Poem Close Reading

The World

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

A whisper inside me seemed to say,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!’

—W.B.Rands

In the poem above ‘beautifully drest’ refers to

• having gaudy dress

• decorated with nature’s beauty

• wearing costly dresses

• wearing cheap but beautiful dresses

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.5.4

The World

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

A whisper inside me seemed to say,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!’

—W.B.Rands

The poet calls the world ‘beautifully drest’ because

• it looks beautiful

• it has wonderful grass curled around it

• it is covered with fine clothes

• ) it is covered with green leaves

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.5.5

The World

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

A whisper inside me seemed to say,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!’

—W.B.Rands

The wind in the poem talks to

• passersby

• trees

• clouds

• itself.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.5.5

The World

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

A whisper inside me seemed to say,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!’

—W.B.Rands

The poet calls the earth

• unfriendly

• friendly

• proud

• kind

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.5.5

The World

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

A whisper inside me seemed to say,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!’

—W.B.Rands

The phrase such a dot means

• so small

• so fat

• so big

• so kind

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.5.4