Unit 7 - Poetry

What is the speaker's attitude toward the removal of the trees?

He is saddened that man cares so little about nature.

The reader can infer the theme of "The War Against the Trees" as a—

Not all growth and development has a positive effect on nature.

Read the following lines from "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: The poet uses a metaphor to—

compare the number of daffodils to the stars

Read the following excerpt from "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The poet uses personification to describe—

flowers fluttering in the breeze

Read the following excerpt from "The War Against the Trees." The man who sold his lawn to standard oil Joked with his neighbors come to watch the show While the bulldozers, drunk with gasoline, Tested the virtue of the soil Under the branchy sky By overthowing first the privet-row. The poet uses personification to—

further enhance the carnival-like atmosphere by describing the bulldozers as drunk

Read the stanza below from "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Which words best describe the tone shift?

lonesome to joyful

Read the following stanza from "I Wandered lonely as a Cloud." For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. The purpose for this last stanza is to—

reflect on the importance of the memory of the daffodils

Read the following lines from "The War Against the Trees." Ripped from the craters much too big for hearts The club-roots barred their amputated coils, Raw gorgons matted blind, whose pocks and scars Cried Moon! on a corner lot One witness-moment, caught In the rear-view mirrors of the passing cars The reader can infer that the poet is describing the uprooting of the trees as a way to—

show that bystanders do not see the significance

Read the excerpt from "The War Against the Trees." All day the hireling engines charged the trees, Subverting them by hacking underground In grub-dominions, where dark summer's mole Rampages through his halls, Till a northern seizure shook Those crowns forcing the giants to their knees

symbolizes the destruction of life and nature

Read the following excerpt from "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The poet uses hyperbole to describe—

the number of daffodils in the field

In the poem "The War Against the Trees," the neighbor who sold his property to the oil company could be described as—

upbeat and pleased

Read the excerpt below from "The War Against the Trees." Forsythia-forays and hydrangea-raids Were but preliminaries to a war Against the great-grandfathers of the town, So freshly lopped and maimed. They struck and struck again, And with each elm a century went down. The poet paints a picture of—

war, death, and destruction