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Ocean Conservation: reading poetry, The World Below the Brine 6

Problem

Read the poem, then answer the TWO practice questions.

The World Below the Brine

by Walt Whitman
The world below the brine,1
Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens,2 strange flowers and seeds, the thick
tangle openings, and pink turf,
Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold, the
play of light through the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes,
and the aliment3 of the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling
close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting4
with his flukes,5
The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle, the hairy
sea-leopard, and the sting-ray,
Passions there, wars, pursuits, tribes, sight in those ocean-depths,
breathing that thick-breathing air, as so many do,
The change thence to the sight here, and to the subtle air breathed
by beings like us who walk this sphere,
The change onward from ours to that of beings who walk other spheres.
*****

Notes

  1. water saturated with salt
  2. a small plant that grows on rocks
  3. food; nourishment
  4. a term that means to enjoy oneself without restraint
  5. a whale’s tail

Practice questions

This question has two parts. Answer Part A, then Part B.

Part A

What is a theme in this poem?
Choose 1 answer:

Part B

Which piece of evidence best supports the answer to Part A?
Choose 1 answer:
Psst! Don't forget to choose an answer for both questions :)