AP Success - AP English Literature: Advice to a Prophet

When you come, as you soon must, to the streets of our city,
Mad-eyed from stating the obvious, Not proclaiming our fall but begging us In God’s name to have self-pity,

Spare us all word of the weapons, their force and range,
The long numbers that rocket the mind; Our slow, unreckoning hearts will be left behind,
Unable to fear what is too strange.

Nor shall you scare us with talk of the death of the race.
How should we dream of this place without us?— The sun mere fire, the leaves untroubled about us,
A stone look on the stone’s face?

Speak of the world’s own change. Though we cannot conceive
Of an undreamt thing, we know to our cost How the dreamt cloud crumbles, the vines are blackened by frost,
How the view alters. We could believe,

If you told us so, that the white-tailed deer will slip
Into perfect shade, grown perfectly shy, The lark avoid the reaches of our eye, The jack-pine lose its knuckled grip

On the cold ledge, and every torrent burn As Xanthus once, its gliding trout Stunned in a twinkling. What should we be without
The dolphin’s arc, the dove’s return,

These things in which we have seen ourselves and spoken?
Ask us, prophet, how we shall call Our natures forth when that live tongue is all Dispelled, that glass obscured or broken

In which we have said the rose of our love and the clean
Horse of our courage, in which beheld The singing locust of the soul unshelled, And all we mean or wish to mean.

Ask us, ask us whether with the worldless rose
Our hearts shall fail us; come demanding
Whether there shall be lofty or long standing
When the bronze annals of the oak-tree close.

Richard Wilbur, “Advice to a Prophet” from Collected Poems 1943-2004. Copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Reprinted with the permission of Harcourt, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Question 1

Multiple choice

The speaker in the poem uses the phrase "Mad-eyed from stating the obvious" (line 2) to suggest that the addressed figure is:

  • deranged by the simplicity of their revelations

  • frustrated by the ignorance of others

  • enlightened by basic truths

  • obsessed with clarity

  • angered by societal denial

Question 2

Multiple choice

In lines 6-9, the speaker's request to "Spare us all word of the weapons" implies a desire to:

  • focus on peace rather than conflict

  • avoid confronting uncomfortable truths

  • preserve innocence about the dangers they face

  • remain ignorant of external threats

  • emphasize spiritual over physical defense

Question 3

Multiple choice

The use of "In God’s name" (line 4) primarily serves to:

  • invoke a divine authority for their plea

  • emphasize the desperation of their request

  • contrast spiritual values with their current state

  • highlight the religious nature of their appeal

  • question the role of divinity in their plight

Question 4

Multiple choice

The imagery in lines 11-14 suggests a world without humans is one that is:

  • chaotic and disordered

  • indifferent and unchanging

  • peaceful and harmonious

  • desolate and barren

  • vibrant and self-sustaining

Question 5

Multiple choice

The rhetorical question in lines 12-14 ("How should we dream of this place without us?—") serves to:

  • highlight humanity's centrality to the world

  • underscore the fear of extinction

  • question the significance of human existence

  • illustrate the difficulty of imagining a world without humans

  • criticize the anthropocentric view of the world

Question 6

Multiple choice

In lines 21-24, the depiction of animals behaving unnaturally (e.g., deer becoming "perfectly shy") most likely symbolizes:

  • an idyllic state of nature

  • the impact of human absence on wildlife

  • a metaphor for human vulnerability

  • the unpredictability of nature

  • a warning about environmental change

Question 7

Multiple choice

The phrase "the dreamt cloud crumbles" (line 18) metaphorically signifies:

  • the dissolution of illusions

  • the unpredictability of weather

  • the fragility of human aspirations

  • the transient nature of existence

  • the destruction of the environment

Question 8

Multiple choice

The reference to "the dolphin’s arc, the dove’s return" (lines 29) symbolically emphasizes:

  • freedom and hope

  • cyclicality and renewal

  • beauty and grace in nature

  • survival and adaptation

  • isolation and solitude

Question 9

Multiple choice

In lines 36-39, the "rose of our love and the clean horse of our courage" are examples of:

  • classical allusions

  • naturalistic imagery

  • metaphorical representations of human emotions and virtues

  • literal descriptions of cherished objects

  • symbols of cultural heritage

Question 10

Multiple choice

The overall tone of the poem can best be described as:

  • optimistic and uplifting

  • didactic and authoritative

  • contemplative and introspective

  • urgent and pleading

  • cynical and despairing

Teach with AI superpowers

Why teachers love Class Companion

Import assignments to get started in no time.

Create your own rubric to customize the AI feedback to your liking.

Overrule the AI feedback if a student disputes.

Other English Literature Assignments

After reading "On the rainy River" through "How to Tell a True War Story,"After reading "The Man I Killed" through "Speaking of Courage," answer the folloAnalysis of Janie's Identity Development in 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'Analysis of Symbolism in the Song's WatchtowerAnalysis of 'The Handmaid's Tale' EndingAnalyzing Complex Relationships in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of CasterbridgeAnalyzing the Role of a Foil Character in LiteratureAnswer the following after reading "Love" and "Spin"AP English Literature: Analysis of Nisi Shawl's 'Everfair'AP FRQ for Little Fires EverywhereAP FRQ For Little Fires EverywhereAP FRQ One Poetry: "The Myth of Music" by Rachel M. HarperAP Literature FRQ: Major Jackson's Poem "Mighty Pawns"AP Lit Q1 "The Landlady"AP Poetry Essay "Shaving" by Richard BlancoAP Success - AP English Literature: A Haunted HouseAP Success - AP English Literature: An Idle FellowAP Success - AP English Literature: As I Lay DyingAP Success - AP English Literature: AzathothAP Success - AP English Literature: Bleak HouseAP Success - AP English Literature: Calmly We Walk Through This April’s DayAP Success - AP English Literature: February (a cat poem)AP Success - AP English Literature: My Name (means hope)AP Success - AP English Literature: PlanetariumAP Success - AP English Literature: Sailing to ByzantiumAP Success - AP English Literature: SleepingAP Success - AP English Literature: Sonnet 106AP Success - AP English Literature: The Birthday PartyAP Success - AP English Literature: The Broken HeartAP Success - AP English Literature: The Crying of Lot 49AP Success - AP English Literature: The Fight of the Good Ship ClarissaAP Success - AP English Literature: The Prisoner's SongAP Success - AP English Literature: There Was Once...AP Success - AP English Literature: The Solitude of SelfAP Success - AP English Literature: Wit Inspirations Of The "Two-Year-Olds"Attempt #2 "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"Capstone Project Topic Identification and Problem Statement DevelopmentCat on a Hot Tin RoofCharacter Analysis in Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'Character Analysis: The Impact of the Past on Identity in Toni Morrison's 'Beloved'Character Development #1Character Development #2Character Development #3Complete the following after reading from "Notes" through "Field Trip"Create an Original Love PoemCrossing the Swamp FRQCrossing the Swamp FRQ1Due Monday "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"