At one point in the poem, the author goes from slinging insults... to backing 'em up.

01:14

Instead of just saying that Death isn't so scary, he starts explaining why.

01:17

"Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men," says the poem.

01:22

And this is where we get our shift. Now we know why Death shouldn't keep us up at night...

01:26

because he's a slave to fate.

01:28

In terms Breaking Bad aficionados will understand, he's not really... the one who knocks.

01:33

So line 9 is the one we're looking for...

01:36

...which means that C is our answer.

01:38

If you'll excuse us, it sounds like there's someone at the door. Probably just a vacuum

01:42

cleaner salesman or something...

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