Question

Which line(s) from the poem, "An Ancient Gesture," most create(s) a tone of remorse and regret? 1 I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron: 2 Penelope did this too. 3 And more than once: you can't keep weaving all day 4 And undoing it all through the night; 5 Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight; 6 And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light, 7 And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years. 8 Suddenly you burst into tears; 9 There is simply nothing else to do. 10 And I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron: 11 This is an ancient gesture, authentic, antique, 12 In the very best tradition, classic, Greek; 13 Ulysses did this too. 14 But only as a gesture,—a gesture which implied 15 To the assembled throng that he was much too moved to speak. 16 He learned it from Penelope... 17 Penelope, who really cried.

Answer 1

7 And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years.

Answer 2

Answer:

7 And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years.

8 Suddenly you burst into tears;

9 There is simply nothing else to do.

Explanation:

These lines show that someone who paid close attention to something superfluous and without much importance every day and relentlessly, ended up losing his beloved. Her husband left and she did not even notice, because her attention was on something else. Now this person cries of remorse and regret, because there is nothing she can do to reverse this situation.