Post by ernesto thaddeus m. solmerano on Dec 25, 2008 1:12:05 GMT -5
Alternative Exam
Poetry Analysis Test
Read the poem very carefully and then answer the questions that follow as briefly as possible - with a letter, word or phrase.
Meeting at Night
By Robert Browning
The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed in the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!
1. The person speaking the lines of the poem is obviously:
a. a navigator
b. a sailor
c. a lover
d. a farmer
2. The poem is addressed to:
a. the poet
b. a beloved
c. a friend
d. nobody in particular
3. The speaker here is:
a. sailing
b. meeting his girl
c. taking a walk
d. only daydreamimg
4. This poem:
a. is merely a description of nature at night.
b. depicts the character of the speaker
c. reveals the sense impressions of a lover meeting his beloved
d. expresses the poet's philosophy of life
5. It is fairly clear in the poem that to meet his girl, the lover:
a. has to go a long, long way
b. has only a short way to go
c. makes the journey only in his imagination
d. is just hallucinating
6. Considering the answer to Question #5, the reader observes that the shortness of the poem implies that the lover:
a. takes little notice of his surroundings
b. takes his time to enjoy the beauty of the night
c. is in great haste
d. doesn't really love the girl
7. The lover's ______________ is revealed by the fact that during his journey, at first he observes some things around him but as he nears his goal, his awareness of his surroundings decreases, until at the end, only those sights and sounds are noticed by him which indicate the fulfillment of his expectation.
a. impatience
b. nonchalance
c. bitter mood
d. cheerfulness
8. Mention is made of things perceived by the lover through the senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell. Which line, in particular, involves the sense of smell?
9. Does the poem use erotic images to suggest passion and desire in the lover?
10. Lines 5 and 6 strongly suggest:
a. man's labors to reach his goal
b. the act of love
c. death
d. a leap of faith
11. Point out the alliteration in line 5.
12. The voice which is "less loud, through its joys and fears, than the two hearts beating" belongs to the:
a. sea
b. moon
c. lover
d. woman
13. The last four lines imply that:
a. the meeting is secret
b. the man is expected
c. the woman receives him with mixed feelings
d. all of these answers are correct
14. The tone of the poem is:
a. earnest and toward the end, ecstatic
b. serious but with touches of humor
c. somewhat humorous
d. satiric
15. The language used is:
a. archaic
b. slang
c. cryptic, enigmatic
d. none of these answers is applicable
16. The poem is composed of ____________ a factor that contributes to the sense of impatience, speed and anxiety.
a. sentence fragments
b. short but complete sentences
c. long winding sentences
d. full of jargon and nonsense
17. The description of nature here:
a. is used for contrast and irony
b. reveals the emotional condition of the speaker
c. serves as a clue to the symbolic meaning of the lines
d. is for the sake of vividness only
18. Is there a simile in the poem?
19. The metaphor, "fiery ringlets", which refers to the "little waves", the comparison here is based on:
a. number or quantity
b. function
c. form or shape
d. sound
20. In this poem, a personification is found in:
a. lines 1 and 2
b. lines 3 and 4
c. lines 7 and 8
d. the last two lines
21. Point out the alliteration in line 11.
22. Is this poem simply literal (merely relating a night meeting between a pair of lovers) or does it also have a symbolic level of meaning (such as, say, a man's encounter with death)? Choose one answer.
23. Are there clues in the poem indicating that there is a symbolic meaning aside from the literal meaning?
24. If this poem is merely literal, its interest lies mainly in:
a. the story it tells
b. the use of pretty figures of speech
c. the lover's sense impressions which reveal his emotional state
d. the vivid description of nature
25. This poem is significant as a literary work mainly because:
a. in recreating a human experience, it gives us aesthetic pleasure
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives us information and knowledge
d. all the answers above are equally applicable
Poetry Analysis TestRead the poem very carefully and then answer the questions that follow as briefly as possible - with a letter, word or phrase.
Meeting at Night
By Robert Browning
The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed in the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!
1. The person speaking the lines of the poem is obviously:
a. a navigator
b. a sailor
c. a lover
d. a farmer
2. The poem is addressed to:
a. the poet
b. a beloved
c. a friend
d. nobody in particular
3. The speaker here is:
a. sailing
b. meeting his girl
c. taking a walk
d. only daydreamimg
4. This poem:
a. is merely a description of nature at night.
b. depicts the character of the speaker
c. reveals the sense impressions of a lover meeting his beloved
d. expresses the poet's philosophy of life
5. It is fairly clear in the poem that to meet his girl, the lover:
a. has to go a long, long way
b. has only a short way to go
c. makes the journey only in his imagination
d. is just hallucinating
6. Considering the answer to Question #5, the reader observes that the shortness of the poem implies that the lover:
a. takes little notice of his surroundings
b. takes his time to enjoy the beauty of the night
c. is in great haste
d. doesn't really love the girl
7. The lover's ______________ is revealed by the fact that during his journey, at first he observes some things around him but as he nears his goal, his awareness of his surroundings decreases, until at the end, only those sights and sounds are noticed by him which indicate the fulfillment of his expectation.
a. impatience
b. nonchalance
c. bitter mood
d. cheerfulness
8. Mention is made of things perceived by the lover through the senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell. Which line, in particular, involves the sense of smell?
9. Does the poem use erotic images to suggest passion and desire in the lover?
10. Lines 5 and 6 strongly suggest:
a. man's labors to reach his goal
b. the act of love
c. death
d. a leap of faith
11. Point out the alliteration in line 5.
12. The voice which is "less loud, through its joys and fears, than the two hearts beating" belongs to the:
a. sea
b. moon
c. lover
d. woman
13. The last four lines imply that:
a. the meeting is secret
b. the man is expected
c. the woman receives him with mixed feelings
d. all of these answers are correct
14. The tone of the poem is:
a. earnest and toward the end, ecstatic
b. serious but with touches of humor
c. somewhat humorous
d. satiric
15. The language used is:
a. archaic
b. slang
c. cryptic, enigmatic
d. none of these answers is applicable
16. The poem is composed of ____________ a factor that contributes to the sense of impatience, speed and anxiety.
a. sentence fragments
b. short but complete sentences
c. long winding sentences
d. full of jargon and nonsense
17. The description of nature here:
a. is used for contrast and irony
b. reveals the emotional condition of the speaker
c. serves as a clue to the symbolic meaning of the lines
d. is for the sake of vividness only
18. Is there a simile in the poem?
19. The metaphor, "fiery ringlets", which refers to the "little waves", the comparison here is based on:
a. number or quantity
b. function
c. form or shape
d. sound
20. In this poem, a personification is found in:
a. lines 1 and 2
b. lines 3 and 4
c. lines 7 and 8
d. the last two lines
21. Point out the alliteration in line 11.
22. Is this poem simply literal (merely relating a night meeting between a pair of lovers) or does it also have a symbolic level of meaning (such as, say, a man's encounter with death)? Choose one answer.
23. Are there clues in the poem indicating that there is a symbolic meaning aside from the literal meaning?
24. If this poem is merely literal, its interest lies mainly in:
a. the story it tells
b. the use of pretty figures of speech
c. the lover's sense impressions which reveal his emotional state
d. the vivid description of nature
25. This poem is significant as a literary work mainly because:
a. in recreating a human experience, it gives us aesthetic pleasure
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives us information and knowledge
d. all the answers above are equally applicable