Comp. 2 – Poetry Study Guide
Please be familiar with the poetic elements
(alliteration, enjambment, etc) and themes of the following poems.
The Falling Flower – Moritake
How Do I love Thee – Browning
My Last Duchess – Browning
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day - Shakespeare
Harlem – Hughes
We Real Cool – Brooks
Bilingual/Bilingue - Espaillat
Brenda’s Got a Baby – Tupac
Quinceneara – Ortiz Cofer
Her Life Is an Epigram – Blake
Living in Sin - Rich
Elements of Poetry
Symbol, Metaphor, Image, Theme, Persona, Rhyme, Meter, and Stanza, End Rhyme, Internal Rhyme, Slant Rhyme, Alliteration, Enjambment
Types of Poetry
Sonnet(Elizabethan and Petrarchan), Blank verse, dramatic monologue, haiku
Part 2 Essay - Please write at least 3 paragraphs in which you explore the poetic elements and what this poem means to you. Bring this essay portion already typed to class.
Mourning
The sweet scent from his cigar
stirs me from my slumber.
Daddy is up now and doing fine.
This morning, this day, will be ours-
just his and mine.
And I smile.
Pancakes turn forty karat gold on the griddle.
Our coffee lightens with cream,
While orange juice sweetens our lips.
Pork sausage snaps and sizzles as
Daddy and I chat the time away.
The local radio station’s disc jockey serenades us with
farm reports, high school football scores and obituaries.
And I smile.
I shake sleep from my body.
The sweet scent of his cigar begins to fade.
Yet, I know Daddy has risen and is doing fine.
I remember the angels have taken him far.
They’ve taken him home.
And I smile.
--L. L. Burke
Sample Questions:
1. A ______is a fourteen line poem. ______is an example of this type of poem.
a. Haiku; We real Cool
b. Shakespearean Sonnet; How do I love Thee
c. Italian Sonnet; Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day
d. Italian Sonnet; How Do I Love Thee
e. None of the above
2. The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of an octave and 2 couplets. True or false
3. Born Lesane Crooks, Tupac Shakur attended the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts where he excelled in acting and dancing. True or false
4. Rhyme is the echo effect produced when a writer repeats the same sounds at ends of words. True or false.
5. What word best describes the personality of the narrator of My Last Duchess?
a. Egotistical
b. Self-Absorbed
c. Ostentatious
d. None of the above
e. All of the Above
6. Quinceneara by Ortiz-Cofer describes what event?
a. Birth of child
b. Loss of virginity
c. Teen pregnancy
d. Girl turning 15 years old
7. Religious images are used throughout Quinceneara; what are a few examples?
a. Cross
b. Blood stains
c. Both of the above
d. None of the above
Study Questions
Langston Hughes
· List at least 3 images from the poem “Harlem?”
· What is the question that Harlem begins with? Why is it significant?
· Langston Hughes is considered a literary giant from(what time period?)
· Hughes’ “ Harlem” describes what?
· How could you best summarize Harlem’s theme?
· Harlem by Hughes is best described as ______verse because it has no identifiable meter.
· What were some themes of Hughes’ poetry?
Tupac and Hip Hop
· What kind of cultural influences impacted the life of Tupac Shakur?
· Look at the lyrics for “Brenda’s Got a Baby.” What are some poetic elements that the song contains? Be specific and give examples. What is the theme of the poem? What are some details we learn about Brenda’s life? Why is it significant that he calls her Brenda?
Elizabeth Browning
· What is the question that How do I love thee (Sonnet 43) begins with? How does the poet answer the question in the poem?
· "Smiles, tears, of all my life" is one of the last lines of Sonnet 43. What does Browning seem to be referring to?
· What do you think the theme of the poem is?
· What are at least 4 images in the poem? Why do you think these are significant?
· Give examples of the poetic elements in the poem.
· List and explain the imagery in the poem. How do these relate to its theme?
Robert Browning
· My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is based on what historical figure?
· The narrator of My Last Duchess keeps his wife where?
· List at least 6 words that best describe the personality of the narrator of My Last Duchess.
· Robert Browning is known for his rich detailing in his poetry. What are some details about the narrator’s life do we learn about from the poem?
· What did the narrator of the poem accuse the last Duchess of doing? What does he do in response?
· What are at least 3 symbols in My Last Duchess? How are these significant to the poem’s overall theme(s)?
Moritake/Falling Flower
· What type of poem is The Falling Flower?
· What is the theme of the poem?
· What is a haiku?
William Shakespeare
· What are at least 3 symbols in Shall I compare thee a summer’s day?
· What is significant about the nature imagery in the poem? Explain and give examples of imagery found in Shall I compare thee a summer’s day.
· What do you think is the theme of Shall I compare thee a summer’s day?
· “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed;” describes ______and is an example of what kind of figurative speech?
William Blake – Her whole life is an epigram
· What is an epigram?
· What is the significance of the comparison to an epigram?
· How could you best summarize its theme?
Espaillat - Bilingual/Bilingue
· What is the theme of this poem?
· What does she seem to be implying about her father and his attitude toward learning English?
· What are some images in the poem?
Adrienne Rich – Living in Sin
· What is the theme of this poem?
· What are some poetic elements/devices in the poem?
· What is the sin that the poem is describing?
· What does the poem show readers about attitudes about marriage…especially from decades ago?
Ortiz Cofer – Quinceneara
· What is the theme of this poem?
· What are some poetic elements/devices in the poem?
· What are some religious images from the poem?
· What is the narrator’s attitude about the rite of passage of quincineara?