Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was born, died, and buried in Amherst, Massachusetts.

• True

• False

What was Emily Dickinson's attitude toward society- as shown in her poetry?

• She enjoys breaking the rules of the society of her day.

• She prefers being a private person, not a public one.

• She yearns to be a successful, world-famous poet.

• She is very sad to be alone but too shy to change.

Which statement explains the situation in “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –”?

• The speaker describes death through the eyes of a fly.

• The speaker describes the moment of death, but after the speaker has already died.

• The speaker is surrounded by loved ones.

• The speaker is daydreaming about what her death scene might be like.

In “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –,” what do the details suggest most clearly about death?

• The company of loved ones makes death easier to bear.

• The rituals of death vary from one country to another.

• Death may not occur in the manner we think

• Death is a release from life’s cares.

In “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” what is compared to a frog?

• someone who likes being noticed

• someone who is hiding from the world

• someone who feels less important to other people

• someone who disrupts the speaker’s quietness

In “They shut me up in Prose –,” what is compared to being shut up “in Prose”?

• being put into a closet as a little girl

• being a stray dog sent to the pound

• telling a young girl to wish on a star

• teaching a little bird to recite poetry

Which line from the selections is the best example of Dickinson’s use of paradox?

• Fame is a fickle food / Upon a shifting plate (from “Fame is a fickle food”)

• They put me in the Closet – / Because they liked me “still” – (from “They shut me up in Prose –”)

• A soul admitted to itself – / Finite Infinity (from “There is a solitude of space”)

• How dreary – to be – Somebody! / How public – like a Frog – (from “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”)

What is the central paradox presented in “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”

• the idea that a person can be nobody

• the idea that a frog makes noise in a bog

• the idea that some people like to advertise themselves

• the idea that no one enjoys being considered a nobody

What is a slant rhyme?

• Similar but not identical sounds
• A cool hip dance move
• Strict rhyme scheme
• Rhyme with more than three syllables

In “Fame is a fickle food,” what food do the crows prefer to the crumbs left by fame?

• farmer's corn

• tacos

• bread crumbs

• smoothes