Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this poem. Which explanation about “I Explain a Few Things” best develops the speaker’s viewpoint that adversity only makes his compatriots stronger?

By describing their opponents as “Jackals that the jackal would spurn,” the speaker stresses that an enemy this brutal is difficult to stand against.

The image of fellow citizens rising up and drowning the enemy in a wave of “pride and knives” demonstrates that they will remain defiant.

The image of friars blessing the bombs that kill the children provides an example of why those under attack are anxious to fight back.

By portraying the fires, gunpowder, and blood, the speaker shows that the horror of this war will only end when their opponents give up.