Comprehending Poetry

1. In poem A, why does the poet keep saying “He had his dream”?

• to have a rhyme

• to emphasize a theme

• to tell what the man thought

• to explain what happened

In poem A, why does the poet say “storm-cloud dark”?

• The man was sad.

• The sky was cloudy.

• The man faced problems.

• The man was worried.

What does it mean when the poet says “He saw through every cloud a gleam”?

• He was discouraged.

• He was patient.

• He had hope.

• He would have more problems.

From How to get RICHES. In each stanza, the word precept means —

• advice

• proverb

• law

• rule

Which of the following statements would best represent the theme of Franklin's poem (Poem B)?

• Procrastination, misplaced trust, and waste are all things that people don’t realize they

  are doing wrong.

• Procrastination, misplaced trust, and waste are all natural human inclinations that should

  be overcome.

• Procrastination, misplaced trust, and waste are all natural human inclinations that should

  be embraced.

• Procrastination, misplaced trust, and waste are all barriers brought on by other people.

In Line 7 of poem B, you can tell that precarious means —

• risky

• certain

• unwise

• superior

Juxtaposition is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem, for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts. Which of the following is an example of juxtaposition? You may select more than one answer.

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . "

• "Roses are red, violets are blue."

• "But at every gust more dead leaves fall,

  And youth's fond hopes fall thick in the blast. . ."

• "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun. . . "

If something is analogous, it is comparable in certain respects, typically in a way which makes clearer the nature of the things compared.

• "Every choice you make is like spinning the wheel of fortune—sometimes you will get the result that you desire, while other times you will end up with something you always hoped to avoid."

• "I'm trying my best"

• "The old man figured out there is nothing now

• "The day is cold, and dark, and dreary...My life is cold, and dark, and dreary"