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Craft and Structure / Text Structure and Purpose Difficulty: Medium

The following text is adapted from Gwendolyn Bennett’s 1926 poem “Street Lamps in Early Spring.”

Night wears a garment
All velvet soft, all violet blue... 
And over her face she draws a veil
As shimmering fine as floating dew... 
And here and there
In the black of her hair
The subtle hands of Night
Move slowly with their gem-starred light.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

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Explanation

Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the overall structure of the text. Throughout the text, the speaker characterizes nighttime as if it were a person who wears clothing (“a garment” that is “velvet soft” and “violet blue”) and a veil “over her face” and who moves her hands “slowly with their gem-starred light” through her dark hair. Thus, the text is structured as an extended comparison of night to a human being.

Choice A is incorrect because the text never mentions any particular location; instead, it focuses on presenting a single description of night as a person with certain clothing and features. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t make any reference to the sun or sunrise; instead, it focuses on presenting a single image of night as a person with certain clothing and features. Choice D is incorrect. Rather than describing how nighttime changes seasonally (or in any other way), the text presents a single image of night as a person with certain clothing and features.