"Hope is the Thing with Feathers"

by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers—

That perches in the soul—

And sings the tune without the words—

And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—

And sore must be the storm—

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—

And on the strangest Sea—

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb—of Me.

The first line of the poem has an irregular rhythm of one stressed syllable, two unstressed syllables, then one stressed syllable and one unstressed for the remaining four beats.

Which describes the meter of the rest of the poem?

A. three stressed and three unstressed syllables on the first and third lines; four stressed and four unstressed syllables on the second and fourth lines

B. four stressed and four unstressed syllables on the first and third lines; three stressed and three unstressed syllables on the second and fourth lines

C. three unstressed and three stressed syllables on the first and third lines; four unstressed and four stressed syllables on the second and fourth lines

D. four unstressed and four stressed syllables on the first and third lines; three unstressed and three stressed syllables on the second and fourth lines