I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-15
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp? 20
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Which BEST describes the use and effect of rhetoric in the second stanza?
A) Expletives and rhetorical questions reinforce a tone of anguish and despair. B) Expletives and rhetorical questions reinforce a tone of relief, but also uncertainty.
C) Repetition and parallelism create a contrast to the destructive nature of the speaker.
D) Repetition and parallelism suggest similarities that emphasize the strength of the speaker.