Poetry Review - Echoing Green

The Echoing Green

By

William Blake

The sun does arise,

And make happy the skies;

The merry bells ring

To welcome the Spring;

5 The skylark and thrush,

The birds of the bush,

Sing louder around

To the bells' cheerful sound;

While our sports shall be seen

10 On the echoing Green.

Old John, with white hair,

Does laugh away care,

Sitting under the oak,

Among the old folk.

15 They laugh a tour play,

And soon they all say,

“Such, such were the joys

When we all girls and boys

In our youth time were seen

20 On the echoing

Green."

Till the little ones, weary,

No more can be merry:

The sun does descend,

And our sports have an end.

25 Round the laps of their

mothers

Many sisters and brothers,

Like birds in their nest,

Are ready for rest,

And sport no more seen

30 On the darkening green.

In line 8, what does the word cheerful mean?

F less cheerful

G full of cheer

H most cherry

J loud

• less cheerful

• full of cheer

• most cheery

• loud

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.4.5

The Echoing Green

By William Blake

The sun does arise,

And make happy the skies;

The merry bells ring

To welcome the Spring;

5 The skylark and thrush,

The birds of the bush,

Sing louder around

To the bells' cheerful sound;

While our sports shall be seen

10 On the echoing Green.

Old John, with white hair,

Does laugh away care,

Sitting under the oak,

Among the old folk.

15 They laugh a tour play,

And soon they all say,

“Such, such were the joys

When we all girls and boys

In our youth time were seen

20 On the echoing Green."

Till the little ones, weary,

No more can be merry:

The sun does descend,

And our sports have an end.

25 Round the laps of their mothers

Many sisters and brothers,

Like birds in their nest,

Are ready for rest,

And sport no more seen

30 On the darkening green.

Read lines 1 and 2 from the poem.

The sun does arise,

And make happy the

skies;

The poet uses these lines to show ―

• the sun is setting in the evening

• the sun is not up

• it is a sunny joyful morning

• the sun’s heat is too strong

  the sun did not rise that day

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.4.5

The Echoing Green

By

William Blake

The sun does arise,

And make happy the skies;

The merry bells ring

To welcome the Spring;

5 The skylark and thrush,

The birds of the bush,

Sing louder around

To the bells' cheerful sound;

While our sports shall be seen

10 On the echoing Green.

11 Old John, with white hair,

12 Does laugh away care,

13 Sitting under the oak,

14Among the old folk.

15 They laugh a tour play,

16 And soon they all say,

17“Such, such were the joys

18When we all girls and boys

19In our youth time were seen

20 On the echoing

Green."

Till the little ones, weary,

No more can be merry:

The sun does descend,

And our sports have an end.

25 Round the laps of their

mothers

Many sisters and brothers,

Like birds in their nest,

Are ready for rest,

And sport no more seen

30 On the darkening green.

Lines 11–20 in the poem show the reader that ―

• the older characters are reflecting on their lives

• the characters are young

• the characters are angry with the young

• the echoing Green is a frightening place

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.4.5

The Echoing Green

By

William Blake

The sun does arise,

And make happy the skies;

The merry bells ring

To welcome the Spring;

5 The skylark and thrush,

The birds of the bush,

Sing louder around

To the bells' cheerful sound;

While our sports shall be seen

10 On the echoing Green.

Old John, with white hair,

Does laugh away care,

Sitting under the oak,

Among the old folk.

15 They laugh a tour play,

And soon they all say,

“Such, such were the joys

When we all girls and boys

In our youth time were seen

20 On the echoing

Green."

Till the little ones, weary,

No more can be merry:

The sun does descend,

And our sports have an end.

25 Round the laps of their

mothers

Many sisters and brothers,

Like birds in their nest,

Are ready for rest,

And sport no more seen

30 On the darkening green.

How does the speaker feel throughout the poem?

\

• Annoyed

• Angry

• Content

• Proud

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.4.5

The Echoing Green

By

William Blake

The sun does arise,

And make happy the skies;

The merry bells ring

To welcome the Spring;

5 The skylark and thrush,

The birds of the bush,

Sing louder around

To the bells' cheerful sound;

While our sports shall be seen

10 On the echoing Green.

Old John, with white hair,

Does laugh away care,

Sitting under the oak,

Among the old folk.

15 They laugh a tour play,

And soon they all say,

“Such, such were the joys

When we all girls and boys

In our youth time were seen

20 On the echoing

Green."

21Till the little ones, weary,

22 No more can be merry:

23The sun does descend,

24And our sports have an end.

25 Round the laps of their

mothers

Many sisters and brothers,

Like birds in their nest,

Are ready for rest,

And sport no more seen

30 On the darkening green.

The poet includes lines 21-24 to show ―

• the day is coming to an end

• the children want to stay on the echoing Green

• how excited the children are on the echoing Green

• the sun rising again

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.4.5