Read the excerpt below from “The Lake of the Dismal Swamp” by Thomas Moore and answer the question that follows. “They made her a grave, too cold and damp For a soul so warm and true; And she’s gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, Where, all night long, by a fire-fly lamp, She paddles her white canoe. “And her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see, And her paddle I soon shall hear; Long and loving our life shall be, And I’ll hide the maid in a cypress tree, When the footstep of death is near.” Who is the speaker in this section of the poem?
the maiden paddling the canoe
the lover searching for his lost bride
an unknown observer of the incident
the hired paddler of the canoe
Answers
Answer:
The Voice in this section of the poem ‘The Lake of the Dismal Swamp’ is "the lover searching for his lost bride."
Explanation:
The first two stanzas of Thomas Moore’s “The Lake of the Dismal Swamp” are words spoken by a man who is longing for a woman who has died, denoting her that she is now in "a grave.” The two stanzas are written by the first person, the man is longing to find his lover, and save her from death. The following stanza of the poem begins "Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds" The use of the third person in that next stanza symbolizes that it is changed into a different point of view - from someone (“he”) who was speaking at the start of the poem. And also, there are some additional lines of speech from the man, the rest of the story is narrated mainly, who follows the man seeking out the Dismal Swamp and his lover.