1. The version a) is the better of the two. The syllable count in both lines is 10 and they have a similar flow. They also seem to follow the same meter: iambic pentameter. The repetition in the phrase "your guide by day, your guard by night" creates more unity than "shall point your way by day, and keep you safe at night".
2. b) is the better of the two. The words are more concise and are able to flow well.
3. The first excerpt seems to be the most correct solely for the beautiful assonance used: "crows croak hoarsely over the snow". Option b) does not follow this poetic device.
4. b) seems to follow a more rhythmic route than a). The word "attests" in a)'s first line disrupts the flow and meter, whereas b) successfully does not: "low voice tells how...".
5. Option b) tries to incorporate too many flowery and excessively long words that disrupt the rhythm of the piece. The use of "immemorial" and "innumerable" makes the piece seem choppy and wordy. a) uses both iambic pentameter and general rhythm to successfully embody the beauty of the garden.
6. a) has a more parallel and uniform meter (iambic pentameter) than b), as well as a more pleasant rhythm.
7. Option a) seems too literal and entirely devoid of rhythm, almost as if it were meant to be a sentence instead of in a poem. The list of words in the first line of b) provide a congruent, repetitive rhythm, with some loose consonance with both 'b' and 's': "bastions, batteries, bayonets, bullets".
8. Though a) seems more cluttered with syllables, its word choice is more effective than that of b). The word "incessantly" used in a) is more descriptive than "repetitive". The connotation of incessantly is that the work continues even when there is no resolve--it is done endlessly.
9. Excerpt b) seems to be the more successful of the two. Its lines have a similar count of syllables and meter, whereas some lines in a) extend and seem to not follow any rhythm. For example, as a) says in line three, "The plowing goes wearily plodding his homeward way," which is a mouthful. Then option b) makes the idea more concise and easier to follow: "The plowman homeward plods his weary way". The second line is more musical and pleasant.
10. Option a) has too many cluttered and misplaced syllables. b) has much better rhythm and flow, as well as having both alliteration and assonance at the end: "stinks and stings".
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