Observation

Few candidates attempted this question. They were unable to explain what tone means. The theme of the poem was also not stated and discussed.
This question demands:

• Identification of the theme of nature’s ambivalences and opposites which excite the poet’s feeling of ecstasy and disgust.
• Explanation of tone.

• The persona’s tone as he describes the swallows: The words he uses are full of excitement, wonder and admiration. As the swallows move, he hears ‘a twitch, a twitter, an elastic shudder in flight’
• The persona’s tone as he describes the bats: He hates the bats and finds them disgusting
• Evaluation of the persona’s tone: nature is unbiased. It juxtaposes opposites. Human beings, like the persona, impose their biases on nature and speak in disgust or in awe about nature’s qualities.

Candidates’ performance in the question was average.