Poetry Selections
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost pg. 188
Think of a time in your life when you had a difficult decision to make. Why were you so conflicted? What
decision did you choose and why?
Stanza Paraphrase: On the space provided, write your translation of each stanza. Put it into your own
words
Stanza 1:
Stanza 2:
Stanza 3:
Stanza 4:
1. What is the speaker sorry he could not do?
2. Why do you think he was sorry?
3. According to the fourth stanza, how does the speaker expect he will feel about the decision.
4. Why do you think the speaker expects to sigh when recalling this incident in the future?
5. Do you think it is generally a good idea to choose a less traveled path in life?
Symbol in the poem:
Theme of the poem: The author uses symbolism in the poem to suggest…
“To be of use” by Marge Piercy pg. 190
Before you read: Think of a person in history who embodies the word dedication and write his or her name
below. Describe his person. Do you admire him or her? Why
Stanza Paraphrase: On the space provided, write your translation of each stanza. Put it into your own
words
Stanza 1:
Stanza 2:
Stanza 3:
Stanza 4:
Questions:
1. What kind of person does the speaker love best?
2. What kind of qualities or traits do these people possess?
3. What comparisons does the speaker make between hard working people and animals?
4. What type of people does the speaker want to be with?
5. What type of people does the speaker not want to be with and why?
6. According to the last line, what do people long for?
7. Do you agree with this observation? Why or why not?
Metaphors in Poem: Identify 5 and write them below
Theme: The authors uses metaphors to suggest….
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
William Wordsworth
I wandered 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 stretched 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
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay
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 pensive 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.
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
William Wordsworth
Before you read: Think of a time when you felt lonely and someone or something cheered you up.
Describe who or what improved your mood on the space below:
Stanza Paraphrase: On the space provided, write your translation of each stanza. Put it into your own
words
Stanza 1:
Stanza 2:
Stanza 3:
Stanza 4:
QUESTIONS:
1. To which of your senses did stanzas 1 and 2 most appeal?
2. Which words in stanzas 3 and 4 appeal to your senses?
3. How does the “setting off” of the rhyme scheme in the final two lines reinforce the meaning?
4. Why do you think this experience created a long-lasting memory for Wordsworth?
5. Where are the daffodils? What are they doing? What does the comparison suggest about the daffodils?
6. In stanza 3, which words does the speaker use to describe the daffodils? How does the sign of the
daffodils affect the speaker?
7. What does the speaker say happens when he is alone in a “pensive mood”? What “wealth” do these
memories of the scene give him?
8. How are natural scenes like the one present in this poem valuable?
Imagery: Identify 5 elements of imagery in the poem and write them below.
Theme: The author uses imagery to suggest…
“Sympathy” (Dunbar) pg. 292
Before you read: Were you ever made to feel like you had no control over something that was happening
to you? What emotions did you feel?
Stanza Paraphrase: On the space provided, write your translation of each stanza. Put it into your own
words
Stanza 1:
Stanza 2:
Stanza 3:
Questions:
1. What, if anything, has made you feel like the caged bird that Dunbar describes?
“Caged Bird” pg. 293
by Maya Angelou
Stanza Paraphrase: On the space provided, write your translation of each stanza. Put it into your own
words.
Stanza 1-2:
Stanza 3-4:
Stanza 5-6:
1.
A. In “Caged Bird,” in which stanza do readers meet the caged bird?
B. Why do you think that the life of the free bird is described first?
2.
A. How has the caged bird been crippled?
B. If he still stings” with a fearful trill” despite this experience, what can you conclude about his
character?
3.
A. How do the caged birds sing in each of the poems?
B. Why do they sing as they do?
4.What good, if any results from each caged bird’s singing?
Symbol: Write the central symbol in each of these poems below. What do these metaphors represent?
Theme:
“Sympathy”:
“Caged Bird: