Name ______________________
HR/Rot. ____________________
Study Guide
Poetry/Plays
Prose, poetry, and drama are three different kinds of writing.
In prose, one sentence follows another. Sentences are grouped in paragraphs. Chapter books and newspaper
articles are examples of prose.
Poetry is written in lines, and the lines are grouped into stanzas. Poets use words in a creative way to evoke
emotion and paint pictures with words. Poets often use figurative language (similes, metaphors,
personification, and alliteration). Some poets use rhyming words. Often, the rhyming words appear in a
pattern at the ends of lines. (In the poem below the first and second lines rhyme, and the third and fourth
lines rhyme.) Poems also have rhythm, which is created by stressed and unstressed syllables. (The stressed
syllables are underlined in the poem below.) Example:
At evening when I go to bed
I see the stars shine overhead;
They are the little daisies white
That dot the meadow of the night.
Like a chapter book or short story, drama also tells a story, but it is written so that people can perform a play
for an audience. Plays are written as a script. A script includes a cast of characters, a description of the
setting, stage directions and dialogue. The stage directions are written in italic print. The stage directions tell
the actors what to do. Dialogue is the words the actors speak. Example:
Cast of Characters:
Ruben
Mom
Tag, the family dog
Scene One
In dim lights, we see a living room. On one end of the couch, Tag, a dog, is curled up asleep. On the other end sits Ruben,
in his pajamas. Paper is scattered around him, and a textbook is open. The snoring of the dog and the ticking of a clock
grow louder and louder until Ruben speaks.
RUBEN: (to himself) If only Tag would stop snoring! Then maybe I would be able to think straight.
The snoring of the dog and the ticking of the clock can still be heard, but more softly. Mom enters, wearing her pajamas.
MOM: Ruben! Why are you still up? It's getting late.
RUBEN: (pushing his book and papers to the floor) I can't figure out this math homework!
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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Simile (a comparison that uses like or as) Ex: Jerome swims like a fish. Sara is as graceful as a swan.
Metaphor (a comparison that does not use like or as) Ex: The snow was a blanket on our front lawn.
Personification ( giving human characteristics to something that is not human) Ex: The stars danced playfully in the
moonlight.
Alliteration (the repetition of beginning sounds) Ex: The forest was deep, dark, and dense.
Read the drama and answer the questions.
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1. The setting of the scene could BEST be described as
a) a city sidewalk
b) Grandma's kitchen
c) the country
d) a schoolyard
2. How does Jenny feel about the pumpkin?
a) proud
b) frightened
c) curious
d) embarrassed
3. (grinning with pride) is an example of
a) dialogue b) setting
c) stage directions
d) cast of characters
4. You can tell the genre of this passage is drama because it has
a) lines that rhyme
b) directions and words for actors
c) a setting
5. Which line from the poem shows which
syllables are stressed?
a)
b)
c)
d)
He does not mind the prick of burs
He does not mind the prick of burs
He does not mind the prick of burs
He does not mind the prick of burs
6. In which stanza does the poet talk
about the squirrel's appearance?
a)
b)
c)
d)
stanza 1
stanza 2
stanza 3
stanza 5
7. You can tell this is a poem because it
a) has stage directions
b) is organized in stanzas
c) is about a chipmunk
d) is meant to be performed for an
audience
8. "He often sits within his door
And chatters wondrous things to me."
is an example of
a) a metaphor
c) a simile
b) personification
d) alliteration
9. In line 17, the word store means
a)
b)
c)
d)
a place for buying things
food kept for future use
grocery
home
10. Lines 5 - 8 tell you that the chipmunk
a) eats a lot
b) has a lot of friends
c) does not share his food
d) searches for acorns
11. How does the narrator feel about his "little
neighbor"?
a) He thinks he makes a big mess.
b) He feels protective of the chipmunk.
c) He wishes he would leave.
d) He thinks he eats too much.
12. Match the following examples to the correct type of figurative language.
Simile
_____
a) The snow danced through the crisp air, stinging our faces.
Metaphor
_____
b) His curly hair was a tangled rat's nest.
Alliteration
_____
c) The wind whistled through the windows.
Personification _____
d) Swimming in the icy water was like being stabbed with a
thousand knives.