The Poem Clouds

1. Which lines from the selection explain what the landscape is like where the speaker is?

• A. “Like sheep across the pasture, they” / “Across the skies go.”

• B. “I hear the wind with merry noise” / “Around the housetops sweep,”

• C. “And dream that far beyond the hill” / “The shepherds fold their sheep.”

• D. “Then in the sky the trembling stars” / “Like little flowers shine out,”

2. Which phrase from the poem suggests that the clouds are having a race?

• A. “Idly, to and fro”

• B. “I hear the wind with merry noise"

• C. “Around the housetops sweep'

• D. “Hastening to be the first”

3. What is the speaker describing in lines 11 and 12 of the poem?

• A. The sheep are impatient.

• B. The clouds are moving faster.

• C. The clouds are moving slowly.

• D. The sheep are tired and want to sleep.

4. In the poem, to what does the speaker compare the wind?

• A. brooms

• B. dreams

• C. noises

• D. shepherds

5. Which lines from the poem describe how the speaker imagines the wind?

• A. “The sky is full of clouds today, / And idly, to and fro,”

• B. “And dream it is the shepherd boys— / They’re driving home their sheep.”

• C. “Each sheep seems hastening to be; / The first within the fold.”

• D. “I watch them hurry on until / The blue is clear and deep,”

6. Which quote from the poem explains that night has completely fallen?

• A. “The west is red and gold;”

• B. “And dream that far beyond the hill”

• C. “Then in the sky the trembling stars”

• D. “And dream that in the east, all white,”

7. How does the sky change from the beginning to end of the poem?

• A. The sky is cloudier and darker

• B. The sky seems clearer and bluer.

• C. The sky gets clearer, then darker.

• D. The sky looks red and gold, then blue.

8. In the poem, to what does the speaker compare the stars?

• A. shadows of darkness

• B. cloudy dreams

• C. flowers

• D. sheep

10. Which lines from the poem suggest that the sky becomes clear at night?

• A. “Then in the sky the trembling stars / Like little flowers shine out,”

• B. “While Night puts up the shadow bars, / And darkness falls about.”

• C. “I hear the shepherd wind’s good night, / ‘Good night, and happy sleep!’ ”

• D. “And dream that in the east, all white, / Slumber the clouds, the sheep.”

12. What is the poet referring to in the lines, “The west is red and gold” and “The blue is clear and deep”?

• A. the clouds

• B. the sheep

• C. the wind

• D. the sky