Introduction to Poetry

What idea does Collins express with this simile:
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

• Poets refuse to put hidden meaning in poems.

• Poetry reveals new ideas to you as you read.

• Poetry helps you view only the poet’s opinions.

• Poets want you to be confused when you read.

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What idea is the speaker emphasizing?
"I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore."

• poet must be able to understand others’ appreciation of poems.

• Comparing poetry to sports can help you better understand literature.

• act of water-skiing is something usually associated with poetry.

• “They” in the poem should have fun with poetry and enjoy it.

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But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
In these lines the speaker's tone is

• curiosity.

• hope.

• excitement.

• frustration.

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"The willow is like an etching,
Fine-lined against the sky.
The ginkgo is like a crude sketch,
Hardly worthy to be signed."
In this stanza reveals that the 

• speaker is an artist.

• plants look very different.

• speaker dislikes both plants.

• plants grow next to each other.

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This stanza helps readers imagine the trees by appealing to
"The willow’s music is like a soprano,
Delicate and thin.
The ginkgo’s tune is like a chorus,
With everyone joining in."

• sight.

• smell.

• sound.

• touch.

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"The willow is sleek as a velvet-nosed calf;
The ginkgo is leathery as an old bull.
The willow’s branches are like silken thread;
The ginkgo’s like stubby rough wool."
In this stanza, the speaker sees the two trees as

• enjoying the speaker’s comments.

• waiting alongside each other.

• competing with each other.

• having opposite qualities.

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In both “Introduction to Poetry” and “Simile: Willow and the Ginkgo,” the poets use similes and metaphors that

• highlight the beauty of nature.

• connect nature to larger ideas.

• criticize others for ignoring beauty.

• emphasize the importance of poetry.

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The speakers in both “Introduction to Poetry” and “Simile: Willow and the Ginkgo” discuss something they

• lose.

• love.

• create.

• misunderstand.

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In stanza 4, Collins describes a poem as having a dark room that he wants his students to walk into, then feel the walls to try and find the light switch. Which of these statements is the best interpretation of that metaphor?

• Poems are so confusing, they're like walking into a dark room you have to find your way out of.

• A poem can be confusing, but it's best to just start reading it and see what you can find and understand as you read.

• You can't read a poem in the dark.

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In the last two stanzas, Collins describes what students usually want to do to a poem. He says they want to "tie the poem to a chair and torture a confession out of it," and that they "begin beating it with a hose," when they want to figure out "what it means." How are those metaphors different from the metaphors and imagery in the other stanzas?

• The metaphors in the last two stanzas are more playful and fun, but the stanzas before are really serious.

• The metaphors in the last two stanzas are what he wants students to do, and in the beginning it's what he doesn't want them to do.

• The metaphors in the last two stanzas are violent and more serious, but the metaphors in the beginning are more playful and silly.

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