Read the excerpt from "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. Which statement best explains the central idea of this stanza? People are unkind to poets and demand explanations from them. Poetry prompts feelings of anger and frustration. People try too hard to find one meaning for each poem. Poetry is too difficult for most people to understand.

You have been given the assignment of speaking about the affects of illegal drug use on youth in america. which of the following types of research is likely not to be necessary while preparing for your speech? a. a government website with statistics on convictions for possession among adolescents under the age of 18 b. a library book about the pharmaceutical drug industry in america c. a recent article from cnn. com about a special home for teenagers addicted to drugs d. a website that provides support for parents whose children are in rehab

Which group or words is not a phrase? a.) leaving behind the dog b.) because she smiled at me c.) smashing into a fence d.) before the first test e.) pushing the sofa

Match each excerpt to the correct stanza structure. 1. it was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of annabel lee; and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me. (from "annabel lee" by edgar allan poe) 2. o thou, new-year, delaying long, delayest the sorrow in my blood, that longs to burst a frozen bud and flood a fresher throat with song. (from "in memoriam" by alfred lord tennyson) 3. nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. her early leaf’s a flower but only so an hour. then leaf subsides to leaf. so eden sank to grief,; so dawn goes down to day. nothing gold can stay. (from "nothing gold can stay" by robert frost) 4. at sestos hero dwelt; hero the fair, whom young apollo courted for her hair, and offered as a dower his burning throne, where she should sit for men to gaze upon. the outside of her garments were of lawn, the lining purple silk, with gilt stars drawn; (from "hero and leander" by christopher marlowe) quatrain couplet octave sestet