Question 117
MediumOriginal questionTell me not, in numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is !
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is ,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives ,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
"Be not like dumb, driven cattle! / Be a hero in the strife!" What contrast does the poet draw?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Cattle are driven by others and do not choose; a hero acts with courage. The poet wants us to be the hero.
Worth noting
Cattle and soldiers both appear, but the contrast is between two ways of living, not between animals and soldiers.
- Concept
- Understanding a contrast
- Typical timeTypical
- 40 s
- Your timeYours
- —
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