A Psalm of Life ~ RL.2

The narrator of the poem or the persona of the poem (persona of the poem is when the author writes the poem in 1st person P.O.V., but the “I” in the poem is not the author’s view but a character’s view) can best be described as

• bored

• commanding

• tired

• thoughtful

Answer explanation

Answer choice, commanding, is a tone from the author we see throughout the poem. For example, 1) "Life is real! Life is earnest!" 2) "Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!" 3) "Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!"

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

In the first sentence, who is the narrator speaking to when he remarks, “Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!”?

• Psalmist

• His friend

• His uncle

• No one

Answer explanation

The answer choice, Psalmist, is correct because the other choices are either too specific or completely false such as "No One." The title, "The Psalm of Life," hints that a psalmist would be the one who would be reading this poem.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

In stanza one, the line “For the soul is dead that slumbers” refers to

• People who lie in their beds for too long

• People who do too much with their spare time

• People who do too little and are in a “sleep-like state”

• People who live life to the fullest

Answer explanation

“For the soul is dead that slumbers,” we can eliminate the 2nd and 4th answer choice. The 1st choice, "People who lie in their beds for too long" could be a plausible answer, however. the rest of the stanza addresses life in general, not lying in bed. So, "People who do too little and are in a 'sleep-like state'” is a more general answer for people still living life, but doing too little, which makes the most sense in Stanza 1.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

True or False: In stanza 3, the line “But to act, that each to-morrow/ Find us father than to-day” best reflects the theme of action and growth as being defining concepts to live one’s life.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

“But to act, that each to-morrow/ Find us father than to-day” does in fact show the theme in a brief statement of action and growth being primary components to live one's life because it is basically saying that one must act to progress farther and farther each day.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

True or False: In stanza 9, the line “Let us, then, be up and doing” uses a metaphor.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

“Let us, then, be up and doing” is not comparing anything, and it is a LITERAL statement, so it cannot be a metaphor.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

Who does the narrator reference in stanza 7 that should be an inspiration to us?

• Great men

• Shipwrecked brother

• The soul

• The readers

Answer explanation

"Great men" is the correct answer because 1) it establishes relevancy between human relationships, and 2) the other answer choices are not in Stanza 7.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

Theme can best be described as

• The story’s main message

• The conflict

• The plot events

• The characters

Answer explanation

One must know the definition of "theme" to answer this question correctly. This question does not address the theme of this poem, but is a blanketed question over the typical meaning of "theme."

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Why is it important that the reader be aware of the climax of a piece of writing when trying to understand the theme? Choose THREE.

• The climax is the end of the story

• The main character learns a lesson through the conflict

• The lesson learned is usually the theme

• The theme can be found at the beginning of the climax

• The climax is the end of the conflict 

Answer explanation

1) The main character learns a lesson through the conflict, this is the entire point of the plot and theme of a piece of literature. 2) The lesson learned is usually the theme, is the primary focus in a character's experiences throughout a text. 3) The climax is the end of the conflict is not to be confused with the end of a story, merely the end of the main problem, and ten we discover how the conflict is completely resolved and the story/text ends.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Put the following list in order of how you should understand the theme, simply number 1-4 in the correct order of the options below:

Analyze how the main character grows in the development

Identify the important elements of the plot

Connect the growth of the character to lessons in the real world

Identify the climax of the story

Answer explanation

3,2,4,1

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2