Poetry Passages

When reading poetry,

• stop at the end of each line not at periods.

• stop at every fifth line.

• read through the end of the lines and only pause at commas and stop at periods.

• read through the end of the lines and only stop at the last line.

Homer was a Greek epic poet. Both the date and the place of his birth and death are not known precisely, but recent research suggests a date between 1050 and 800 BC. It has even been claimed that no such man as Homer existed and that The Iliad and The Odyssey are collections of traditional ballads and not the work of one man. In any event they were known all over the Greek-speaking world before the sixth century BC. The Iliad is an epic poem dealing with the siege of Troy by the Greeks. The Odyssey describes the wandering of Odysseus, a Greek seafarer, on his way back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

• it's not definite when and where Homer was born

• Homer only deals with poetry

• recent research shows the impossibility of finding Homer's birth date

• some suggest that he was born in 800 BC

• Homer's birth place is known but his date of birth is still unknown

What is the tone of the poem?

• Romantic and passionate

• Sad and melancholic

• Sarcastic and mocking

• Serious and contemplative

What does the speaker mean when she says, "If ever two were one, then surely we"?

• The speaker and her husband are inseparable

• The speaker and her husband are very different

• The speaker and her husband are constantly arguing

• The speaker and her husband are perfect for each other

What is the purpose of the repetition of the word "love" throughout the poem?

• To emphasize the speaker's strong emotions

• To create a rhythmic pattern in the poem

• To show the speaker's obsession with love

• To highlight the poem's topic of love and its importance to the speaker

What does the speaker mean when she says, "My love is such that rivers cannot quench"?

• The speaker's love is unending and cannot be satisfied

• The speaker's love is as vast as a river

• The speaker's love is like a river, constantly changing

• The speaker's love is overpowering, like a flooding river

What is the significance of the poem being addressed to the speaker's "dear and loving husband"?

• It shows the speaker's admiration for her husband

• It signifies a strong and affectionate relationship

• It emphasizes the importance of marriage in society

• It reflects the role of women in the 17th century

What is the effect of the poem's rhyme scheme (AA BB CC DD)?

• It creates a sense of order and harmony

• It adds a playful and lighthearted tone

• It emphasizes the contrast between love and marriage

• It reflects the speaker's changing emotions throughout the poem

• The rhymed couplets reflect the pairing of marriage

What does the speaker mean when she says, "Thy love is such I can no way repay"?

• The speaker feels indebted to her husband's love

• The speaker believes her love is greater than her husband's

• The speaker is trying to find a way to repay her husband's love

• The speaker is questioning the sincerity of her husband's love

How does the speaker view her husband's love compared to worldly riches?

• The speaker values her husband's love more than any material wealth

• The speaker believes material wealth is more important than love

• The speaker sees love and wealth as equal in importance

• The speaker is indifferent to both love and wealth