Language Arts 11

What was one reason Whitman's collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass, was so controversial for its time?

Some of the poems' sexual content and language was shocking for the time.

Which statement best describes how you might use word play to create an entire poem?

Start with a line that interests you, and build a poem around it.

What did Walt Whitman believe American writers should accomplish in their work?

They should create original poetry that celebrates the diversity of the nation.

How did Whitman's and Dickinson's poetry differ from the works of the Romantic era?

They used new, unconventional forms that closely connected to a poem's meaning.

Which is a major characteristic of contemporary poetry today?

experimentation and the adaptation of poetic rules

Which specific innovation in poetry by Emily Dickinson is most apparent in poetry written today?

her pairing of words that seem unrelated

What specific innovation in the poetry of Walt Whitman is still relevant in poetry today?

his use of free verse

What seems to be a consistent source of inspiration for poets of the Romantic era, the era of Realism, and today?

nature

Which approach to prewriting is most likely to help you start a poem that intrigues or inspires readers?

playing with words

To continue in the tradition of American poetry, what types of language should your poem include?

precise nouns and verbs

What kind of poet were Americans looking for after the Civil War?

someone who could unify or at least help heal the country

Which two methods of performing poetry are most likely to involve musical accompaniment?

songs and spoken word

Which line should be repeated or used as the chorus if you plan to perform a poem as a song?

the line that best "captures" or expresses the main message of the poem

Which characteristic of Realism is still evident in most poetry written today?

the use of simple diction instead of lofty language

Why might a poet who is performing at a poetry reading want to provide a short introduction to each poem, or at least introduce some of the poems?

to help readers make sense of complex images or complicated language, the first time they hear it

What is your goal when revising word choice in a poem?

to replace more general words with specific, precise words that create images

How did the American Civil War convince many Americans to turn away from the themes and forms of the Romantics?

It revealed the harsh realities of human existence.

Which revision strategy is most likely to make your poem easy to absorb after hearing it just one time?

Delete or replace language that presents a complex image or very abstract idea.

How did Dickinson view fame, based on her poems beginning with "Fame is a fickle food" and "I'm nobody"?

Dickinson felt fame could be temporal and harmful.

The speaker in "I Sing the Body Electric" describes the sacredness of all human bodies when he states, "Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations and times all over the earth?" What radical social message was Whitman conveying through this work?

He was suggesting that whites were not superior to African slaves.

In the poem that begins "I heard a fly buzz when I died," what does the fly do during the speaker's death?

It gets between the speaker and the light she hopes to see at the moment of death.

Rather than present an idealized version of nature, Whitman expresses an unusual insight about nature in his poem "This Compost." Which statement best summarizes that insight?

Nature produces clean beauty from the rotting bodies of dead humans.

What connection does Dickinson make between nature and humans in the poem beginning "The sky is low, the clouds are mean"?

Nature, like humans, can be irritable and depressed.

Which statement represents a recurring theme in both Whitman's and Dickinson's work?

Ordinary life should be honored and celebrated.

What purpose did poetry serve in human societies, before poems were mostly written down?

Poems were used to preserve history and to celebrate elements of culture.

Which Romantic writer influenced Walt Whitman by writing an essay titled "The Poet"?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dickinson wrote many poems in which the speaker is already dead, such as the one beginning "Because I could not stop for Death." Based on this poem, what did Dickinson believe happens after death?

The soul goes on for eternity.

What question can help you decide where to break the lines in your poem

Which words should be read as a unified group?

When did Emily Dickinson gain fame for her collection of nearly 1,800 poems?

after her death, when her sister insisted on publishing the work

Which poetic device did Whitman use most often to create rhythmic lists in his poems?

anaphora