Theme and Form in Early American Poetry

True or False: Blank verse poetry rhymes.

• True

• False

How many syllables are in a line of poetry written in iambic pentameter?

• 4

• 6

• 8

• 10

In this excerpt from the poem "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant, what is the meaning of the word swain?

Thine individual being, shalt thou go

To mix forever with the elements,

To be a brother to the insensible rock

And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain

Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak

Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold.

• A young vineyard worker

• A young boy who hunts wild animals

• A young shepherd or country boy

• An unpleasant person

Which line of poetry is written in iambic pentameter?

• Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

• Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon

• To him who in the love of Nature holds.

• Took a long reed for a pipe-stem,

What poetic technique does Henry Wadsworth Longfellow use in this excerpt from the poem "The Day Is Done"?

The day is done, and the darkness

Falls from the wings of Night,

As a feather is wafted downward

From an eagle in his flight.

• assonance

• enjambment

• iambic pentameter

• consonance

Which sentence best describes the chief characteristics of blank verse?

• It is in iambic pentameter and doesn't rhyme.

• It is always made up of eight syllables and never rhymes.

• It can be in any kind of meter but must never rhyme.

• It is in iambic pentameter and must always rhyme.

As it's used, what is the most likely meaning of sepulchre?

Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down

With patriarchs of the infant world -- with kings,

The powerful of the earth -- the wise, the good,

Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past,

All in one mighty sepulchre. The hills

• reflection or thought

• amusement or merriment

• close relationship

• burial place or chamber

As it's used, what is the most likely meaning of musings?

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

And eloquence of beauty; and she glides

Into his darker musings, with a mild

And healing sympathy that steals away

• reflections or deep thoughts

• burial place or burial chamber

• amusement or merriment

• close relationship with someone or something

As it's used, what is the most likely meaning of mirth?

Plod on, and each one as before will chase

His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave

Their mirth and their employments, and shall come

And make their bed with thee. As the long train

• reflection or deep thought

• burial place or burial chamber

• amusement or merriment

• close relationship with someone or something

As it's used, what is the most likely meaning of communion?

To him who in the love of nature holds

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks

A various language; for his gayer hours

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

• burial place or burial chamber

• amusement or merriment

• deep thought or reflection

• close relationship with someone or something