Literary Analysis Unit with “Abandoned Farmhouse”
A Scaffolded Unit of Integrating Reading, Grammar, Poetry Analysis, and Writing Skills
Abandoned Farmhouse Pre-read Exercise
Analyze the picture above. Record the different items that you see in the room? What can we infer
about the former residents of this room?
Item
Inference
Lesson Purposes
To understand how the author uses imagery (sensory details) and diction to create an
emotional effect (tone).
To make inferences and support them with details from the text.
To identify figurative language such as simile, metaphor & personification and analyze
how authors use them for effect.
To compose a literary analysis paragraph.
Abandoned Farmhouse
by Ted Kooser
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes
on a pile of broken dishes by the house;
a tall man too, says the length of the bed
in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man,
says the Bible with a broken back
on the floor below the window, dusty with sun;
but not a man for farming, say the fields
cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn.
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall
papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves
covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves
and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.
Something went wrong, says the empty house
in the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields
say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars
in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste.
And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard
like branches after a storm-a rubber cow,
a rusty tractor with a broken plow,
a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.
Comprehension
1. How many people lived on the farm?
2. Describe the man who lived on the farm?
3. Describe the woman who lived on the farm?
4. What evidence suggests that something went wrong at the farm?
5. Were the former residents of the farm successful financially?
6. In line 7, what does the poet mean when he says “but not a man for farming”
7. Based on lines 13-14, what is a “cellar hole”?
8. Take the following stanza and rewrite them in your own words.
Poet’s Words
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom
wall papered with lilacs and the kitchen
shelves covered with oilcloth, and they had
a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum
preserves and canned tomatoes sealed in
the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the
window frames. It was lonely here, says the
narrow country road.
Your Words
Inference: An inference is an educated guess, or a guess based on evidence.
Directions: In “Abandoned Farmhouse,” the narrator made several inferences about the family
that once lived in the farmhouse. Use his inferences to answer the following questions. Your
answers will be your opinions, but they must be based on evidence from the text.
1. Question: How is the narrator able to reasonably infer the size of the man?
What is your answer? The narrator is able to infer that the man was large by looking at the size
of his shoes.
Why is that your answer? Large people usually wear large shoes, so the narrator was able to
use the size of that shoes as evidence to prove the size of the man.
Find the words in the text that prove your answer and write them here: “He was a big man,
says the size of his shoes…” “…a tall man too, says the length of the bed…”
2. Question: How is the narrator able to reasonably infer that the man was religious?
What is your answer?_________________________________________________________
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Why is that your answer?______________________________________________________
Find the words in the text that prove your answer and write them
here________________________________________________________________________
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3. Question: How is the narrator able to infer that the man was not a farmer?
What is your answer?_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Why is that your answer?______________________________________________________
Find the words in the text that prove your answer and write them
here________________________________________________________________________
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4. Question: How is the narrator able to reasonably infer that the couple had a child?
What is your answer?_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Why is that your answer?______________________________________________________
Find the words in the text that prove your answer and write them
here________________________________________________________________________
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5. Question: How is the narrator able to reasonably infer that a woman lived in the house?
What is your answer?_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Why is that your answer?______________________________________________________
Find the words in the text that prove your answer and write them
here________________________________________________________________________
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Short Answers-must show a deep understanding of the text by providing a thesis,
analysis, and text evidence.
How does the narrator help readers understand the poem? Use evidence from the story
to support you answer.
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Personification-A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is given
human qualities or abilities.
Example: The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night.
What can be inferred about the rain? Why does the author use personification?
Inanimate Speaker
Comment
Connection / Inference
Shoes
“He was big man”
Big shoes would only be worn
by a large man.
Length of the Bed
“A tall man too”
The length of the bed reveals
he is not only big, but tall as
well.
Why might the author let the objects tell the story?
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_Imagery: Words and phrases that help the readers image or experience a text through their
senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.
Sensory Detail: Same as Imagery, words and phrases that help readers imagine or experience a
text through their senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.
Find words and phrases that help the reader “see” or “hear” the poem. Complete the chart
below.
Sights
Words or phrases that help the reader
“see” the events of the poem
“It’s toys were strewn in the yard like branches after a storm”
Now we are going to write about imagery. Look at the example below.
The author uses imagery to help the reader imagine or experience the poem. The author helps the
reader “see” the how the toys were spread across the yard when he writes, “It’s toys were strewn in the
yard like branches after a storm.” This sensory detail is important because it helps the reader picture
broken branches after the destruction of storm, showing that the toys are littering the yard .
Now you try. Pick a sight from your chart to use.
The author uses imagery to help the reader imagine or experience the poem. The author helps the
reader “see” the _______________________________ when he writes,
“_____________________________________________________.” This sensory detail is important
because __________________________________________________________________________.
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Diction-the specific word choices an author makes. These choices distinguish a writer’s voice
from other writers.
1. Circle all the adjectives in the poem. (Remember, an adjective is a part of speech that
modifies/describes a noun or pronoun.)
2. In the chart below categorize all the adjectives in the poem as positive, neutral, or negative.
Positive
Neutral
Negative
3. In which category did most of the adjectives fall?_____________
4. What other words or lines in the poem fall into the same category? (List at least 4
examples)
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Tone-is the emotion or attitude of the story. To describe tone, we always use emotion words.
mysterious
uplifting
serene
bleak
Tone Words
optimistic
depressing
perplexing
enlightening
frightening
amusing
The author uses ________________to create a(n) _____________________tone in the
poem. For example, when the author writes,
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Alliteration
Two or more words beginning with the same sound
A type of sound device
Creates a musical effect
When reading poetry, the first thing people usually think of is “rhyme,” but that is not the only
way to play with sound. In addition to creating a pleasing sound, authors use alliteration to call
attention to details or images in a piece of writing.
