There are many two syllable words whose meaning can change depending on which syllable is stressed. For example, when the stress is on the second syllable of the word “desert” (deSERT), it is a verb meaning to abandon.
The correct answer is the second one “an absence of love or passion.” In the poem, the general intention of the author is to describe his feelings about the love/passion that it is leaving his life. The sentence “dead leaves and snow”, is the way in which he introduces the absence feeling that he is going through. The birds, as well as the leaves of the tree, are metaphors of love, which are abandoning the tree (his life).
Answer:
A: They help introduce the speaker to the audience.
Explanation:
