“Oh, snAP”!!
Parsing Poetry
English 12 AP (Burns): Points Available (10)
The Blind Man’s Mark: Sir Philip Sydney
1. Why/how is desire
A “blind man’s mark”:
A “snare”:
A “web of will”:
A “smoky fire”:
2. Why is the “ware” of desire ultimately “worthless”?
3. The speaker has bought desire with his “mangled mind.” Explain this exchange, making
certain to clarify the speaker’s assessment of desire:
“Oh, snAP”!!
Parsing Poetry
English 12 AP (Burns): Points Available (10)
A Story: Li-Young Lee
1. The “equation” referenced in stanza 6 suggests that
A Boy’s supplications + a father’s love = silence
Using material from the poem, discuss the validity of this “equation.
3. What is the chronology of this poem?
4. Discuss the value/purpose of each of the two rhetorical questions in stanza 5:
5. How does Lee achieve double value from the title of his poem?
“Oh, snAP”!!
Parsing Poetry
English 12 AP (Burns): Points Available (10)
The Century Quilt: Marilyn Nelson Waniek
1. How does the structure of Waniek’s poem resemble that of a quilt?
2. Why is this quilt a “Century” quilt?
3. What are we able to glean about the speaker’s ancestry and background?
4. Given the material you offer in 3, above, suggest how the “Quilt” of the poem is not
a bed-covering at all, but the speaker’s ancestry and background.
“Oh, snAP”!!
Parsing Poetry
English 12 AP (Burns): Points Available (10)
So farewell: William Shakespeare
1. Shakespeare posits an extended metaphor to illustrate the “state of man”: identify
each feature of this extended metaphor AND discuss how each feature depicts a
different chronological step in the process.
2. What is the rhetorical effect of Shakespeare’s depiction of time as “to-day,” “tomorrow” and “the third day”?
3. How has Cardinal Wolsey’s career mimicked “little wanton boys that swim on
bladders”?
3 .Why does Wolsey liken himself to Lucifer?