Reaching the Next Generation with Poetry

In “The Writer,” what is the speaker listening to?

• a chain being hauled across the room

• the sound of his daughter’s typewriter

• his daughter quietly reading her writing aloud

• a starling hitting the glass while trying to escape

In “The Writer,” what is the speaker’s main wish for his daughter?

• that she will follow his advice about writing

• that she will safely find her way to independence

• that she will never face pain or disappointment

• that she will be happier than he has been

In “I Am Offering This Poem,” to which of the following does the speaker compare his poem? Choose three options.

• a pot of corn

• a pair of thick socks

• a dense forest

• the world outside

• directions for someone who is lost

In “I Am Offering This Poem,” what is most likely the “it” which the speaker is referring to in these lines?

It’s all I have to give,

and all anyone needs to live,

and to go on living inside.…

• love

• corn

• socks

• shelter

Part A Which answer best describes the central contrast the speaker makes in “I Am Offering This Poem”?

• a feeling of security versus a feeling of love

• a necessity such as food versus shelter

• love poetry versus informational writing

• the gift of love versus material comforts

Part B Which lines from “I Am Offering This Poem” best support the answer to Part A?

• lines 1–7: I am offering this poem to you, / since I have nothing else to give. / Keep it like a warm coat / … / I love you.…

• lines 9–10: … it is a pot full of yellow corn / to warm your belly in winter; lines 14–18: Keep it … / … / tucked away like a cabin or hogan.…

• lines 14–16: Keep it, treasure this as you would / if you were lost, needing direction, / in the wilderness life becomes when mature.…

• lines 20–22: and I will answer, give you directions, / and let you warm yourself by this fire, / rest by this fire, and make you feel safe.…

Read the following lines from “The Writer” by Richard Wilbur.

I pause in the stairwell, hearing / From her shut door a commotion of typewriter keys / Like a chain over a gunwale*.

________

*gunwale side of a boat

Which answer choice gives the most likely reason the writer makes the comparison in these lines?

• By comparing the sound of typing to a sound on a ship, the writer adds to the other seafaring imagery in the poem, including “prow” and “cargo.”

• By comparing the sound of typing to the sound of chains, the writer creates a picture related to the image of a trapped bird at the end of the poem.

• By comparing the sound of typing to the sound of chains, the writer emphasizes the fact that the daughter is trapped.

• By comparing the sound of typing to a sound on a ship, the writer emphasizes the fact that the daughter is moving away from the family.

Part A Which answer is the best restatement of the theme of “I Am Offering This Poem”?

• A poem can give direction to life.

• A poem is as great a gift as a coat.

• Food is necessary for survival.

• Love is necessary for survival.

Part B Which excerpt from “I Am Offering This Poem” best supports the answer to Part A?

• so it is a pot full of yellow corn / to warm your belly in winter, / it is a scarf for your head, to wear / over your hair, to tie up around your face.…

• Keep it, treasure this as you would / if you were lost, needing direction, / in the wilderness life becomes when mature.…

• tucked away like a cabin or hogan / in dense trees, come knocking, / and I will answer, give you directions, / and let you warm yourself by this fire.…

• It’s all I have to give, / and all anyone needs to live, / … / when the world outside / no longer cares if you live or die; / remember, / I love you.

What does the starling’s struggle most clearly symbolize in “The Writer”?

• the story the daughter is writing

• the ups and downs in the course of life

• the daughter’s need to break free and express herself

• the father’s worry about his daughter’s possible failure