"My Prairies"

16. Part A
Which of these best expresses the overall message in "My Prairies"? 

• There is much to love about prairies. 
• Prairies are home to many animals. 
• It is easy to get lost in vast, empty prairies. 
• Prairies have better views than seashores. 

16. Part B. 
Which line from the poem best supports the answer to Part A? 

• "Clipping a world of sky and sod"
• "I love their grasses. The Skies"
• "Fasten on more of earth and air."
• "Of newly shaven stubble, rolled."

17. Part A. 
Which statement best describes how the last stanza adds to the poem as a whole? 

• It lets the reader know that the main reason the speaker loves the prairie is that he owns it and calls it "mine." 
• It reveals that the speaker actually lives by the mountains and the seashore but often wishes he still lived on the prairie. 
• It describes the speaker's love of prairies by contrasting that love with how little he cares for the mountains and the sea. 
• It explains that all the speaker can see in his part of the world are prairies in every direction. 

17. Part B. 
Which line from the poem best supports the answer to part A? 

• "I love my prairies, they are mine / From zenith to horizon line, / Clipping a world of sky and sod" (lines 1-3) 
• "...and my restless eyes / fasten on more of earth and air / Than seashore furnishes anywhere." (lines 6-8) 
• "...I love the gold / Of newly shaven stubble, rolled. / A royal carpet toward the sun..." (lines 14-16) 
• "I love the life of pasture lands; the songs of birds / Are not more thrilling to me than the herd's / Mad bellowing.." (from lines 17-19) 

18. Read the example of figurative language. Which description does it match? 
"...like spear points high / Against the dark blue sky." 

• pointed blades of tall grass on the top of rolling hills 
• brightly lit mown grass stretching as far as one can see
• hazel branches fighting against a constantly blowing wind 
• distant trees rising tall above an empty landscape 

18. Read the example of figurative language. Which description does it match? 
"A royal carpet toward the sun, fit to be / The pathway of a deity." 

• pointed blades of tall grass on the top of rolling hills 
• brightly lit mown grass stretching as far as one can see 
• hazel branches fighting against a constantly blowing wind 
• distant trees rising tall above an empty landscape 

19. Select one of the descriptions from the poem that is BEST supported by the illustration.

• "Clipping a world of sky and sod..."
• "...like the bended arm and wrist of God." 
• "...the songs of birds are not more thrilling to me..."

19. Select one of the descriptions from the poem that is BEST supported by the illustration.

• "The trees that stand like spear points high..."
• "The mountains and the cold gray seas are not for me..."
• "I love their grasses. The skies are larger..."

20. Which phrases best support the idea that the speaker enjoys the sound of cows as much as that of birds?

• Are wonderful to me. I love the gold of newly shaven stubble, rolled 
• A royal carpet toward the sun, fit to be 
• The pathway of a deity. 
• The songs of birds are not more thrilling to me than the herd's mad bellowing.