The people walked in little groups toward the beach. They talked and laughed; some of them sang. There was a band playing down at Klein's hotel, and the strains reached them faintly, tempered by the distance. There were strange, rare odors abroad—a tangle of the sea smell and of weeds and damp, new–plowed earth, mingled with the heavy perfume of a field of white blossoms somewhere near. (But the night sat lightly upon the sea and the land.) There was no weight of darkness; there were no shadows. The white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep.

Question

The people walked in little groups toward the beach. They talked and laughed; some of them sang. There was a band playing down at Klein's hotel, and the strains reached them faintly, tempered by the distance. There were strange, rare odors abroad—a tangle of the sea smell and of weeds and damp, new–plowed earth, mingled with the heavy perfume of a field of white blossoms somewhere near. (But the night sat lightly upon the sea and the land.) There was no weight of darkness; there were no shadows. The white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep.

Why did the author most likely use the underlined phrase?
The part in parenthesis is underlined

Answer 1

The author most likely used the underlined phrase to emphasize the peaceful and serene atmosphere of the night. By stating that the night "sat lightly upon the sea and the land," the author is conveying a sense of calmness and tranquility.

Answer 2

Answer choices

to indicate the sea was well lit by the nearby town
to portray a sense of calm and safety in the nighttime
to say that the sky seemed to hover right above the sea and land
to warn about looming danger

Answer 3

Based on the given answer choices, the sentence "The night sat lightly upon the sea and the land" is most likely used to portray a sense of calm and safety in the nighttime.