Cummings, Rose, and Ling

Cummings, Rose and Ling Poetry

Reading: Read According to Punctuation to Paraphrase

When you paraphrase a poem, you restate it in your own words. First, read the poem through carefully and try to determine the complete thoughts it contains. Use the punctuation on the page to help you identify complete thoughts. Next, restate the meaning of each complete thought in your own words. Eliminate unneeded repetition. Mentally fill in any missing words to complete thoughts that are not fully stated. If the vocabulary is difficult, use simpler synonyms. Put unusual sentence structures into a word order that is easier to understand.

Literary Analysis: Imagery

Poetry often makes use of imagery, language that appeals to one or more of the five senses. Each instance of imagery is called an image. If you take note of the images as you read a poem, you will often understand it better. As you read, imagine that you are actually seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, or touching the things described by the poet. Put yourself at the scene mentally, and experience the images.

Multiple Choice

According to “Grandma Ling,” where does the speaker first meet Grandma Ling?

• Pennsylvania

• Taiwan

• in her backyard

• in a mirror

Multiple Choice

Which word best describes the speaker’s feelings toward Grandma Ling when

they met?

• frightened

• shy

• warm

• bored

Multiple Choice

To what senses does this image from “Grandma Ling” appeal most strongly?

Before she came to view, I heard

her slippered feet softly measure

the tatami floor with even step;

• sound and touch

• sight and touch

• touch and taste

• sight and smell

Multiple Choice

Which is the best paraphrase of these lines from “Grandma Ling”?

and there I faced

my five foot height, sturdy legs and feet,

• And there I saw someone the same height as me, with strong legs and feet.

• And there I stood as tall as I could on strong legs and feet to face someone

  much shorter.

• And there I accepted that I was five feet tall, with thick legs and feet.

• And there I observed someone else who was five feet tall, with slim legs

  and feet.

Multiple Choice

In “Drum Song,” what or whom does the speaker describe?

• animals and children

• animals, men, women, and children

• children only

• animals and women

Poll

In “Drum Song,” to what sense does the first line of each stanza appeal?

• With the command “Speak,” it appeals to the sense of sound.

• With the command “Watch,” it appeals to the sense of sight.

• With the command “Look,” it appeals to the sense of sight.

• With the command “Listen,” it appeals to the sense of sound.

Multiple Choice

Which is the best paraphrase of these lines in “Drum Song”?

. . . Snowhare . . .

your whiskers dance

bush to burrow

• Your whiskers move as you dig under a bush.

• Your whiskers shake as you move from a bush to your hole.

• Your dance whisks you from a bush to a hole in the ground.

• You tell lies as you look for a bush to dig up.

Multiple Choice

Which of these attitudes does “Drum Song” express?

• a positive attitude toward nature

• a negative attitude toward nature

• a positive attitude toward science

• a negative attitude toward people

Multiple Choice

In “your little voice,” where does the speaker hear the voice?

• in a garden

• at a dance

• on an airplane

• on the phone

Multiple Choice

In “your little voice,” how does the speaker feel about the person whose voice he

hears?

• angry

• loving

• confused

• jealous

Multiple Choice

Which is the best paraphrase of this line from “your little voice”?

With the jostling and shouting of merry flowers . . .

• with the pushing and shouting of happy flowers

• with the shoving and shouting of angry flowers

• with the pushing and shouting, I was reminded of jolly flowers

• with the joking and cheering of happy flowers

Multiple Choice

To which sense does this image from “your little voice” appeal most strongly?

I was whirled and tossed into delicious dancing

• smell

• touch

• taste

• sound

Multiple Choice

What does burrow mean in this sentence?

The woodchuck went into its burrow.

• fur

• period of sleep in winter

• hole providing shelter

• to dig in the ground