The Centipede Group Responses

Which word BEST describes the mood of this poem?

• calm

• serious

• hopeful

• peaceful

What poetic technique is used in the phrase “slowly strumming”?

• assonance

• alliteration

• dissonance

• onomatopoeia

In “The Centipede,” what lines BEST demonstrate the poet’s admiration for the centipede?

• You seem to do it all so pat, Without a slip or jumble;

• You did not learn it all at once When you were just a baby,

• So I may hope, dear centipede, That there’s a good day coming

• When I shall play long runs with speed Instead of slowly strumming.

The author MOST LIKELY wants readers to experience....?

• the centipede’s beauty.

• the speaker’s disappointment.

• the centipede’s cleverness.

• the speaker’s lack of skill.

The poet uses the centipede’s ability to walk smoothly to...?

• reveal the wonder of the natural world.

• make a contrast to a child learning to play an instrument.

• show the social pressures that children often feel.

• suggest the need to work hard to overcome obstacles.

Read the following lines from the poem:

1 You seem to do it all so pat,

2 Without a slip or jumble;

3 If I could play my scales like that

4 Mamma would never grumble.

What technique does the poet use in these lines?

• rhyme

• alliteration

• inversion

• flashback

How does the poet create an element of surprise in the first lines of the poem?

• by writing about nature

• by talking to a centipede

• by discussing an insect

• by using the first person