Questions for Poems – 201- Answer all questions using complete sentences.
Incident in a Rose Garden
1. How does the gardener recognize Death?
2. Why does the gardener run away?
3. According to Death, why was the gardener mistaken in running away?
4. Describe Death’s personality.
5. Interpret the lines, “Sir, I knew your father,/ And we were friends at the end.”
6. What is implied by the final line?
7. In what way is the ending of the poem ironic, or the opposite of what was expected?
8. In what way is the setting of the poem ironic?
9. If the poet had continued the poem, what might be the master’s reply to Death?
10. Give 3 examples of personification in the poem.
The Eagle
1. Recall: Describe the scene “The Eagle” represents.
2. Infer: What is the eagle watching for in line 5?
Interpret:
3. Since no spot on earth is literally “Close to the sun,” how would you interpret this phrase
figuratively?
4. Interpret the phrase “Ring’d with the azure world.”
5. What is the eagle doing when he “falls” in line 6?
6. What adjectives would you use to describe the eagle?
Figurative Language:
7 List and example of alliteration, assonance , and consonance.
8. Why is the sea described as “wrinkled” and crawling? What figurative language is used
in this example.
9. Find the simile and explain its impact on the poem.
Dream Deferred
1. How many questions does “Dream Deferred” ask?
2. How is the last questions different from the others?
3. Identify one simile in this poem. Explain what the simile contributes to the overall meaning of the
poem.
maggie and milly and molly and may
1. Recall: What experience does each character have?
2. Connect: How does each character’s experience support the conclusion in the poem’s
final line?
Literary Analysis:
4. Identify two lines in “maggie and milly and molly and may” that illustrate both exact
rhyme and end rhyme. Explain your choices.
5. Explain the author’s use of capitalization.
6. List an example of alliteration.
7. Explain the last two stanzas. What is the theme of the poem?
8. Paraphrase the first 10 lines in this poem by rewriting them as a series of sentences.
9. In what way does breaking down long sentences make this poem’s meaning more clear?
Fog
1.
2.
3.
4.
What animal does Sandburg compare the fog to, and how do you know?
What parts of the animal’s body does he mention?
What does this animal do?
What qualities does fog share with the animal in Sandburg’s poem? Could fog also be compared to an
elephant? A snake? A dog?
Fire and Ice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Which emotions does the speaker associate with fire? With ice?
Explain why fire and ice are fitting metaphors for these emotions.
How can this poem’s message apply to teenagers?
Use letters to identify the rhyme scheme in this poem.
In what way does the shift in rhyme scheme midway through the poem help to signal a turning point in
the poem’s message?
*The Funeral (English I students do not have to answer the questions; follow directions on
instruction sheet; English I Honors must answer questions.)
Recall and Interpret
1. How long has it been since the speaker was home, and why has he returned?
2. How has his home changed since the speaker was last there? How does he account for
such changes?
3. Why might a “crooked path” appear to a child as a “wide road curving on to China or/
Kansas City or perhaps Calcutta”? In your opinion, what does this image suggest about
the kind of child the speaker was?
Evaluate and Connect
4. What has “remained the same” for the speaker? In your opinion, what does this say
about the kind of relationship the speaker had with his father?
5. Why might a child think of a parent as a “giant”?
6. What person – someone you know personally or someone you know about - ,might you
describe as a “giant”? Explain what qualities the person has that would cause you to
think of him or her that way.
*Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
*Dreams (English I only: Answer the following questions to help you evaluate the poem. These
questions will not be graded.)
1. Recall: To what two things does the speaker in “Dreams” compare life?
2. Interpret: Restate in your own words the advice that “Dreams” offers.
Literary Analysis:
3. List two metaphors in the poem. Explain what each contributes to the overall meaning
of the poem.
4. Identify one example of personification and explain.
5. What is the theme?
6. List an example of each of the following: alliteration, assonance, paradox, rhyme.
*Sound of the Sea - (English I Honors only: Answer the following questions to help you evaluate the
poem. These questions will not be graded.)
Literary Analysis
1. List the rhyme scheme of the poem.
2. Explain the imagery.
3. List a simile. Tell what is compared and explain its effectiveness.
4. List a metaphor. Tell what is compared and explain its effectiveness.
5. Explain the extended metaphor in the poem.
6. List an example of personification and explain.
7. Explain the symbolism.
8. What is the mood of the poem? List at least three words that contribute to this mood.
9. What is the theme?
10. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. Analyze the structure of the poem.
Charge of the Light Brigade
Recall and Interpret
1. Summarize the events described in the poem
2. Why do the men of the Light Brigade charge when they know the order is a mistake?
3. What weapons are used by the Light Brigade and by the enemy?
4. What is meant by the phrase “All the world wonder’d”?
5. What does the speaker want readers of this poem to do? Why might this be so
important to him?
Literary Elements and Evaluation
6. How does the speaker define a hero. List words and phrases from the text to support
your answer.
7. Tennyson uses repetition. What effect does the repetition have? Give examples.
8. Identify two examples of personification in this poem. What effect or effects does the
personification have?
9. What is the theme of the poem?
Meter
10. How does the rhythm of the lines above reflect the action in the poem?
11. How does the regular meter reinforce the theme of the poem?