7th Grade Literature Structure Extra Practice (RL2.5)

from "Song of the Old Mother" by William Butler Yeats

I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow

Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow

And then I must scrub and bake and sweep

Till stars are beginning to blink and peep

What is the structure (rhyme scheme)?

• ABAB

• BBAA

• BABA

• AABB

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

from "Song of the Old Mother" by William Butler Yeats

I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow

Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow

And then I must scrub and bake and sweep

Till stars are beginning to blink and peep

What does the rhyme scheme add to the poem?

• THE AABB rhyme scheme helps tie together the parts of each idea--starting the fire, and cleaning all day

• Ending each line with a group of nouns suggests the speaker loves the daily cleaning

• The ABAB rhyme scheme helps the reader guessing on which words the author is going to rhyme

• Ending each line with a group of verbs suggests the day-in and day-out nature of the woman's work

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

"A Barred Owl" by Richard Wilbur

1 The warping night air having brought the boom

of an owl's voice into her darkened room,

We tell the wakened child that all she heard

Was an odd question from a forest bird,

5 Asking of us, if rightly listened to,

"Who cooks for you?" and then "Who cooks for you?"

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear

Can also thus domesticate a fear,

And send a small child back to sleep at night

10 Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight

Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw

Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.

How does the structure of the poem contribute to its meaning?

• The first stanza is what parents say to the child, the second stanza is their reasoning after they've shut the bedroom door.

• The first stanza is the parents' reasoning after they've shut the bedroom door, the second stanza is what the parents say to the child.

• The first stanza shows how the owl's voice is scaring the child and the second stanza is the parents apologizing to their child.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

"A Barred Owl" by Richard Wilbur

1 The warping night air having brought the boom

of an owl's voice into her darkened room,

We tell the wakened child that all she heard

Was an odd question from a forest bird,

5 Asking of us, if rightly listened to,

"Who cooks for you?" and then "Who cooks for you?"

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear

Can also thus domesticate a fear,

And send a small child back to sleep at night

10 Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight

Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw

Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.

How does the rhyme scheme contribute to the poem's meaning?

• THE AABB rhyme scheme is rhythmic and smooth like a romantic mood.

• The ABAB rhyme scheme creates a stiff, rigid flow like the relationship of the child and parents.

• The AABB rhyme scheme is similar to a lullaby used to help a child fall asleep.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.5

Poetry

A collection of rhyming words

Is not a description for poetry

Nor do lines of counted syllables

A meaningful poem make

For, like life’s other wonders,

the art of the poet does not

conform to the rules of those

who would seek to bend it

to fit neatly among their

concepts of expression

Movies, and novels, and plays

Are

Things

Packaged and produced

Poetry is freedom

Found on pages,

Its true home is the air

It’s first pen, a tongue

It’s first tongue, a mind

It’s only shape

The space it fills

Poetry floats

Formless

Free

How does the poem's structure contribute to its meaning?

• Having one stanza make sthe reader think about the many different forms poetry often takes.

• By not using rhyme or meter, the free verse poem gives freedom to express emotions.

• The poem's rhyme scheme reminds the reader that poetry is about words and rhythm.

• The poet only uses commas and shows he or she only cares about some rules in poetry and not all.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

To Him

That chestnut hair that shines so in the sun.

Like last night’s dreams, it lingers in my memory,

loosed in morning, drifting ‘til day is done.

Those hazel eyes, your soft locks’ only enemies,

Express deep thoughts, but hide an empty mind,

That never thinks about the future, and only dreams

Of yapping and snapping at a frog.

Compared to me, you’re here for so little time,

But while we are here together, we make a great team,

The two of us, a girl and her dog.

How does the poem's form or structure contribute to its meaning?

• Having only 10 lines, the short length of the poem reflects the short time the speaker has had her dog.

• The ever-changing rhyme scheme the author uses in the poem reminds readers of a dog's active mind.

• The poem's lack of fixed rhyme scheme allows the speaker to express her feelings about her dog freely.

• The poem's rhythmic pattern is consistent and never changes, just like the poet's relationship with her dog.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

To Him

That chestnut hair that shines so in the sun.

Like last night’s dreams, it lingers in my memory,

loosed in morning, drifting ‘til day is done.

Those hazel eyes, your soft locks’ only enemies,

Express deep thoughts, but hide an empty mind,

That never thinks about the future, and only dreams

Of yapping and snapping at a frog.

Compared to me, you’re here for so little time,

But while we are here together, we make a great team,

The two of us, a girl and her dog.

Choose the term that best describes this type of poem.

• Free verse, because the poem does not have a rhyme scheme.

• Ode, because the poem is addressed to the speaker's dog.

• Narrative poem, because the poem is long and tells a story.

• Ballad, because the poem is meant to be sung by a person.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

Dreams

by Langston Hughes

1 Hold fast to dreams

2 For if dreams die

3 Life is a broken-winged bird

4 That cannot fly.

5 Hold fast to dreams

6 For when dreams go

7 Life is a barren field

8 Frozen with snow.

How is emphasis created in line 5?

• By repeating the same phrase, he emphasizes to never let dreams go.

• By repeating the same phrase, he explains to readers how important dreams are.

• By repeating the same phrase, he shows readers what dreams can do for people.

• By repeating the same phrase, he illustrates what he dreams of at night.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

maggie and milly and molly and may

by E. E. Cummings

maggie and milly and molly and may

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star

whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea

What effect does the repetition of the 'm' sound (alliteration) in the line "maggie and milly and molly and may" have in the poem?

• It has a rhythmical effect to give flow to the poem.

• It shows the importance of the characters in the poem.

• It gives a visual to the reader of all of the characters in the poem.

• It has a sustained effect to show the reader what each character is doing individually.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.5

"How Do I Love Thee?"

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

5 I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as the turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

10 In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saint,-- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!-- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

What effect does the repetition of a "I love thee" have on the text’s meaning?

• The poet repeats the phrase, "I love thee" to express the love for her religion and faith.

• The poet repeats the phrase, "I love thee" to express how much she loves romantic, candle-lit dinners during the sunset.

• The poet repeats the phrase, "I love thee" to express how specifically and the nature of her love.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5