It suggests that the poem is very heavy, and that there is not a whole lot of joy. you can make an inference that it could be about someone in a tower, stuck up there with no one and nothing. hope that helps!
The answer is "when the surrounding words are unfamiliar".
It is a, because he is bald and ashamed of it.
Like the fish, Waverly wanted to get away and escape from her mother in vain.