Which feature is associated with Afternoons' structure?

• A. It uses strict rhyming couplets throughout.
• B. It follows a sonnet form.
• C. Stanzas reflect on past, present and future respectively.
• D. Enjambment.

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how the poem uses its structure to trace time. Afternoons is built in three stanzas, each guiding us through a different temporal frame: what has happened in the past, what is happening in the present, and what lies ahead in the future. This progression creates a clear sense of growth, aging, and the passage of generations. The first stanza sets up the domestic world and memories tied to that earlier time; the second moves into the ordinary routines of the present day; the third looks forward, hinting that the same patterns will continue with the next generation. Because of this, the structure isn’t about fixed forms like rhyming couplets or a sonnet, and while there is enjambment, the striking feature is how the three-stanza sequence mirrors the shift from past to present to future.