AP Success - AP English Literature: Calmly We Walk Through This April’s Day
Source 1: Delmore Schwartz, “Calmly We Walk Through This April’s Day” from Selected Poems (1938-1958): Summer Knowledge. Copyright © 1967 by Delmore Schwartz.Metropolitan poetry here and there,In the park sit pauper and rentier,The screaming children, the motor-carFugitive about us, running away,5Between the worker and the millionaireNumber provides all distances,It is Nineteen Thirty-Seven now,Many great dears are taken away,What will become of you and me10(This is the school in which we learn ...)Besides the photo and the memory?(... that time is the fire in which we burn.)(This is the school in which we learn ...)15What is the self amid this blaze?What am I now that I was thenWhich I shall suffer and act again,The theodicy I wrote in my high school daysRestored all life from infancy,20The children shouting are bright as they run(This is the school in which they learn ...)Ravished entirely in their passing play!(... that time is the fire in which they burn.)25Avid its rush, that reeling blaze!Where is my father and Eleanor?Not where are they now, dead seven years,But what they were then?No more? No more?30From Nineteen-Fourteen to the present day,Bert Spira and Rhoda consume, consumeNot where they are now (where are they now?)But what they were then, both beautiful;35Each minute bursts in the burning room,The great globe reels in the solar fire,Spinning the trivial and unique away.(How all things flash! How all things flare!)What am I now that I was then?40May memory restore again and againThe smallest color of the smallest day:Time is the school in which we learn,Time is the fire in which we burn.
1
In the context of the passage, what does "Metropolitan poetry" (line 1) most likely refer to?
Poetry that is popular in metropolitan areas
Poetry written by famous metropolitan poets
Poetry that contrasts urban and rural life
Poetry that addresses the struggles of city dwellers
Poetry that idealizes urban life
2
The phrase "pauper and rentier" (line 2) most closely suggests a theme of:
Economic disparity
Personal ambition
Social harmony
Cultural diversity
Political conflict
3
The reference to "Nineteen Thirty-Seven" (line 7) primarily serves to:
Create a sense of nostalgia
Indicate the poet's age
Suggest a future prediction
Highlight a significant event in that year
Establish the historical context of the poem
4
The recurring motif of "time is the fire in which we burn" (lines 12, 23, 43) most likely symbolizes:
Time as a source of enlightenment
The urgency of living in the present
The purifying aspect of time
The destructive nature of time
The cyclical nature of life and death
5
The juxtaposition of "the worker and the millionaire" (line 5) emphasizes:
The economic spectrum within the city
The indifference of the wealthy
The potential for social mobility
The isolation felt by individuals
The unity of different social classes
6
The inquiry "What will become of you and me" (line 9) suggests a tone of:
Anxiety
Desperation
Indifference
Curiosity
Optimism
7
The "school" metaphor (lines 10, 14, 21) is likely used to convey:
The harsh lessons learned through experience
The idea of life as a place of learning
The formal education system's influence
The innocence and joy of childhood
The structured nature of societal expectations
8
In lines 25-27, the speaker's questioning about "my father and Eleanor" serves to highlight:
The generational gap
Personal loss and remembrance
The speaker's search for identity
The impact of historical events on individuals
Familial relationships
9
The phrase "Each minute bursts in the burning room" (line 35) is an example of:
Hyperbole
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Onomatopoeia
10
The overall structure of the poem, with its repeated refrains and thematic concerns, most likely aims to evoke:
The process of philosophical inquiry
A sense of chaos and fragmentation
A narrative of personal and collective history
A critique of societal values and norms
The cyclical nature of time and memory
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