Ezra Pound
1While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead
I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse;
You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.
5And we went on living in the village of Chokan:
Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.
At fourteen I married My Lord you.
I never laughed, being bashful.
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
10Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back.
At fifteen I stopped scowling,
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours
Forever and forever and forever.
Why should I climb the lookout?
15At sixteen you departed,
You went into far Ku-to-en, by the river of swirling eddies,
And you have been gone five months.
The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.
You dragged your feet when you went out.
20By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses,
Too deep to clear them away!
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind.
The paired butterflies are already yellow with August
Over the grass in the West garden --
25They hurt me.
I grow older.
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river,
Please let me know beforehand,
And I will come out to meet you
30As far as Cho-fo-Sa.
Which line from the poem best communicates the meaning of "bashful"?
Responses
A "The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.
""The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.
"
B "I desired my dust to be mingled with yours""I desired my dust to be mingled with yours"
C "I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
""I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
"
D "Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
"
D "Lowering my head, I looked at the wall. "
D "Lowering my head, I looked at the wall. "
To determine which line from the poem best communicates the meaning of "bashful," we need to understand the context of the word and how it is being described within the poem.
In the poem, the speaker describes their own behavior and emotions at different stages of their life. At the age of fourteen, the speaker says, "I never laughed, being bashful." This line suggests that the speaker was shy and hesitant to express their emotions openly. Therefore, the line that best communicates the meaning of "bashful" is D) "Lowering my head, I looked at the wall. " This line showcases the speaker's bashful behavior of avoiding eye contact and looking down, indicating their shyness or timidity.