To His Excellency General Washington

1. A. As a literary device, apostrophe involves directly addressing someone or something who is absent or (as in the case of an abstract idea, inanimate object, etc.) otherwise unable to respond. The opening invocation of a “celestial choir” is an example.

2. D. The image of a “golden reign” anticipates the later call for Washington to receive “[a] crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, / With gold unfading” (Lines 41-42). “Reign” also puns on the homophone “rain,” which both suggests the movement of falling leaves and continues the storm imagery of the preceding lines. Finally, the line links the movement of armies to the natural world—in this case, the autumn leaves.

3. B. “[F]ields of fight” is an example of alliteration—the repetition of an initial consonant sound.

4. C. Although “pensive” often does mean “thoughtful,” the context (e.g., the “drooping” head) makes it clear that in this case the word is meant to convey sadness.

5. B. Elision is the omission of a syllable, often (as in this poem) to preserve the poem’s meter. Pronouncing “every” as “ev-uh-ree" would disrupt the iambic pentameter Wheatley uses throughout the poem.