English Poetry Test
What is the structure (S) of "Mother to Son" by Langston Huges
20 lines alliteration (line 14): -Where there ain't been no light. consonance (line 9): -I'se been a-climbin' on
What is the structure (S) of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
4 stanzas, rhyme scheme: AABA
What is the structure (S) of "maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings
Six stanzas; no rhyme scheme some couplets end in rhyme (may/day, stone/alone, me/sea), alliteration of "maggie and milly and molly and may", assonance of "to play one day"
What is the Figurative Language (F) in "maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings
simile of a stone "as small as a world and as large as alone", metaphor comparing starfish OR sun's rays to fingers "whose rays five languid fingers were", personification of shell "...a shell that sang so sweetly"
What is the Word Choice (W) in "Mother to Son" by Langston Huges
slang like "I'se, goin', climbin' ain't" sets the time period and culture (Harlem Renaissance) of the poem
What is the Figurative Language (F) in "Mother to Son" by Langston Huges
"Life for me ain't been no crystal stair" is a metaphor that shows us life won't always be easy. The tacks, splinters, torn up boards and places with no carpet all symbolize obstacles in life.
What is the Imagery (I) in "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"We wear the mask that grins and lies,/It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes" and "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile" are very visual lines. They help you see the fake emotions shared with the world, but the real pain is hidden.
What is the Word Choice (W) in "maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings
"horrible thing" and "raced sideways" helps us infer crab
What is the Word Choice (W) in "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"torn and bleeding hearts," "counting all our tears and sighs," and "tortured souls" all add to the sad tone
What is the structure (S) of "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
15 Lines; 3 stanzas (I think); There is real no rhyme scheme, its just a different pattern for each stanza
What is the structure (S) of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
18 stanzas; 108 lines; ABCBBB rhyme scheme
Rhyme Scheme
A consistent pattern of end rhyme throughout a poem
Narrative Poem
A poem that tells a story; has a plot, characters, and a setting Ex) The Raven
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, person, or event Ex) Lost Boy - reference to Peter Pan
What is the Figurative Language (F) in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
Alliteration, Rhyme scheme, internal rhyme, personification, assonance, consonance (I think)
"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar Reread the "About the Poet" text, and then reread the poem. How does the poet's personal history help you understand the poem further? About the poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was the first African American writer to earn his living solely by writing poetry and fiction. He was also the first to gain a national audience of mostly white readers. He was the son of former slaves and he would have seen and understood the tragedies of slavery.
Dunbar's poem may reflect the poet's own life experience of inhabiting multiple identities, both as the son of former slaves and as an accomplished writer appealing to audience of mostly white readers.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe What context clues help you understand the likely meaning of the word entreating in stanza 3?
Entreating in this stanza means "asking for." The fact that the visitor was entreating "entrance at my chamber door" makes the meaning of the word clear.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe You already know about end rhyme, the most common form of rhyme. In "The Raven," Poe also makes use of internal rhyme. What examples of internal rhyme do you see in the first two stanzas? Also, how does Poe use other poetic devices to develop the poem, other then rhyme?
Examples of internal rhyme from stanza 2 include "morrow," "borrow," and "sorrow." In the last stanza, the words "seeming," "dreaming," and "streaming" rhyme. Other poetic devices Poe uses in this poem are assonance, consonance, and alliteration to help make the poem melodious and memorable by emphasizing sound.
"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar Summarize the first two stanzas of the poem. "We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask."
Instead of showing our true selves to the world, we hide our feelings behind a mask. The mask may look happy, but there is pain underneath that fake smile.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe Reread lines 58-59. What does this suggest about the narrator's recent experiences? What inference can you make about the narrator's mood? "Till I scarcely more than muttered 'Other friends have flown before-- On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before"
It suggests that his friends have left him. The inference is that he is lonely and depressed.
"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar Identify an example of alliteration in the poem.
Line 5 - "And mouth with myriad subtleties." Line 6 - "Why should the world be over-wise"
"maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings Key Ideas and Details: Summarize each couplet of the poem. The last line says, "it's always ourselves we find at the sea." What do the items the girls find tell us about the girls themselves?
Maggie found a singing shell that helped her forget her troubles. This suggests that she was anxious and worried. Milly befriended a stranded starfish. This suggest that she is friendly and compassionate. Molly was frightened by a "horrible thing." She doesn't know what it is, but the description suggests it is a crab. The inference is that Molly is frightened by the unknown or unfamiliar. May found a stone, "as small as a world and as large as alone." The fact that May responds to a single stone and sees it in a world that can feel both big and small at the same time, indicate that she is thoughtful and perceptive.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe Highlight the adjectives (words that describe nouns) in lines 19-54. Which ones are neutral or have positive connotations (feeling the word evokes in the reader)? Which ones have negative connotations? How do Poe's word choices add to the atmosphere and tone of the poem?
Neutral or positive: silken, purple, stately, saintly, ebony, ancient, lordly, living, shaven, sculptured Negative: whispered, sad, uncertain, grave, stern, shorn, ghastly, grim, Nightly, Plutonian, ungainly. These words help create a sense of mystery and suspense.
"maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings Craft and Structure: Find examples of the poet's use of capitalization and punctuation. What is the intended effect of this use?
Only the word For is capitalized at the start of line 11. The girls' names aren't capitalized. The lack of capitalization puts all the words on the same level. The capitalization of "For" suggests this word must be important. It starts the couplet that addresses the theme of the poem. The poet uses one comma, one semicolon, one colon, and one period. The unconventional use of punctuation makes the reader pause and pay attention.
