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Worksheets"The Cremation of Sam McGee"
Total questions: 23
Worksheet time: 18mins
What type of poem is this?
haiku
sonnet
free verse
narrative
Which point of view is this written in?
first person
second person
third person objective
third person limited
third person omniscient
What is the most likely setting of the poem?
California/Arizona border
Texas/New Mexico border
Alaska/Canada border
New York/Rhode Island border
What's a benefit of the first person point of view?
It adds humor because you know exactly how the speaker feels about his dead friend.
You understand how Sam McGee felt about Cap.
It allows you to focus only on the speaker's actions and dialogue.
The reader can know what both characters are thinking about the journey.
What is the most likely synonym for the word "queer" as it's used in the first stanza?
happy
cold
beautiful
strange
Which device is used in "where the cotton blooms and blows"?
personification
allusion
alliteration
hyperbole
Which of the following reveals why Sam McGee was in Alaska?
"God only knows."
"the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell"
"the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe"
"you'll cremate my last remains"
Which device is used in "it stabbed like a driven nail"?
rhyme scheme
hyperbole
metaphor
simile
What does it mean that "through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail"?
The weather was windy and cold, which was painful to the speaker's skin.
The cold was being personified as hitting the speaker's face and causing injury.
The weather added to the overall conflict of the speaker.
The speaker's jacket was being blown open by the breeze.
Which device is used in "I'm chilled clean through to the bone"?
personification
simile
alliteration
hyperbole
Which of these indicates the theme of the poem?
"Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows"
"A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail"
"There wasn't a breath in that land of death"
"I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear"
Which of the following best foreshadows Sam McGee's death?
"queer sights"
"It's the cursed cold"
"the only one to whimper was Sam McGee"
"he looked ghastly pale"
What does the metaphor "land of death" indicate?
It's personifying the weather in Alaska.
It shows that the climate is harsh and difficult to survive in.
It reveals that everyone who ventures there dies.
It means that many people are buried there.
Why is Cap "horror-driven" in the seventh stanza?
He cannot go any further.
He is tired of facing the bitter cold.
He has just discovered that his dogs are starving.
He cannot stand looking at Sam's body any longer.
What is "the thing" and "the hateful thing" that Cap refers to in stanzas 8-9?
Sam's corpse
the dogs
himself
the weather
What is the "derelict" in stanza 10?
a cabin
a ruined ship
a sleigh
a lake
What does the speaker's diction in "frozen chum" and "stuffed in Sam McGee" indicate about the tone?
It shifts from gloomy to more lighthearted.
It shifts from suspenseful to gloomy.
It shifts from lighthearted to melancholy.
It shifts from disheartened to perplexed.
Why did the speaker say that "the heavens scowled" in the twelfth stanza?
Sam was upset because the speaker was cremating him.
The speaker felt guilty that he was doing something wrong by cremating his friend in that manner.
He was just indicating that there was storm brewing.
He felt that Sam was frowning at him because it took so long to cremate him.
Which of these best indicates the speaker's inner conflict of Sam's cremation?
"The trail was bad"
"And I looked at it, and I thought a bit"
"It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks"
"I wrestled with grisly fear"
What part of the plot occurs when the speaker opens the door of the "crematorium" and sees Sam?
exposition
rising action
climax
falling action
Which of these do NOT reveal that the speaker is losing touch with his sanity?
"The trail was bad, and I felt half mad"
"I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin."
"But the stars came out and they danced about"
"and he said: 'Please close that door.'"
What device is used in "he wore a smile you could see a mile"?
allusion
hyperbole
anthropomorphism
metaphor
Which is the best overall theme of the poem?
With age comes wisdom.
Family can be more than just blood.
Sometimes it's difficult to keep a promise.
Sometimes the good die young.
