AP English Literature · Character
By leaving the desired “thing” largely undefined while calling it both impossible and an “empty name,” the poem most strongly
Christina Rossetti, “A Pause of Thought” (1850)
1I looked for that which is not, nor can be,
2 And hope deferred made my heart sick in truth:
3 But years must pass before a hope of youth
4 Is resigned utterly.
5I watched and waited with a steadfast will:
6 And though the object seemed to flee away
7 That I so longed for, ever day by day
8 I watched and waited still.
9Sometimes I said: This thing shall be no more;
10 My expectation wearies and shall cease;
11 I will resign it now and be at peace:
12 Yet never gave it o'er.
13Sometimes I said: It is an empty name
14 I long for; to a name why should I give
15 The peace of all the days I have to live?--
16 Yet gave it all the same.
17Alas, thou foolish one! alike unfit
18 For healthy joy and salutary pain:
19 Thou knowest the chase useless, and again
20 Turnest to follow it.
Christina Rossetti, “A Pause of Thought,” published in <em>The Germ</em> (1850). Public-domain text.
By leaving the desired “thing” largely undefined while calling it both impossible and an “empty name,” the poem most strongly
Answer and explanation
Answer: C: shifts attention from the identity of the object to the speaker's recurring pattern of attachment to unattainable desire
The poem never names the desired "thing," yet calls it impossible and an "empty name." Leaving it undefined moves attention from what is wanted to the speaker's recurring attachment to something unattainable, so C is correct. Choice A is tempting because the pursuit is futile, but the poem criticizes this attachment, not all hope. Choice B assigns the longing to social pressure, though no audience appears. Choice D asks the reader to find one biographical event, but the poem offers too little detail to require that reading.
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