The GATE Grind

GATE 2024 XH2 (English) – Question 63

Literary Forms, Genres, and Modes of Expression · Aesthetic and Rhetorical Strategies: Narrative and poetic techniques, and figures of speech · 2 marks · Multiple select

“I like a look of Agony,
Because I know it’s true –
Men do not sham Convulsion,
Nor simulate, a Throe –
The eyes glaze once – and that is Death –
Impossible to feign
The Beads upon the Forehead
By homely Anguish strung.”
Which of the following options is/are implied by this poem?

  1. Agony is not easily disguised.
  2. The speaker likes to watch people suffer because it reminds her of her own well-being.
  3. Strong people never suffer a painful death.
  4. Anguish can produce physical effects.

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (A) Agony is not easily disguised.; (D) Anguish can produce physical effects.

Explanation

Dickinson says that pain cannot be faked: the glazed eyes and the beads of sweat on the forehead are signs of real anguish. Her liking is for the truth of the look, not for others' suffering.