Post by Ernesto Thaddeus M Solmerano on Sept 12, 2009 6:10:37 GMT -5
Poetry Analysis Test
Direction: Read the poem carefully then answer the questions that follow.
Dream of Knives
By Alfred A. Yuson
Last night I dreamt of a knife
I had bought for my son. Of rare design,
it went cheaply for its worth-- short dagger
with fancily rounded pommel, and a wooden sheath
which miraculously revealed other, miniature blades.
Oh how pleased he would be upon my return
from this journey, I thought. What rapture
will surely adorn his ten-year princeling's face
when he draws the gift the first time. What quivering
pleasure will most certainly be unleashed.
When I woke, there was no return, no journey,
no gift, and no son beside me. Where do I search
for this knife then, and when do I begin to draw
happiness from reality, and why do I bleed so
from such sharp points of dreams?
1. The poem is:
a. purely lyric
b. purely dramatic
c. partly narrative
d. partly expository
2. As to form, this poem is an example of:
a. structured
b. free verse
c. both a and b
d. poetic prose
3. The persona speaking in the poem is:
a. the poet
b. the father
c. the son
d. nobody in particular
4. The lines are addressed to:
a. the poet himself
b. the father himself
c. his son
d. the readers
5. Line 1 contains:
a. a metaphor
b. a personification
c. a paradox
d. a symbol
6. Lines 3-5 (“short dagger…miniature blades”) is an example of what type of writing:
a. expository
b. descriptive
c. narrative
d. opinionated
7. The speaker, in stanza 1, could be characterized as:
a. gloomy, depressed
b. laid-back, unconcerned
c. happy, glad
d. outrageous, offensive
8. Can the answer to #7 be said about the speaker in stanza 2 as well?
a. yes
b. no
c. perhaps
d. it doesn’t follow
9. In the last stanza, the speaker could be described as:
a. cheerful, in high spirits
b. sad, depressed
c. indifferent, detached
d. shameful, appalling
10. One contrast enacted in the poem characterizes the struggle between:
a. truth vs. lies
b. illusion vs. reality
c. innocence vs. destruction
d. love vs. hate
11. Another contrast dramatized in the poem is that between:
a. sleeping vs. getting up
b. happiness vs. sorrow
c. life vs. death
d. all of the above
12. One more contrast acted out in the poem is that which involved:
a. dreaming vs. waking
b. beauty and sadness
c. inertia of the body vs. the power of the imagination
d. all of the above
13. The tone of the poem:
a. is quite objective
b. rather serious
c. euphoric with an undercurrent of pathos
d. is ridiculous or absurd
14. The kind of language used in this poem is:
a. archaic or antiquated
b. slang or vernacular
c. cultured and literary
d. cryptic and enigmatic
15. The title of the poem:
a. is ironic
b. is symbolic
c. is used for ornamentation and vivid effect only
d. has no connection in the poem whatsoever
16. Is the knife mentioned in the poem a positive or a negative symbol?
a. positive
b. negative
c. both a and b
d. none of the above
17. What is the significance of the fact that when the speaker woke up, the son was not beside him?
a. the son is dead
b. the son does not want to do anything with his father’s dream for him
c. the father, in reality, does not really have a son
d. all of the above
18. The reader’s reaction to the speaker is one of:
a. amusement, glee
b. admiration and sympathy
c. indifference, apathy
d. dislike, aversion
19. The theme expressed in the poem is:
a. the conflict between father and son
b. the father’s expression of love for his son
c. the difficulty of fulfilling a dream
d. all of the above
20. The essential value of this poem as art is that:
a. it appeals to our sense of beauty
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives information
d. all of the above
Direction: Read the poem carefully then answer the questions that follow.
Dream of Knives
By Alfred A. Yuson
Last night I dreamt of a knife
I had bought for my son. Of rare design,
it went cheaply for its worth-- short dagger
with fancily rounded pommel, and a wooden sheath
which miraculously revealed other, miniature blades.
Oh how pleased he would be upon my return
from this journey, I thought. What rapture
will surely adorn his ten-year princeling's face
when he draws the gift the first time. What quivering
pleasure will most certainly be unleashed.
When I woke, there was no return, no journey,
no gift, and no son beside me. Where do I search
for this knife then, and when do I begin to draw
happiness from reality, and why do I bleed so
from such sharp points of dreams?
1. The poem is:
a. purely lyric
b. purely dramatic
c. partly narrative
d. partly expository
2. As to form, this poem is an example of:
a. structured
b. free verse
c. both a and b
d. poetic prose
3. The persona speaking in the poem is:
a. the poet
b. the father
c. the son
d. nobody in particular
4. The lines are addressed to:
a. the poet himself
b. the father himself
c. his son
d. the readers
5. Line 1 contains:
a. a metaphor
b. a personification
c. a paradox
d. a symbol
6. Lines 3-5 (“short dagger…miniature blades”) is an example of what type of writing:
a. expository
b. descriptive
c. narrative
d. opinionated
7. The speaker, in stanza 1, could be characterized as:
a. gloomy, depressed
b. laid-back, unconcerned
c. happy, glad
d. outrageous, offensive
8. Can the answer to #7 be said about the speaker in stanza 2 as well?
a. yes
b. no
c. perhaps
d. it doesn’t follow
9. In the last stanza, the speaker could be described as:
a. cheerful, in high spirits
b. sad, depressed
c. indifferent, detached
d. shameful, appalling
10. One contrast enacted in the poem characterizes the struggle between:
a. truth vs. lies
b. illusion vs. reality
c. innocence vs. destruction
d. love vs. hate
11. Another contrast dramatized in the poem is that between:
a. sleeping vs. getting up
b. happiness vs. sorrow
c. life vs. death
d. all of the above
12. One more contrast acted out in the poem is that which involved:
a. dreaming vs. waking
b. beauty and sadness
c. inertia of the body vs. the power of the imagination
d. all of the above
13. The tone of the poem:
a. is quite objective
b. rather serious
c. euphoric with an undercurrent of pathos
d. is ridiculous or absurd
14. The kind of language used in this poem is:
a. archaic or antiquated
b. slang or vernacular
c. cultured and literary
d. cryptic and enigmatic
15. The title of the poem:
a. is ironic
b. is symbolic
c. is used for ornamentation and vivid effect only
d. has no connection in the poem whatsoever
16. Is the knife mentioned in the poem a positive or a negative symbol?
a. positive
b. negative
c. both a and b
d. none of the above
17. What is the significance of the fact that when the speaker woke up, the son was not beside him?
a. the son is dead
b. the son does not want to do anything with his father’s dream for him
c. the father, in reality, does not really have a son
d. all of the above
18. The reader’s reaction to the speaker is one of:
a. amusement, glee
b. admiration and sympathy
c. indifference, apathy
d. dislike, aversion
19. The theme expressed in the poem is:
a. the conflict between father and son
b. the father’s expression of love for his son
c. the difficulty of fulfilling a dream
d. all of the above
20. The essential value of this poem as art is that:
a. it appeals to our sense of beauty
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives information
d. all of the above