Q3: Mystery Poem

"Poised between going on and back, pulled

Both ways taut like a tightrope-walker,"

This line is an example of ___.

• personification

• literal language

• a simile

• a metaphor

"He's only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,

Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate - now!"

These lines from the poem include the use of ___.

• repetition

  (the same words, sounds, or ideas again for effect)

• hyperbole

  (extreme exaggeration)

• metaphor

  (a comparison of 2 unlike things not using like or as)

• imagery

  (language that appeals to the 5 senses)

What is the setting of the poem?

• at a school dance

• at the circus

• on a neighborhood playground

• on a baseball field

What situation is described in the poem?

• The player on base is deciding either to steal the next base or not risk it at all.

• The batter is making a split-second decision whether or not to swing at the ball.

• The catcher is communicating with the pitcher before the last pitch.

• The pitcher is deciding which type of pitch to throw at the batter.

Which line from the poem implies how the base-stealer acts toward the players on the other team?

• "Poised between going on and back"

• "Fingertips pointing the opposites"

• "Running a scattering of steps sidewise"

• "Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird"

At the end of the poem, we can infer that the base runner ...

• is struck by a batted ball and collapses on the field

• returns to first base to play it safe

• sprinted to the next base in an attempt to steal it

• is tagged out by a fielder