VSMS RL-4 Assessment
Daffodils
by William Wordsworth
I wander’d 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.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:—
A poet could not but be gay1
In such a jocund company!
I gazed, and gazed, but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive2 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.
1
2
gay: happy
pensive: the state of being in deep thought, especially over serious matters
1. Which phrase represents the speaker’s feeling toward daffodils in stanza 3?
A. He felt friendly because they seemed to wave at him while fluttering and dancing.
B. He felt worried because they seemed to lack energy while fluttering and dancing.
C. He felt joyful because they brightened his mood while fluttering and dancing.
D. He felt angry because they ignored him while fluttering and dancing.
2. How does the author’s description of daffodils impact the tone of the poem?
A. Comparing the daffodils to humans makes the poem more positive.
B. Presenting the daffodils as free and lively makes the poem more positive.
C. Showing the effect of the daffodils on the speaker makes the poem more negative.
D. Including the large number of daffodils along the bay makes the poem more negative.
3. What is described by the personification of the daffodils in line 12?
A. their vibrant colors as they move near the water
B. the loss of their flowers as the wind blows
C. their changing appearance in the sunlight
D. their animated movement in the breeze
4. To which does the phrase “jocund company” in line 16 refer?
A. “I wander’d lonely as a cloud”
B. “A host of golden daffodils”
C. “Continuous as the stars that shine”
D. “The waves beside them danced”
5. Based on the first stanza, which does host mean?
A. a full set
B. many together
C. a welcoming group
D. a guide for the area
6. Which does the author mean by “my heart with pleasure fills, / And dances with the
daffodils” in the last stanza?
A. The memory puts him in a happy mood.
B. The memory puts him in a pensive mood.
C. The narrator is able to visualize the daffodils.
D. The narrator returns to the field of daffodils.
"As Slow Our Ship"
by Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) was an Irish poet, composer, and lyricist. He is well known for his
music and poetry that celebrate Ireland.
As slow our ship her foamy track
Against the wind was cleaving,
Her trembling pennant still look’d back
To that dear isle ’twas leaving.
(5)So loth we part from all we love,
From all the links that bind us;
So turn our hearts, as on we rove,
To those we’ve left behind us!
When, round the bowl, of vanish’d years
(10)We talk with joyous seeming—
With smiles that might as well be tears,
So faint, so sad their beaming;
While memory brings us back again
Each early tie that twined us,
(15)O, sweet’s the cup that circles then
To those we’ve left behind us!
And when, in other climes, we meet
Some isle or vale enchanting,
Where all looks flowery, wild and sweet,
(20)And nought but love is wanting;
We think how great had been our bliss
If [the world] had but assign’d us
To live [on] in scenes like this,
With some we’ve left behind us!
(25)As travellers oft look back at eve
When eastward darkly going,
To gaze upon that light they leave
Still faint behind them glowing,—
So, when the close of pleasure’s day
(30)To gloom hath near consign’d us,
We turn to catch one fading ray
Of joy that’s left behind us.
Poem titled “As Slow Our Ship” from Irish Melodies by Thomas Moore. Published by
Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1849. In the public domain.
7. Read these lines from "As Slow Our Ship."
When, round the bowl, of vanish’d years
We talk with joyous seeming—
With smiles that might as well be tears
So faint, so sad their beaming;
Which phrase best reflects the meaning of the phrase vanish’d years as it is used in the lines
above?
A. years that are still to come
B. years that are going by fast
C. years that have been forgotten
D. years that have not been documented
8. Read these lines from “As Slow Our Ship.”
So, when the close of pleasure’s day
To gloom hath near consign’d us,
We turn to catch one fading ray
Of joy that’s left behind us.
Which is the definition of the word consign’d as it is used in the lines above?
A. allowed
B. condemned
C. disturbed
D. obeyed
9. Read these lines from “As Slow Our Ship.”
As slow our ship her foamy track
Against the wind was cleaving,
Now read the dictionary entry that follows:
cleave verb 1. to divide with a cutting blow 2. to separate into distinct parts 3. to subject to
chemical cleavage 4. to penetrate or pass through
Based on the dictionary entry above, which meaning of the word cleave is used in the lines
from the poem?
A. definition 1
B. definition 2
C. definition 3
D. definition 4
10. Which lines from “As Slow Our Ship” best support the idea that the speaker still finds
comfort in those he’s left behind?
A. “Her trembling pendant still look’d back / To that dear isle ’twas leaving.”
B. “O, sweet’s the cup that circles then / To those we’ve left behind us!”
C. “We think how great had been our bliss / If [the world] had but assign’d us / To live
[on] in scenes like this, / With some we’ve left behind us!”
D. “So, when the close of pleasure’s day / To gloom hath near consign’d us, / We turn to
catch one fading ray / Of joy that’s left behind us.”