UNSEEN POETRY
Read the poem and answer the question
My heart was in fearful flight
Pursued by Cupid, arrow poised
Waiting for my flight’s end
When I’d turn about
Or I’d fall supine
My fleeing heart to pierce
Enslave or enthrall and ravish hopeless
So, I’m pining and pining away
For you high up there have perched
Out of reach of my now yearning
Which was why my heart’d been fleeing
From cupid’s poised arrow
In the poem, cupid is
-
an allusion
- a metonymy
- the persona's mistress
- the persona's rival
The correct answer is: A
Explanation
Cupid is an allusion because he is a reference to Roman mythology, where he is the god of love and desire. In the poem, Cupid is not a literal character but a symbolic figure representing love and attraction. The persona's heart is described as fleeing from Cupid's arrow, which suggests an unwillingness to surrender to love.