Reading Prose and Poetry Theme

Which lines from "If" by Rudyard Kipling are the best example of repetition?

• Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

  Or being hated don’t give way to hating,

• If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

  Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

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Which lines from "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson are the best example of repetition?

• Then there’s a pair of us – don’t tell!

  They’d banish us; you know!

• I’m nobody! Who are you?

  Are you nobody, too?

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It is important to have patience and endurance in building a strong character.

This theme is often found in Rudyard Kipling’s writings.

Which detail from "If" best supports this theme?

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

• But make allowance for their doubting too;

• If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

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It is important to live an honest life. Rudyard Kipling often writes about this theme.

Which detail from "If" best supports the theme of the importance of honesty?

• If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

• If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

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Growing up is difficult, but becoming an adult is an important part of life. This is a common theme in Rudyard Kipling’s writings.

Which detail from "If" best supports this theme?

• And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

• And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

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Read the excerpt from "Pirate Story" by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing,

Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea.

Winds are in the air, they are blowing in the spring,

And waves are on the meadow like the waves there are at sea.

Adventure and imagination are exciting for children. This is a theme found in these lines.

How does repetition strengthen the theme of adventure and imagination?

• The repeated words discourage action and play.

• The repeated words express movement and travel.

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Read "Swing Song" by A. A. Milne.

Here I go up in my swing

Ever so high.

I am the King of the fields, and the King

Of the town.

I am the King of the earth, and the King

Of the sky.

Here I go up in my swing . . .

Now I go down.

Imagination makes children feel powerful. This is a theme found in this poem.

How does repetition strengthen the theme of imagination?

• The repeated words are spoken by an adult.

• The repeated words explain the child’s imaginary powers.

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Read this excerpt from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

"Good!" said Mowgli, staring around slowly, and thrusting out his lower lip. "I see that ye are dogs. I go from you to my own people – if they be my own people. The jungle is shut to me, and I must forget your talk and your companionship; but I will be more merciful than ye are. Because I was all but your brother in blood, I promise that when I am a man among men I will not betray ye to men as ye have betrayed me."

Which line from "If" shares a similar theme?

• Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

• With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

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Mahina has been asked to write about connections between "If" and The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

Which best connects the two pieces?

• The Jungle Book is a story about animals. Animals are sometimes noisy and rude. “If” is a poem about dealing with people. It gives some advice about standing up to rude and noisy people.

• “If” is a poem about becoming an adult. Rudyard Kipling lists several characteristics of a strong man. The Jungle Book is a fictional story about a boy becoming a man in the jungle. Both writings show the difficulty of leaving childhood to become an adult.

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Which theme can be found in both "If" and The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling?

• Learning to hunt for food is part of growing up.

• Learning to stand alone is part of growing up.

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