Read these lines from the poem. they refer to the biblical story of samson.

there is a poor, blind samson in this land,

shorn of his strength and bound in bonds of steel,

who may, in some grim revel, raise his hand,

and shake the pillars of this commonweal,

till the vast temple of our liberties

a shapeless mass of wreck and rubbish lies.

in the bible, samson is dedicated to god, and as a sign of his dedication, his hair is never cut. god gives samson immense physical strength. but samson is tricked into revealing his secret, and evil people shave his head, which makes him lose his strength. the evil people capture him, blind him, and make him a slave. samson asks god to give him strength once more so he can seek revenge on the evil people, and god does. samson destroys their temple, killing many of them, and killing himself in the process. longfellow compares the slaves in america to samson.

how does this allusion express the poem’s meaning?

it cautions that slavery doesn’t just destroy the slave, but also destroys american ideals.

it expresses the belief that slave uprisings might destroy the entire country.

it states that american talk about “liberty” is as meaningless as a destroyed building as long as people still hold slaves.

it celebrates the tremendous political power that newly freed slaves had to vote and change the government.

Select the correct answer. in this excerpt from "a modest proposal" by johnathan swift, what does the author list? i can think of no one objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged, that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom. this i freely own, and 'twas indeed one principal design in offering it to the world. i desire the reader will observe, that i calculate my remedy for this one individual kingdom of ireland, and for no other that ever was, is, or, i think, ever can be upon earth. therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: of using neither cloaths, nor houshold furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury: of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women: of introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and temperance: of learning to love our country, wherein we differ even from laplanders, and the inhabitants of topinamboo: of quitting our animosities and factions, nor acting any longer like the jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their city was taken: of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for nothing: of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenants. lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our shop-keepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon us in the price, the measure, and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it.a. reforms that had failed to improve ireland's situation b. the unrealistic measures discussed by irish government officials c. viable measures that could improve ireland's situation d. measures that would unify the populace of ireland

Constructed response paragraph: in the short story, the author describes her life during her “day away” but provides few details about her “normal” life. using information from the text, write a short story that describes events that precede the story above. as you detail the author’s daily routine before her “day away,” be sure your narrative establishes the story’s setting, first-person point of view, and primary conflict.

Write a minimum 150-word response in which you explain how hughes uses poetic devices such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and enjambment to reveal his theme in "theme for english b."