When a sedate content the spirit feels, and no fierce light disturbs, whilst it reveals; but silent musings urge the mind to seek something, too high for syllables to speak; till the free soul to a composedness charmed, finding the elements of rage disarmed, o’er all below a solemn quiet grown, joys in the inferior world, and thinks it like her own … in these lines from “a nocturnal reverie” by anne finch, how does the natural world charm the speaker to “composedness”? a. the love she has of sunshine makes her focus on her surroundings. b. the connection she feels with nature makes her spirit content. c. the love she has of animals makes her forget her daytime cares. d. the connection she feels to other people makes her long to be with family and friends.

The harlem renaissance dawned in an era of pervasive racism and segregation. although legally "free," many african americans were still bound by ideas that had their roots in the slavery of earlier centuries. identity and freedom are important ideas presented in many of the poems from the harlem renaissance. furthermore, the values of identity and freedom are not unique to particular times and places. as hughes expresses in "dream variations," all humans want to be able to develop their identities in freedom. what role does freedom play in the poems you read in this unit? what is required of a society to enable each individual to be true to his or her identity and be free to live by that identity? write about at least three of the poems, describing how the poet uses imagery to depict freedom and identity, the lack of it, or the desire for it.