Post by ernesto thaddeus m. solmerano on Jun 13, 2007 20:19:21 GMT -5
Poetry Analysis Test
Read the following poems very carefully and then answer the questions that follow as briefly as possible - with a letter, word or phrase.
To W.P.
By George Santayana
Calm was the sea to which your course you kept,
Oh, how much calmer than all southern seas!
Many your nameless mates, whom the keen breeze
Wafted from mothers that of old have wept.
All souls of children taken as they slept
Are your companions, partners of your ease,
And the green souls of all these autumn trees
Are with you through the silent spaces swept.
Your virgin body gave its gentle breath
Untainted to the gods. Why should we grieve,
But that we merit not your holy death?
We shall not loiter long, your friends and I;
Living you made it goodlier to live,
Dead you will make it easier to die.
1. Is the poem lyric, narrative or dramatic?
2. Who is speaking in the poem?
3. The lines are addressed to “W.P.” who was:
a. the poet’s mother who left
b. a young child who died
c. the poet’s wife
d. the poet’s mistress
4. The answer to #3 is suggested in:
a. lines 3 and 4
b. lines 5 and 6
c. line 9
d. line 12
5. Is the sea mentioned in the first line a literal sea or a figurative one?
6. What adjective is used to describe this sea in the first line?
7. The description of the sea in the opening lines:
a. is used for contrast and irony
b. reveals the condition of the speaker
c. serves as a clue to the symbolic meaning of the lines
d. is for the sake of vividness only
8. The second line amplifies the figurative meaning of the first line; the sea signifies:
a. peace of mind
b. a deep body of water
c. death
d. sleep
9. In the first line, sea is:
a. a metaphor
b. a simile
c. an irony
d. a personification
10. That which the sea signifies in line 1 is signified by another figure of speech:
a. green souls
b. keen breeze
c. virgin body
d. gentle breath
11. The answer to #10 is:
a. a simile
b. a metaphor
c. a personification
d. a paradox
12. A personification is found in:
a. line 4
b. line 6
c. line 7
d. line 9
13. In line 8, the expression, silent spaces refers to:
a. sleep
b. the world of dreams
c. the realm of death
d. a figment of imagination
14. The speaker here:
a. is afraid to die
b. envies W.P.
c. does not care about what happened to W.P.
d. is making a mockery of W.P.
15. It is quite clear that the speaker’s feeling for W.P. is one of:
a. dislike
b. affection
c. pity
d. apathy
16. The speaker feels sorry for:
a. himself
b. W.P.
c. children
d. the readers
17. The speaker, in the last two lines:
a. pays a compliment to W.P.
b. insults W.P.
c. shows that he has no regard for W.P.
d. all of these answers are correct
18. The tone of the poem is one of:
a. gentle resignation and quiet awe
b. pessimism
c. irony
d. profound grief
19. This poem:
a. is figurative throughout
b. moves from being literal in the beginning to being figurative at the end
c. moves from being figurative in the beginning to being literal at the end
d. is literal throughout
20. Does the poet make use of erotic images in the poem?
21. Point out the alliteration in line 12.
22. What recurring sound effect is found in this poem? This sound effect is particularly noticeable in lines 2,3,6,7,8:
a. s-s-s-s
b. t-t-t-t
c. r-r-r-r
d. x-x-x-x
23. This sound effect is used to:
a. recreate the roar of the sea
b. strengthen the idea of silence, sleep and death
c. suggest noise and confusion
d. for ornamentation effect only
24. In form or structure, this poem is:
a. a ballad
b. a simple lyric
c. a sonnet
d. an ode
25. “To W.P.” is significant as a poem because:
a. in expressing a human emotion, it gives us aesthetic pleasure
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives us information, knowledge
d. all of the above
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!
26. The person speaking the lines of the poem is obviously:
a. a navigator
b. a sailor
c. a lover
d. a farmer
27. The poem is addressed to:
a. the poet
b. a beloved
c. a friend
d. nobody in particular
28. The speaker here is:
a. sailing
b. meeting his girl
c. taking a walk
d. only daydreamimg
29. 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
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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
33. 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?
34. Does the poem use erotic images to suggest passion and desire in the lover?
35. 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
36. Point out the alliteration in line 5.
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
40. The language used is:
a. archaic
b. slang
c. cryptic, enigmatic
d. none of these answers is applicable
41. 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
42. 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
43. Is there a simile in the poem?
44. 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
45. 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
46. Point out the alliteration in line 11.
47. 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.
