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Worksheets"I Dreaded That First Robin"
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 15mins
"Pianos" is most likely a metaphor in line 7 that refers to:
trees
bees
birds
poetry
poets
An effect of the line "They're here, though" (21) is to highlight the speaker's feelings of:
hopefulness
cheerfulness
guilt
redemption
powerlessness
The main, literal opposition in the poem is between what?
the birds vs. the flowers
God vs. Nature
childhood vs. adulthood
the speaker and the spring
reason and imagination
How does the speaker view the coming of the robin, the daffodils, and the bees?
welcome arrivals
inexplicable happenings
painful experiences
unexpected diversions
inspiring occurences
"I wished the Grass would hurry—"
The speaker's idea here is that:
She wishes the grass would grow faster.
She longs for the robin to alight in the grass.
She wishes spring would pass quickly.
She hopes the summer will be hot.
She thinks that the cows should graze well.
They're here, though; not a creature failed—
No Blossom stayed away
In gentle deference to me—
The Queen of Calvary—
In stanza 6 the most likely meaning for "deference" based on context is:
confidence
illiteracy
regard
irony
irritation
Each one salutes me, as he goes,
And I, my childish Plumes
Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment
Of their unthinking Drums—
In the last stanza, the speaker realizes that...
Nature heeds not the plight of the downtrodden and oppressed.
Naturally inspired poems are superior to artifices of intellect.
Natural occurrences proceed without regard to human emotions.
Nature has taught the speaker that she cannot express herself.
Nature's failure to yield to human wishes is poetic inspiration.
What is the overall tone of the poem?
indifferent
sad
happy
ungrateful
A possible reason for the speaker's attitude could be that:
it is a manifestation of a sensory overload disorder.
the beauty of spring is just a part of the greater cycle of birth, decay, and death.
it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
she regrets nothing.
But He is mastered, now,
I'm some accustomed to Him grown,
He hurts a little, though—(2-4)
In these lines, the Robin could be interpreted as a metaphor for:
happiness
hate
grief
deja-vu
How does the speaker mainly perceive the spring?
sound and color
odor and taste
shape and texture
poetry and music
love and fear
In line 21, "failed" means
pollinated
overcame
died
was absent
What is a theme of the poem?
childhood trauma
nature and how it relates to humans
man vs. self
failure to thrive
"Plumes" in line 26 refers to...
the robin's feathers she uses in her nest.
the speaker as a poet writing down her observations.
the dagger of the mind traumatizing the speaker.
her hopes that have been reinforced by the coming of spring.
When the poetic speaker calls herself "Queen of Calvary," this is ironic since...
Calvary had no queen as it was only a hillock in Judea.
it is effectively mocking the speaker herself as she acknowledges that she is not the center of the universe.
it confirms that nature is in opposition to God and at odds with the mother of Jesus.
the poetic speaker is skilled in horsemanship.
