7TH GRADE HUMANITIES
Unit 4: Poetry
U4H6
Fig vs. Lit HW
Name: ___________________
Date: ______________
Section: 7.1
7.2
7.3
Directions:
- For each underlined piece of text, write at least one complete sentence about
whether it is figurative or literal and why. Put your answer in the numbered
blanks at the bottom of each page.
Once again, tell me, what was it like?
There was a windowsill of flies.
It meant the moon pulled its own weight
And the black sky cleared itself
Like a sneeze.1
And the farms?
There were groves
Of fig trees that went unpicked2.
The fruit wrinkled and flattened
Like the elbows
Of an old woman3.
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Napping at midday
I hear the song of rice planters
and feel ashamed of myself.4
The old dog—
listening for songs
of the earthworms?5
This stupid world—
skinny mosquitoes, skinny fleas,
skinny children.6
Under the image of Buddha
all these spring flowers
seem a little tiresome.
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You got to hop up and do it
Hip and Hop is more than music
Hip is the knowledge
Hop is the movement
Hip and Hop is intelligent movement
Or relevant movement
We selling the music
So write this down on your black books and journals7
Hip Hop culture is eternal
Run and tell all your friends
An ancient civilization has been born again8
It's a fact
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'
Directions
- Read the poem below multiple times. Remember, the first time is for fun! (Hint:
Hughes uses a lot of slang spelling as he tries to bring the speaker’s voice to life.)
- Fill in the SOAPS table on the next page. Highlight or underline key words and
phrases that you use as evidence for your inferences.
- Then respond to the prompts that follows.
Mother to Son
By Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
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Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
4
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
6
And places with no carpet on the floor -Bare.
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But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
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And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
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And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
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So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
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'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
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For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
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And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Steps
Notes
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1. Go back to the poem and put at least 5 stars next to places where the speaker
is being figurative rather than literal. In other words, put a star next to pieces
of text where the speaker is using words in a playful, exaggerated way rather than
relying just on their dictionary meanings. E.g, when she says that her life had “tacks
in it,” she doesn’t mean that people literally threw tacks at her; she is being
figurative—suggesting that her life had sharp, painful moments in it.
Turn to the next page…
2. In Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son,” describe the ways in which the speaker views
her life as similar to a staircase. Support your answer with relevant and specific
information from the excerpt. (14+CS)
a. Dig up at least 4-5 pieces of evidence to support your answer.
b. Make sure your answer is written in your own words (paraphrase). Do not
copy directly from the text unless you use quotation marks and then put the
quote in your own words in the following sentence.
c. Use the space below to outline your response using:
i. power topic sentence (the heart symbol)
ii. at least 4-5 reasons/details/facts (RDFs—stars),
iii. evidence/example sentences for each RDF (meat or e’s)
iv. explanation/elaboration sentence for each piece of evidence!
v. a conclusion to restate your topic sentence in a fresh way (gift box)
d. Don’t forget to cite your page number in parentheses in BOTH your outline
and your actual written response.
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