Figurative Language EOC Prep

What a smile! One large lamp for a face,

smaller lanterns where skin stretches over

bones waiting for muscle, body all angles.

His Kalashnikov1 fires at each moving

[5]

thing before he knows what he drags

down. He halts movement of every

kind and fails to weigh whom he stops

dead or maims,2 his bullets

like jabs thrown before the thought

T

[10]

to throw them, involuntary shudders

when someone, somewhere, steps over

his shallow, unmarked, mass grave.

But his smile remains undimmed,

inviting, not knowing what hit him,

[15]

what snuffs out the wicks in his eyes.

Except that he moves and a face just like

his figures like him to stop all action

with a flick of finger on the trigger.

What impact does “undimmed” (Line 13) have on the meaning of the poem?

• It illustrates how sudden the soldier’s death was.

• It suggests the soldier is happy to leave the war.

• It shows that his death was peaceful.

• It stresses how full of life the soldier is.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

House that dreams it is a house and wakes up

a villa,1 staring through mirrored glasses across

the Persian Gulf.2 House with sand roses and cumin,

water filters, screaming red fire ants. Their castles

[5]

the first to go; like violence predicting its own

arrival. House full of fire ants. I can call it an embassy3

and almost be telling the truth. The geckos

operatic4 in the ceiling, the way the sand cat

must have looked, her stomach spread across

T

[10]

the warm patio tiles, her eyes pressed firmly

shut. The house all heat, that heard the word “war”

only when a child mispronounced it and stopped,

forefinger stalled in the copy of Arab News

until her father read it back to her. House that was

[15]

a sun-spoke5 in a compound6 in the desert. One day

a woman would draw the design from a satellite image,

weld it into a charm for a hot bronze necklace

and squinting, turn it over in her hand.

How does the speaker’s word choice contribute to the tone of the poem?

• The author’s discussion of approaching war and violence creates a foreboding tone.

• The author’s description of the house’s eventual destruction develops a hopeless tone.

• The author’s description of the animals and life in the poem creates a reassuring tone.

• The author’s discussion of the woman’s necklace creates a hopeful tone.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

[5]

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

T

But one man loved the pilgrim1 soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

[10]

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

What is the significance of Yeats’ characterization of the subject as a “pilgrim soul” in Line 7?

• It shows that they are different from others that the speaker loved.

• It shows that the subject is unable to love the speaker back.

• It shows that the speaker loves the subject for who they truly are.

• It shows that the speaker loves the subject despite their tendency to stray.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

To tell the truth,

I believe I could be happy

doing nothing but reading old diaries

morning to night. Silk and muslin1

[5]

brush my hands like moths

passing by, the dancers

go up and down the room, no one

has learned the Valse2 as yet,

fiddle and flute and fortepiano

[10]

return to the older rhythms.

Birth and death, the fortunes of war,

fear and relief from fear

compel attention, yet they’re veiled in the mild Septembery

T

haze of time — blessedly present,

[15]

blessedly long gone by. Aware of the shame

I ought to feel — defecting3 so willingly from my own century —

I stroll calmly through candlelit rooms

and down to the quay,4 to board

a waiting vessel that sails with the tide

[20]

into the finest clear night

possible, the Comet5 more beautiful

than anything I ever saw,

and the noise of the herrings,

which passed us

[25]

in immense shoals,6 glittering

in the Sea like fire…

In “The Glittering Noise,” what does the figure of speech “Silk and muslin / brush my hands like moths / passing by” suggest about the speaker’s impression of the past as she encounters it through old diaries?

• She finds the past eerie and rather frightening.

• She finds the past delicate and elusive.

• She finds the past dry and uninteresting.

• She finds the past forcefully alive.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow1 —

You are not wrong, who deem2

[5]

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

[10]

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

T

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

[15]

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

[20]

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

Which sentence best describes a theme of the poem?

• Our loved ones usually leave us.

• Nothing in life is permanent.

• It is important to hold on to your dreams.

• We cannot slow the passage of time.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow1 —

You are not wrong, who deem2

[5]

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

[10]

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

T

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

[15]

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

[20]

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

What is the meaning of the word “vision” as used in line 8?

• a spirit

• a dream

• the future

• a beautiful person

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

And the river flows like a stream of glass;

[5]

When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,

And the faint perfume from its chalice1 steals2 —

I know what the caged bird feels!

T

I know why the caged bird beats his wing

Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

[10]

For he must fly back to his perch and cling

When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars

And they pulse again with a keener sting —

I know why he beats his wing!

Which of the following identifies the central theme of the poem?

• Freedom can be achieved as long as you fight hard enough for it.

• No one can live a full or happy life if they are denied freedom.

• Birds specifically cannot be denied freedom due to their need to fly.

• With enough time, any person will lose the pull they feel towards freedom.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

And the river flows like a stream of glass;

[5]

When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,

And the faint perfume from its chalice1 steals2 —

I know what the caged bird feels!

T

I know why the caged bird beats his wing

Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

[10]

For he must fly back to his perch and cling

When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars

And they pulse again with a keener sting —

I know why he beats his wing!

What is the meaning of “fain” in line 11?

• prefer to

• hate to

• pretend to

• refuse to

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

There is no infant

this time,

only my own life swaddled1

in bandages

[5]

and handed back to me

to hold in my two arms

like any new thing,

to hold to my bruised breasts

and promise

[10]

to cherish.2

T

The smell of cut

flowers encloses this room,

insistent as anesthetic.3

It is spring.

[15]

Outside the hospital window

the first leaves have opened

their shiny blades,

and a dozen new accidents

turn over in their sleep,

[20]

waiting to happen.

Which statement best identifies a theme of the poem?

• Small comforts can lessen the pain caused by tragedy.

• A single tragedy can make you sensitive to the possibility of future tragedies.

• While tragedies may occur infrequently, that doesn’t lessen the pain.

• It is important to stay strong in the face of tragedy.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

There is no infant

this time,

only my own life swaddled1

in bandages

[5]

and handed back to me

to hold in my two arms

like any new thing,

to hold to my bruised breasts

and promise

[10]

to cherish.2

T

The smell of cut

flowers encloses this room,

insistent as anesthetic.3

It is spring.

[15]

Outside the hospital window

the first leaves have opened

their shiny blades,

and a dozen new accidents

turn over in their sleep,

[20]

waiting to happen.

What impact does the phrase “insistent as anesthetic” have on the passage’s meaning (Line 13)?

• It reveals that the woman has recently come out of surgery.

• It shows how overpowering the smell of the flowers is in the hospital.

• It emphasizes how the mother’s loss has numbed and isolated her.

• It portrays the hospital as a cold and unwelcoming place.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.8.4