Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Read the excerpt from “ Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry.”

"Flood-tide below me! I see you face to face!

Clouds of the west – sun there half an hour high – I see you also face to face."

Which statement best describes the effect of repeating the phrase “face to face”?

• It shows that the narrator sees the facial features of others.

• It demonstrates that the narrator is surrounded by nature.

• It demonstrates that the narrator is surrounded by people.

• It shows that the narrator is suspicious of the sea and sky.

Read the excerpt from “ Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.”

"Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt,

Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a crowd,

Just as you are refresh'd by the gladness of the river and the bright flow, I was refresh'd,

Just as you stand and lean on the rail, yet hurry with the swift current, I stood yet was hurried,

Just as you look on the numberless masts of ships and the thick-stemm'd pipes of steamboats, I look'd."

What is the purpose of the repetition in these lines?

• to emphasize that the narrator’s experience is universal

• to highlight that the narrator feels misunderstood by others

• to highlight that the reader and narrator are from different times

• to emphasize that only the reader can relate to the narrator

Read the excerpt from “ Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.”

"The others that are to follow me, the ties between me and them,

The certainty of others, the life, love, sight, hearing of others.

Others will enter the gates of the ferry and cross from shore to shore,

Others will watch the run of the flood-tide,

Others will see the shipping of Manhattan north and west, and the

heights of Brooklyn to the south and east,"

Which idea does Walt Whitman evoke by repeating “Others will”?

• Throughout history, people have taken rides on the same ferry as the narrator.

• Many of the narrator’s friends and family will enjoy riding the ferry as well.

• Many people will take the ferry and have an experience similar to the narrator’s.

• The experiences of the narrator on the ferry will not be felt by anyone else.

Which statement best describes the structure of “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”?

• The poem’s structure is created by different repeating sections.

• The poem’s structure is created by repeated lines that rhyme.

• The poem’s structure is created by each stanza’s similar rhythm.

• The poem’s structure is created by identical syllables in each line.

Walt Whitman’s poems, such as “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” made him a pioneer of

• rhythmic verse.

• formal verse.

• free verse.

• repetitive verse.

Read the sentence.

"Cora and Mellie held hands so tightly, their fingers were a chain-link fence."

Which statement best interprets the meaning of this metaphor?

• Cora and Mellie’s hands are bound together by a chain.

• Cora and Mellie’s hands look like a metal fence.

• Cora and Mellie’s hands are made of metal.

• Cora and Mellie’s hands are grasped strongly together.

Read the sentence.

"Cy listened intently as the speaker rallied the crowd from the stage, a wise owl perched on a strong branch."

In this sentence, what is the speaker compared to?

• a stage

• a branch

• an owl

• a lecture

Read the sentence.

"I listened to the steady pitter-patter of rain on my bedroom window and the wind, a wolf howling at the night sky, as they got louder and louder."

In this sentence, what is the wind compared to?

• a bedroom window

• a steady rain

• a wolf howling

• the night sky

Read the sentence.

"Nasi was a bird soaring through the sky as he flew over three defenders toward the basket."

In this sentence, what is Nasi compared to?

• the basket

• a defender

• a bird

• the sky