Read the following extract from Maya Angelou's poem, 'When Great Trees Fall', and answer the questions that follow: When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.
What words does the poet use to describe the condition of the air around us when great souls die? What feeling is being expressed in the line, ‘We breathe, briefly’?
Topic: The air and the breathing
Answer
She writes that when great souls die, "the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile" — thin, empty and lifeless, as though the nourishment had gone out of it.
"We breathe, briefly" expresses the numbing shock of grief. Breathing becomes shallow and difficult, as if the body itself falters; life continues only in short, mechanical gasps. It conveys a sense of suspended existence — the survivors are alive, but barely, and without feeling.
Quote the three adjectives exactly — light, rare, sterile — since the marks are for the words themselves. Then explain the effect: Angelou uses physical sensations (breath, sight, memory) to convey an emotional state, and pointing that out shows you understand her method, not just her meaning.