Understanding Poetry

In the first two lines of the Billy Collins poem, the metaphor of holding a poem "up to the light / like a color slide" suggests that the speaker wants students to:

• Carefully examine the poem's details

• Destroy the poem's meaning

• Ignore the poem's complexity

• Memorize the poem word for word

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

The phrase "drop a mouse into a poem" is a metaphor that implies:

• Poems are dangerous to animals

• Students should explore a poem's meaning playfully and curiously

• Poems are like scientific experiments

• Mice are good at understanding poetry

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

What is the primary contrast in the poem between the speaker's desired approach to poetry and the students' approach?

• The speaker wants to analyze poetry, while students want to ignore it

• The speaker wants to experience poetry playfully, while students want to dissect it

• The speaker wants to write poetry, while students want to read it

• The speaker wants to memorize poetry, while students want to understand it

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

What does the author mean by "charged" in this line?

One of the great pleasures of reading poetry is to feel words mean what they usually do in everyday life, and also start to move into a more charged, activated realm.

• rushed forward in an attack

• filled with excitement

• accused of an offense

• filled, or satisfied, like an electronic device

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which opinion below are Matthew Zapruder and Billy Collins most likely to share?

• Poetry was fine while it lasted, but people’s interest has moved on to more exciting things

• Poetry helps us see the strangeness and excitement in everyday words and experiences

• Poetry should include a demonstration of skill and technique, first and foremost

• People would appreciate poetry more if they had a better education

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.7