"Mother to Son" by Langston Huges Find examples of Hughes's use of commas (,) and dashes (--) in this poem. What is the intended effect of each piece of punctuation?
The commas and dash slow down the reading to promote a more thoughtful approach.
What is the Figurative Language (F) in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
The horse thinking it queer to stop in the forest can be seen as personification. Also, sleep in "miles to go before I sleep" can metaphorically represent eternal sleep, as in death.
What is the Imagery (I) in "Mother to Son" by Langston Huges
The images of the tacks, splinters, torn up boards, help us see her struggles in life.
Theme
The main idea of a literary work that usually expresses a lesson learned.
What is the symbol (S) of "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The mask is symbolic of hiding our pain and sadness.
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost Key Ideas and Details: Summarize each stanza of the poem. How does the meaning of the poem develop as the stanzas progress?
The meaning develops as each stanza adds a little more information. By the end of the poem, you know that it's a snowy evening and the speaker has stopped his horse by a some woods out in the country. It's so quiet that, other than the noise of the horse's harness, the only sounds are from the wind and the falling snow. The speaker is tempted to stay longer, but he has obligations to other people, and he has to travel furthers before he can rest.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe What is the narrator's mood as conveyed in stanzas 1-6? Note evidence to support your interpretation.
The mood is solemn, fearful, and depressed. The narrator says he is "weak and weary" and is filled with "fantastic terrors," fearing what he cannot see.
"Mother to Son" by Langston Huges Key Ideas and Details: In both the first and last lines of this poem, the narrator says, "life for me ain't been no crystal stair." What has her life been like? Use evidence from the poem to support your answer.
The mother's life was filled with struggles. Instead of being a crystal stair, which would have been a bright and easy climb, her life has "had tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor," which symbolize her obstacles in life.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe The first time the raven said "Nevermore," the narrator thought the bird was giving its name. How does the narrator interpret "Nevermore" in line 95? "Clasp a rare and radiant maiden womb the angels name Lenore. Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore.' "
The narrator thinks the raven is answering his questions about whether or not he will meet Lenore in his afterlife ("nevermore"). He now thinks the raven is foretelling his future.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe In the second stanza, how does the poet describe Lenore? What inference can you make about Lenore?
The poet describes her as "the lost Lenore" and "the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore." Since she is known to the angels by name but is "nameless here for evermore," we can infer that Lenore is dead.
Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds
Internal Rhyme
The rhyming of a word within the line with a word at the end of the line
What is the Word Choice (W) in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
These adjectives and nouns help develop the solitary feeling and the beauty of winter
What is the Imagery (I) in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
These images help us understand how solitary the speaker is as he appreciates the beauty of the snowy woods on this dark winter evening.
What is the Theme/Tone (T) of "Mother to Son" by Langston Huges
Tone: Realistic tone, life won't always be easy and beautiful like a crystal staircase. Theme: When the mother says don't sit down or turn back and she's still climbing, she is telling her son to have perseverance when life gets hard.
What is the Theme/Tone (T) of "maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings
Tone: innocence (4 girls playing at the beach) and appreciating the simple things in life Theme: Experiences shape who we are. Also, we find ourselves when we're at the sea, meaning - when you finally have time to "relax", you can take off the mask from the work week and just be you.
What is the Theme/Tone (T) of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
Tone: physical isolation, youthful freedom vs. responsibility as an adult. Theme: appreciation of nature, being young and carefree in the woods or a responsible adult taking care of obligations ("promises to keep" and "miles to go before I sleep"), or contemplating all the things he wants to accomplish before he dies
What is the Theme/Tone (T) of "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Tone: the tone is one of sadness. The poem could stand as a lament (sad song) on behalf of all people forced to wear a "mask"-such as slaves in America history, a kid who defensively humors an abusive parent, the soldier under fire who writes home that all is well when all is not well. Theme: all people have worn a mask on occasion to conceal hurt, frustration, disappointment.
Metaphor
a comparison that does not use "like" or "as." Ex) That Olympic runner is a cheetah!
Simile
a comparison using "like" or "as." Ex) That basketball player is as tall as a tree.
Tone
a manner of expression used by the author that reveals his/her attitude about something. Ex) The general tone of the articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw from the war.
Hyperbole
an over-exaggeration. Ex) I am so hungry I could eat an entire cow.
Personification
giving human characteristics to something not human. Ex) My pen danced across the page.
Alliteration
initial consonant sounds are repeated. Ex) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Assonance
internal vowel sounds are repeated. Ex) His fat cat sat on my new hat.
What is the Figurative Language (F) in "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
refrain (repetition) of "We wear the mask," alliteration ("Why should the world be over-wise"), and symbolism of the mask (hiding who you really are and what you're really feeling behind a fake smile)
Symbolism/Symbol
something real that stands for or suggests another thing that cannot in itself be pictured or shown <the lion is a symbol of courage>
What is the Imagery (I) in "maggie and millie and molly and may" by e.e. Cummings
stanza 3 helps us visualize a starfish: -milly befriended a stranded star whose rays five languid fingers were; and stanza 4 helps us visualize a crab: -and molly was chased by a horrible thing which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
Onomatopoeia
the word imitates the sound associated with the object or action it is referring to. Ex) Bang! Splat! Boom! (Every super hero comic ever)
Mood
the words an author or poet uses to evoke emotions or feelings from the reader. Ex) Moods can be suspenseful, joyful, depression, excited, sad, etc.
