Poem Analysis

Of the four poems that are featured in the book, which poem did you like more? Why? Mention the poetic devices and the meaning/message of the poem. Explain your answer thoroughly.

Which poem is difficult to understand? Why? Mention some poetic devices that are present in the poem. What is the lesson you get from it?

Which poem is the easiest to understand? Why? Mention some poetic devices that are present in the poem. What is the lesson you get from it?

Choose one of the four poems that we discussed (Miracles, On the Beach at Night Alone, The Oven Bird, The Road Not Taken), which among the poems you can relate to yourself? Why?

Which evidence from the poem supports the answer chosen in Part A?

• “There’s a thousand ‘Can’t-be-done-ers’
  For the one who says ‘It can!’” (lines 1-2)

• “For the ‘Can’t-be-done-ers’ grumble,
  And hamper, oppose and doubt,” (lines 5-6)

• “For the ‘Can’t-be-done-ers’ mutter
  While the ‘Can-be’s’ cool, sublime,
  Make their ‘notions’ work till the others smirk.” (lines 13-15)

• “But it’s better to be a ‘Can-be,’
  And labor and dream—and die,
  Than one who runs with the ‘Can’t-be-done’s’” (lines 21-23)

Read lines 5-6 from the poem. How does the word choice impact the tone?

• by creating an excited tone

• by creating a grateful tone

• by creating a critical tone

• by creating a hateful tone

How do these lines contribute to the overall meaning of the poem?

• The “Can’t-be-done-ers” pretend they expected a positive outcome when “Can-bes” succeed.

• The “Can’t-be-done-ers” only pretend to be negative but are actually hopeful people.

• The “Can-bes” could not succeed without the support of the “Can’t-be-done-ers.”

• The “Can’t-be-done-ers” and the “Can-bes” are actually very similar.

How does the speaker’s point of view shift in the final stanza?

• The speaker shifts from confident in the “Can-be’s” ability to accomplish goals to cautionary

  that hope is valuable even apart from outcomes.

• The speaker shifts from encouraging readers to be “Can-bes” to warning them about the

  downsides of having that positive mindset.

• The speaker shifts from focusing only on the negative aspects of “Can’t-be-done-ers” to

  focusing on the positive aspects of “Can-bes.”

• The speaker shifts from looking at the differences between “Can’t-be-done-ers” and “Can-bes”

  to looking at their similarities.

What is a theme?

• the main idea or what the text is mostly about

• the lesson the author wants you to learn

• the feelings associated with words

• the problem in the text

Who is a speaker in a poem?

• The author/poet

• The person who is talking in the poem

• The person who created the test

• The person reading the poem