48. Are there clues in the poem indicating that there is a symbolic meaning aside from the literal meaning?
49. 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
50. 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
Read the following poems very carefully and then answer the questions that follow as briefly as possible - with a letter, word or phrase.
To W.P.
By George Santayana
Calm was the sea to which your course you kept,
Oh, how much calmer than all southern seas!
Many your nameless mates, whom the keen breeze
Wafted from mothers that of old have wept.
All souls of children taken as they slept
Are your companions, partners of your ease,
And the green souls of all these autumn trees
Are with you through the silent spaces swept.
Your virgin body gave its gentle breath
Untainted to the gods. Why should we grieve,
But that we merit not your holy death?
We shall not loiter long, your friends and I;
Living you made it goodlier to live,
Dead you will make it easier to die.
1. Is the poem lyric, narrative or dramatic?
2. Who is speaking in the poem?
3. The lines are addressed to “W.P.” who was:
a. the poet’s mother who left
b. a young child who died
c. the poet’s wife
d. the poet’s mistress
4. The answer to #3 is suggested in:
a. lines 3 and 4
b. lines 5 and 6
c. line 9
d. line 12
5. Is the sea mentioned in the first line a literal sea or a figurative one?
6. What adjective is used to describe this sea in the first line?
7. The description of the sea in the opening lines:
a. is used for contrast and irony
b. reveals the condition of the speaker
c. serves as a clue to the symbolic meaning of the lines
d. is for the sake of vividness only
8. The second line amplifies the figurative meaning of the first line; the sea signifies:
a. peace of mind
b. a deep body of water
c. death
d. sleep
9. In the first line, sea is:
a. a metaphor
b. a simile
c. an irony
d. a personification
10. That which the sea signifies in line 1 is signified by another figure of speech:
a. green souls
b. keen breeze
c. virgin body
d. gentle breath
11. The answer to #10 is:
a. a simile
b. a metaphor
c. a personification
d. a paradox
12. A personification is found in:
a. line 4
b. line 6
c. line 7
d. line 9
13. In line 8, the expression, silent spaces refers to:
a. sleep
b. the world of dreams
c. the realm of death
d. a figment of imagination
14. The speaker here:
a. is afraid to die
b. envies W.P.
c. does not care about what happened to W.P.
d. is making a mockery of W.P.
15. It is quite clear that the speaker’s feeling for W.P. is one of:
a. dislike
b. affection
c. pity
d. apathy
16. The speaker feels sorry for:
a. himself
b. W.P.
c. children
d. the readers
17. The speaker, in the last two lines:
a. pays a compliment to W.P.
b. insults W.P.
c. shows that he has no regard for W.P.
d. all of these answers are correct
18. The tone of the poem is one of:
a. gentle resignation and quiet awe
b. pessimism
c. irony
d. profound grief
19. This poem:
a. is figurative throughout
b. moves from being literal in the beginning to being figurative at the end
c. moves from being figurative in the beginning to being literal at the end
d. is literal throughout
20. Does the poet make use of erotic images in the poem?
21. Point out the alliteration in line 12.
22. What recurring sound effect is found in this poem? This sound effect is particularly noticeable in lines 2,3,6,7,8:
a. s-s-s-s
b. t-t-t-t
c. r-r-r-r
d. x-x-x-x
23. This sound effect is used to:
a. recreate the roar of the sea
b. strengthen the idea of silence, sleep and death
c. suggest noise and confusion
d. for ornamentation effect only
24. In form or structure, this poem is:
a. a ballad
b. a simple lyric
c. a sonnet
d. an ode
25. “To W.P.” is significant as a poem because:
a. in expressing a human emotion, it gives us aesthetic pleasure
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives us information, knowledge
d. all of the above
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!
26. The person speaking the lines of the poem is obviously:
a. a navigator
b. a sailor
c. a lover
d. a farmer
27. The poem is addressed to:
a. the poet
b. a beloved
c. a friend
d. nobody in particular
28. The speaker here is:
a. sailing
b. meeting his girl
c. taking a walk
d. only daydreamimg
29. 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
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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
33. 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?
34. Does the poem use erotic images to suggest passion and desire in the lover?
35. 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
36. Point out the alliteration in line 5.
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
40. The language used is:
a. archaic
b. slang
c. cryptic, enigmatic
d. none of these answers is applicable
41. 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
42. 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
43. Is there a simile in the poem?
44. 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
45. 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
46. Point out the alliteration in line 11.
47. 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.
48. Are there clues in the poem indicating that there is a symbolic meaning aside from the literal meaning?
49. 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
50. 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