Read the excerpt from the poem "Barbara Frietchie."

In her attic window the staff she set,

To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Which best describes the rhyming couplets in this excerpt?

A. The first focuses on Barbara's actions and the second on Jackson's.

B. Both focus on the actions of Barbara.

C. Both focus on the actions of Jackson.

D. The first focuses on Jackson's actions and the second on Barbara's.

The option that best describes the couplets is:

A. The first focuses on Barbara's actions and the second on Jackson's.

Explanation:

The first couplet is:

In her attic window the staff she set,

To show that one heart was loyal yet.

This is about Barbara's action of placing the flag outside the attic window. Barbara is an old woman who is showing her loyalty to her country by hanging the flag where everyone can see it.

The second couplet is:

Up the street came the rebel tread,

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

The focus here is not on Barbara anymore, but on Jackson. He and the rebels are marching up the street. The following couplets will reveal that, upon seeing the flag, Jackson orders his men to shoot. Barbara then reacts by appearing at the window, holding the flag, asking those men to respect it.

We can safely say, thus, that the first couplet focuses on Barbara's actions, while the second one focuses on Jackson's.