Try looking on dictionary.com or a thesaurus.
What is the author trying to tell me?
What kind of punctuation do they use?
What is happening in the book or story?
What is the goal of the book or story?
f you see ! or ? you then know what the character is doing exp: I can't believe that! (They sound surprised, now if you do: I can't believe that? they sound confused
Does that help?
Answer:
It introduces the story and sets up the coming events.
Explanation:
The first lines are almost always the introduction, and these are the first lines of that poem.