When analyzing alliteration, think about the following…
Words: what words alliterate (begin with the same sound?)
Emphasis: what is the author calling attention to with the alliteration?
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes
On a pile of broken dishes by the house
A tall man, too, says the length of the bed
In an upstairs room, and a good, God fearing man,
Look at the following examples of how to write about alliteration. Pick a line to analyze. What
alliteration can you find? What does the alliteration emphasize?
Example 1: line 2, “On a pile of broken dishes by the house”
Words: broken, by
Emphasis: this emphasizes the fact that the dishes are broken, and they are outside,
by the house. Dishes are a necessity, used daily, packed carefully when moving, etc.
The fact that the dishes are broken, as well as their unusual location (outside, on the
ground), is unexpected, and makes the reader wonder, “What happened?”
Example 2: line 4, “In an upstairs room, and a good, God-fearing man,”
Words: good, God-fearing
Emphasis: both of these words describe the farmer’s character – the author is
emphasizing that he was a good, religious person.
Now you try!
Pick a line to analyze. What is your line?
Line ___, ____________________________________________________________________
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Words:
Emphasis:
Try one more…
Line ___, ____________________________________________________________________
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Preposition: a word that shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to another word in a sentence.
Object of the preposition: the noun or pronoun that ends a prepositional phrase.
Example: I read to Carlito from the new book. The words to & from are prepositions Carlito & book are
the objects of the preposition.
Common Prepositions
Aboard
About
Above
Across
Against
Along
Amid
Among
Around
As
At
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside
Between
Beyond
But (meaning
except)
By
Concerning
Despite
Down
During
except
excepting
For
From
In
Inside
Into
Onto
Opposite
Out
Outside
Over
Past
Pending
To
Toward
Under
Underneath
Until
Up
Upon
Like
Near
Of
Off
on
Regarding
respecting
Since
through
throughout
With
Within
without
Using the poem, Abandoned Farmhouse, highlight the preposition and underline the object of the
preposition.
Abandoned Farmhouse
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes
on a pile of broken dishes by the house;
a tall man too, says the length of the bed
in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man,
says the Bible with a broken back
on the floor below the window, dusty with sun;
but not a man for farming, say the fields
cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn.
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall
papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves
covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves
and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole,
and the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.
Something went wrong, says the empty house
in the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields
say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars
in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste.
And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard
like branches after a storm-a rubber cow,
a rusty tractor with a broken plow,
a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.
~Ted Kooser
How does the narrator’s use of prepositions create the use of visual imagery in the poem?
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Write four additional lines to the poem using examples of prepositions and their objects. Highlight your
prepositions and underline the object of preposition.
Something went wrong, says the newspapers strewn across the yard.
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Verbs
Simple Present Tense Verbs
What are Simple Present Tense Verbs?
Simple Present Tense Verbs show what is happening repeatedly or every day.
Examples: I go to school every day.
My friend works at the mall.
Simple Past Tense Verbs
What are Past Tense Verbs?
Simple Past Tense Verbs show what has already happened.
Examples: I went to school yesterday.
My friend worked at the mall last week.
Using the poem, classify each verb as either past or present.
Verb
Was
Past
Present
Says
Lived
Made
Says
Had
Went
Read the second stanza of the poem and change each of the underlined verbs from past to present or
from present to past.
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall
papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves
covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves
and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.
A woman _____ with him, _____ the bedroom wall
Papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves
Covered with oilcloth, and they _____ a child,
_____ the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money _____ scarce, _____ the jars of plum preserves
And canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It _____ lonely here, _____ the narrow country road.
Within the poem, there are many words that look like verbs but function like adjectives or adverbs.
For each of the following words on the chart below, read how the word is being utilized in the poem and
decide if the word is a verb (a clear action or being word that has a subject ) or a verbal (a word that
looks like a verb but functions as an adjective or adverb to describe something within the poem.)
Example: Lines 10 “papered” is a verbal because it describes the bedroom wallpaper. It isn’t
performing “action” in this poem.
Now you try…
Line/Word
Line #5 / says
Line #8 / cluttered
Line #11 / covered
Line #13 / was
Line #14 / sealed
Line #17 / went
Line #20 / left
Verb or Verbal
Reason
Analysis Verbs
compare
communicate
imply
suggest
reveal
show
Illustrate
signify
point out
express
The author uses ________________________to ______________________________________
(personification, imagery or alliteration)
(analysis verb)
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Key Vocabulary with Visuals
Abandon-(verb) to leave and never come back, to desert
Abandoned-(adjective)
A farmer on a tractor-(nouns)-(
Boulders-(noun)
Leaky- (adjective)
Scarce- (adjective) in a small amount, barely
+
Jar-(noun)
Cellar (noun)=
Farmhouse (compound noun)
Directions: Match the vocabulary word with its synonym (word that means
almost the same as another word).
Container
Rocks
Jar = _______________________
Cellar = _____________________
Boulders = ____________________
Abandoned = ___________________
Basement
Alone