Which one of the following statements is true?

1. AThe poem is concerned with unmasking racial discrimination.
2. BThe poem is concerned with humans' propensity to go to war despite the catastrophes it creates.
3. CThe poem is pro-war, eulogising humans' heroic capacity for martyrdom.
4. DThe poem is affirmative in its overall tenor.

Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. The poem is concerned with humans' propensity to go to war despite the catastrophes it creates.

Explanation

Its catalogue of bombers, poison gas and profiteering mocks humanity's appetite for war; it is neither about race nor affirmative.

Note: Passage I is Edna St. Vincent Millay's 'Apostrophe to Man' (1934), which is copyrighted and not reproduced. It savagely 'congratulates' humankind on breeding, crowding and making war, with bombers, explosives and death sold for profit, and ends by urging the 'detestable race' to expunge itself and die out.