Miniver Cheevy – Questions On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions. To receive credit, you must write complete, thoughtful sentences. MY ANNOTATION: https://kami.app/Tjy-jmf-Tyy-zCa 1. Describe the narrator’s tone. What is the narrator’s opinion of Miniver Cheevy? The narrator’s opinion of Miniver Cheevy is that he reminisce about the past and how much Miniver Cheevy wants the “good old days”. I feel that the narrators tone towards him is poking fun in a way. 2. What is the rhyme and meter(Rhythm a Poem Has) of this poem? What effect does this structure give to the impact of the poem? So this poem uses a AB rhyme scheme and a meter of 8 syllables on the first line and third lines, 9 syllables on the second line, and 5 syllables on the last line per Stanza. This gives the poem poem structure on how everything flows when it is read out loud. 3. In the first quatrain(Group of 4 Lines), Miniver Cheevy is described as a “child of scorn.” What’s the narrator’s point in using this phrase? So scorn means the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable. So What he could be talking about this situation is how much he does not like the current world. This can be proven even more when the author talks about how much Cheevy loves the olden days which can show the opposite, how much he doesn’t like the current state of his world. 4. The narrator tells us that Cheevy “dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, and Priam’s neighbors,” yet there is a different, darker way of viewing these historical places and events. Explain the possible downsides of living in any of these ancient times. So for context these time periods based off the footnotes are Ancient Greece, Ancient England. During these times there was many downsides to living like: Constant War, Little Access to Medicine/Hospitals, and Famine. Also to add the constant war so you can add human displacement. 5. What two elements are personified in this poem? What’s ironic about Cheevy’s opinion of these two things? The two elements that are personified is Romance is being on welfare and when art is descried as a vagrant. What’s ironic is that he judges the modern day usage of this while he misuses it in what he’s telling. 6. Alliteration occurs frequently in the poem, as seen with Cheevy and child (line 1), Miniver mourned (line 13), and ripe renown (line 13). Locate and write down three other examples of alliteration in the poem. Miniver and Medici is on line 17, cursed the commonplace is on line 21, and missed the medieval grace is on line 23 7. Miniver Cheevy’s foolishness is clearly on display in the fifth quatrain. How so? So inside the passage he brings up how he would have wished to be a Medici, a powerful family in the 14th century in Italy. He goes on to say how he would have sinned constantly, which I think he would have abused the position of power he was in IF he was a Medici. He is also fool for wanting to be someone hes never met or even seen before. 8. Does Miniver Cheevy have a job? Cite two lines that help answer this question. Yes, Miniver Cheevy does have a job. Inside the passage it states: Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors Labors could be referenced as work or a job which is why I think he has one. 9. If Miniver Cheevy had lived in an earlier time, do you believe he would have been a hero? Explain your thoughts and include a line of text from the poem that supports your stance. No, I don’t think Miniver Cheevy would have been a hero. One thing that seals it for me is when the passage states: Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one; He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one. This line already shows that he can’t be trusted and that he’ll do anything to get ahead. 10. Great poets, like Edwin Arlington Robinson, are purposeful in every word they pack into their short pieces. Look closely at the name of our central figure, Miniver Cheevy. Why, do you suppose, the author chose this unusual name for this man? After searching the meaning of the name, Miniver means a fur of white or spotted white and gray used for linings and trimmings. Meanwhile, Cheevy means horse. I think he choose this name to describe old people since they usually have gray/white hair when they start to age. 11. Why do you suppose many adults pine for the “good old days,” either an earlier era in history or their own youthful high school/college days? Is this generally a harmless or harmful thing? Why? I feel like it is usually a harmless this, UNTIL they involve it in their lives as anything more then a memory. This is because usually after this they stop trying to progress and move on and there stuck in th past.
