"The Names" by Billy Collins

In the poem, the phrase "palm of the night" most closely means.

• palm trees swaying in the night
• space in the middle of your hand
• middle of the night 
• late at night

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In the poem, which word means "glossy covering or coating"?

• ash
• bough
• inscribe
• glaze

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

If a bough is a branch, where are you most likely to see boughs?

• a building
• a tree
• a car
• a monument

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In the poem, the word "unfurled" most closely means.

• not fuzzy
• folded up
• furled
• to spread or shake out; unfold

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

The picture is an example of which phrase from the poem?

• "puzzle concocted for children"
• "boughs of the ancient maple"
• "droplets fell through the dark"
• "thousands of flowers"

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

Which line of the poem refers to a small bird like the one in the picture?

• "Names blown out over the earth and out to sea."
• "In the evening-weakening light, the last swallows."
• "Alphabet of names in green rows in a field."
• "Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash."

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

What does the letter "X" stand for in the poem?

• "for the ones unfound"

• "Names etched on the head of a pin"

• "outlined on the rose clouds"

• "A blue name needled into the skin"

What type of figurative language is used in lines 10-14? "Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream. In the morning, I walked out barefoot Among thousands of flowers Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears, And each had a name—"

• simile meaning sadness on the brink of spilling over

• simile meaning they were so happy the were crying

• metaphor meaning that people were sad

• metaphor meaning that happiness was hard to contain

What does "A blue name needled into the skin" mean?

• a tattoo with blue ink

• a name that is sad

• a word that gets on someone's nerves