And I wish in my sorrow I could strip to the soul, And dive off in my grave like the old swimmin'–hole.

These lines from the poem illustrate that the speaker

This question is missing the options. I've found the complete question online. It is the following:

Read these lines from the poem again:

And I wish in my sorrow I could strip to the soul,

And dive off in my grave like the old swimmin'-hole.

These lines from the poem illustrate that the speaker

A. wants to prevent his approaching death

B. has become sad, but finds comfort in old age

C. needs to visit the swimming hole again

D. has grown so sad that death would be a relief

The lines from the poem illustrate that the speaker:

D. has grown so sad that death would be a relief

Explanation:

The excerpt we are analyzing here was taken from the poem "The Old Swimmin' Hole" by James Whitcomb Riley. The speaker talks of [his] sorrow," and of wanting to strip his soul. We can infer he is deeply sad, to the point of wishing for something drastic. After stripping his soul, he wants to "dive off in [his] grave," meaning he would like to die. Connecting both parts, we can tell that his sadness has become so extreme that he would rather die than feel it. For that reason, the best option is letter D. has grown so sad that death would be a relief.

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