Eldorado: The Song of the Wandering Aengus

In “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” the poet uses the phrase a fire was in my head in line 2 to suggest that the narrator —

• was excited to go fishing in the stream

• had planned to catch dinner and cook it

• had many ideas burning in his brain

• was searching for a fire in the woods

In “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” the poet uses a metaphor in the first stanza to describe —

• the trees in the woods

• the berries on the thread

• the fish in the stream

• the stars in the sky

In “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” what do the details in stanza 2 suggest has happened?

• The fish had turned into a beautiful girl.

• The fire had gotten out of control.

• The fish had escaped and gotten away.

• The narrator was remembering a lost love.

Read lines 21–24 in “The Song of Wandering Aengus.” What does the figurative language in these sentences reveal about the narrator?

• The narrator is hungry and searching for food.

• The narrator is tired of traveling day and night.

• The narrator is clever and will use any light to aid his search.

• The narrator is hopeful that his search will end positively.

In “Eldorado,” the poet’s use of short sentences helps create the poem’s —

• story theme

• rhyming meter

• word sounds

• rhyming scheme

Read lines 4 and 5 from “Eldorado.” The sensory language in these lines highlights the character’s —

• determination

• idealism

• optimism

• romanticism

In the second stanza of “Eldorado,” the author uses the shadow to represent —

• despair

• shame

• sorrow

• boredom

The poet pairs shadow and Eldorado in rhyme throughout the poem to demonstrate that —

• Eldorado is something that is hard to locate, like a shadow

• Eldorado is a place that is being likened with darkness, like a shadow

• Eldorado is a feeling that is being depicted as a dark shadow

• Eldorado is something bright that is being contrasted with a dark shadow

Which way do both poets indicate passage of time in their poems?

• The poets describes events in the order they happened.

• The poets use figurative language to indicate the passing of days.

• The poets use the plot to describe the passing of time.

• The poets describe how the setting has changed.

How are the two poems similar?

• Both poems emphasize that joy comes in the morning.

• They both focus upon the fact that we should rely on nature.

• Both speakers work for the state of North Carolina.

• Both speakers are searching for something.