Identity - Benchmark Checkpoint

What do the “weeds” symbolize in the poem? (R.3.1)

• It illustrates the consequences of being unique

• It exaggerates the result of always doing what is popular

• It emphasizes the character’s perspective on individuality

• It describes the internal conflict the speaker has with identity

Part A: Select three poetic devices that create rhythm in the poem. (R.1.4)

• Repetition (words repeated)

• Onomatopoeia (Sound words)

• Slant Rhyme (two words that almost rhyme)

• Couplet (two lines of verse with end rhyme and meter)

• Consonance (repetition of similar consonants in neighboring words)

Part B: How does the author’s use of sound in the last two lines affect the poem? (R.1.4)

• Its rhythm emphasizes the speaker’s confidence

• Its rhythm highlights the annoyance felt by the audience

• Its melody builds suspense for what will happen to the speaker

• Its melody shows the conflict between being unique or popular

In stanza 4, what does the line “where they’re praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands” suggest about how the speaker thinks being a flower would impact them? (R.1.1)

• The speaker believes being a flower is not an option and they must accept being a weed.

• The speaker believes being a flower would be pleasant if humans did not interfere with their beauty.

• The speaker believes being a flower would have superficial advantages, but would ultimately end in mistreatment.

• The speaker believes being a flower would take away their individuality, causing them to conform to what is popular.

Part A: How does stanza three develop the speaker’s perspective? (R.1.3)

• by explaining the lack of choices the speaker feels toward what society expects of them

• by providing the benefits of having individuality when others do not through the use of dialogue

• by sharing the speaker’s personal experience with trying to follow popular trends in an anecdote

• by showing the lengths the speaker would go to in order to remain unique using descriptive imagery

Part B: How is the speaker’s perspective developed differently from others? (R.1.3)

• by clarifying the reactions of others using similes

• by highlighting the experiences of others using dialogue

• by contrasting the speaker’s actions with others using word choice

• by describing the thoughts and feelings associated with others using rhyme

In the poem, how does the speaker MOST LIKELY develop the theme of "Freedom is More Important Than Fitting In" and “Be yourself, even if it means being different”? (R.1.1.2)

• by showing regret for expressing unique qualities using specific word choice

• by explaining the benefits of following social norms using expert quotes

• by describing the comfort and safety found in conformity using imagery

• by highlighting the pressure to change for acceptance by others using figurative language

Read lines 13-14 of the poem. “I’d rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone,” What does the word shunned mean as it is used within the text? (V.1.3)

• to be tolerated

• to be avoided

• to be included

• to be embraced

Read lines 1-6

1. Let them be as flowers,

2. always watered, fed, guarded, admired,

3. but harnessed to a pot of dirt.

4. I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed, 

5. clinging on cliffs, like an eagle 

6. Wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks. How does the use of figurative language contribute to the meaning of the poem? (R.3.1)

• It reveals the character's longing for human connection

• It shows the character's appreciation for beauty in nature.

• 1. It highlights the character's desire for comfort and safety.

• 1. It emphasizes the character's preference for independence and challenge.

"If I could stand alone, strong and free,

I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed"

This quote develops which theme?

• Freedom is More Important Than Fitting In

• Be Yourself, Even if It Means Being Different

• Both Themes