QUESTION 1 Silver by Walter de la Mare Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the…

QUESTION 1
Silver
by Walter de la Mare
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch:
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws and a silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
What seems to be the purpose of the poem?
To depict the wildlife that comes out at night.
To show that the moon makes all it shines upon creepy and mysterious.
To depict a moonlit night near a home in the country.
To show how the moon moves over the sky at night.
QUESTION 2
The author uses many “s” sounds in his alliteration because:
Many of the words he wants to use to depict the moon begin with an “s.”
“S” is a hard sound and he wants to point out the harshness of the night.
The “s” sound is in the title of the poem and he wants to follow it through.
The moon moves “slowly, silently” in a soft manner and “s” has a soft sound.
QUESTION 3
The most dominant image in the poem is:
fish
trees
dogs
silver
QUESTION 4
If an artist were painting the scene from the poem, he might depict:
a scene with clear light and frost upon the flowers
a dark scene with a sliver of a moon just barely illuminating the house
a full moon with rays of moonlight illuminating and glinting off objects
a scene with a much activity from the wildlife of the night
QUESTION 5
The following is a simile:
“Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep”
“Couched in his kennel, like a log”
“A harvest mouse goes scampering by”
“And moveless fish in the water gleam”
QUESTION 6
The above simile compares:
the stationary quality of a dog and a log
the silence of doves and the silence of sleep
the quickness of a mouse and the quickness of any other animal that “scampers”
the stillness of the water and the stillness of the fish
QUESTION 7
To what is the moon compared in the first four lines?
a dog sleeping
a log and its sturdiness
a tree and its silvery leaves
a person walking around looking at everything
QUESTION 8
Here is another poem that uses personification to help define the theme. Answer the questions that follow using all you know about poetic devices.
The heart asks pleasure first,
And then, excuse from pain;
And then, those little anodynes (a medicine that relieves pain)
That deaden suffering,
And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor, (a person who investigates in a harsh way)
The liberty to die.
Emily Dickinson
The “heart” in this poem asks for things in order of increasing importance. What is the first thing the “heart” asks for?
A medicine to relieve pain
The freedom to die
Pleasure
Just to be left alone
QUESTION 9
As the poem goes on the requests become more and more:
extreme
lenient
weird and crazy
joyful
QUESTION 10
What is being personified in this poem?
Pain
The inquisitor
Death
The heart
QUESTION 11
Words in the poem that show that something is being personified are:
anodynes; inquisitor
ask; sleep
first; then
little; deaden
QUESTION 12
If nothing else deadens the pain, what is the final solution for getting rid of the pain in the poem?
living in another country
sleep
death
fighting for liberty
QUESTION 13
What is the connotation of the word “liberty” in this poem?
one can only find pleasure if he fights for liberty
fighting for liberty may bring pain but it is worth it
the freedom to die to escape pain
the freedom to live life as one chooses
—————————————————————————————————
In the first seven lines, to what is Hughes comparing a stairway with “tacks in it, and splinters”?
the carpet on the stairway
the other people that live in run down housing
the son
life
QUESTION 2
In this poem, “tacks,” and “splinters,” and “boards torn up” are all symbols for:
run down housing
a life that has had many difficulties and challenges
the ungrateful way the mother’s son treats her
the lack of compassion each man has for his fellow man
QUESTION 3
What might “reachin’ landin’s” symbolize in the mother’s “climb”?
Destructive forces in her life
Portions of her life that held “magic” for her
Compassionate forces in her life
Places in her life where she had to stop and make a decision
QUESTION 4
Why do you think the word “Bare” is on a line all alone?
To emphasize the son’s brutality
Because Hughes couldn’t think of anything else to add to that line
To emphasize how difficult and “bare” of luxuries the mother’s life was
Because it rhymes with “stair.”T>
QUESTION 5
What is the most likely meaning for “turnin’ corners” in the context of the poem?
Places in her life where she set new goals or tried to solve her problems in a new way.
Places in her life where she felt she had failed
The point in her life where she knew her son would be successful
Her need to find a father figure for her son.
QUESTION 6
Essentially, what is the mother trying to tell her son? (This would also be the theme of the poem.)
Don’t be so foolhardy and headstrong that you get hurt.
When you are in trouble, look to your mother for advice
Don’t give up and not complete the goals that you have set for yourself.
You need to love all of mankind.
QUESTION 7
The “crystal stair” is a metaphor that is used throughout the poem. Why do you think Hughes makes the stairway “crystal”?
Crystal is beautiful but also fragile and breaks easily.
Crystal sparkles in the sunlight
Crystal has different colors in it depending on how the light hits it
One can almost see through crystal
QUESTION 8
Why is a “stairway” a particularly appropriate metaphor for the wisdom the mother is attempting to impart to her son?
Stairways are almost always dirty and rough.
One has to clean and wax a stairway often to keep it looking good.
A stairway takes perseverance (steady persistence) to climb and it can go both up and down.
Stairways are often found in very expensive houses
3 points
QUESTION 9
What is the most likely age for the son to whom the mother is talking?
elderly (Social Security age)
infant
young man
mother is speaking to her son after he has died
QUESTION 10
Read this poem by William Blake carefully for he has used either metaphor, personification or symbolism in almost every line. What is the poem about? Your first clue is the title “The Evening Star.” Every line relates to something the evening star does or the way that it appears in the sky. He gives human qualities to the stars and the sky and, in the end, the star becomes a god.The words in italics represent a metaphor, personification or symbolism. Label SEVEN of the italicized words and/or phrases as one of the above poetic devices.
To The Evening Star by William Blake
Thou fair-hair’d
angel of the evening
Now, whilst the
sun rests
on the mountains, light
Thy bright
torch of love
; thy
radiant crown
Put on, and
smile
upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves, and, while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky,
scatter thy silver dew
On every
flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let the west
wind sleep
on
The lake; speak silence with thy
glimmering eyes
And
wash the dusk
with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the
wolf
rages wide,
And then the
lion
glares through the dun
forest;
The fleeces of our
flocks
are cover’d with
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence!
QUESTION 11
Select TWO of the devices you identified in the preceding questions. Explain exactly what is being compared and how the poetic device functions in the context of the poem.Follow this example:
“Angel of the evening” is a metaphor. Blake is comparing the evening star to an angel because it shines brightly in the sky and, he infers, it takes a compassionate interest, as an angel would, in the people on the earth below.