Question

Read this excerpt from “Lights” and answer the question. Glad to leave far below the clanging city; Looking far downward to the glaring street Gaudy with light, yet tired with many feet, In both of us wells up a wordless pity; The connotations of clanging and glaring suggest that the city is _____.

Answer 1

According to the dictionary, clanging refers to a mode of speech characterized by association of words based upon sound rather than concepts; and glaring to something that is shining intensely and blindingly.

So we can say that "The connotations of clanging and glaring suggest that the city is in a chaos.

Answer 2

I would say that the city is busy, populous, modern, yet devoid of humanity, the author seems to suggest. "Clanging" evokes a loud sound, coming, perhaps, from a streetcar, or a crowded street, whereas "glaring" evokes an intense, almost blinding, light, which might come from the marquee of a theater or the window of a fancy store. Yet, this abundance of light, the author ponders, which could seemingly equal progress, prosperity, and happiness, is bringing people neither joy nor pride or freedom. Hence her relief when she leaves the city behind and arrives to the familiarity and the humanity of her home.