The Tyger
focus: To review parallelism, contrast
Parallelism:
The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences, that have the same grammatical structure or restate a similar idea.
contrast the pairing of opposite ideas, images to highlight an author’s point
summary:
– The speaker asks who could possibly make such a fearsome creature.
Points to Ponder:
What lines contain parallelism?
What are the best uses of imagery in the poem?
What do you believe the tiger might be a symbol for?
What is the tone the author is trying to set for this poem?
What might be the main idea or theme behind this poem?
The Lamb
focus To review tone and parallelism.
summary:
– The speaker is asking who made the lamb.
– The lamb answers that the creator made the lamb.
Points to Ponder:
What is the tone of the first two lines of the poem?
Compare/Contrast the tone with “The Tyger”
What examples of parallelism are found in this piece?
What might be the theme of this poem?
The World Is Too Much With Us
focus: To examine the main theme of the poem.
Summary:
– The poem talks about the tendency of humans to get caught up in material possessions.
Points to Ponder:
What has the emphasis on material possessions in life done to people?
How and where does the tone change in the poem?
Describe the significance of the title. What is the “world”?
Why does the author say it might be better to be a pagan?
How does this poem connect with the other poems by Wordsworth?
It is a Beauteous Evening
focus: To examine the tone of the poem.
summary:
-- The speaker is describing a beautiful evening where he is in touch with nature and God.
– The author is describing how nature
Points to Ponder:
What type of tone does the first line set?
How is nature used within the poem?
What is the simile in line 2? What effect does it have on the poem?
What might the “Temple” be?
What is the author trying to show by including the child in the poem?
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
focus: To examine the main idea behind the poem.
summary:
– The speaker is sitting on a couch daydreaming about nature.
Expansion:
What does nature do for the speaker?
What are some excellent uses of imagery in the poem?
What might be the “inward eye” the speaker refers to?
What makes the poet sad? (Stanza 4)
What makes the poet happy? (Stanza 4)
What is the theme of the poem?
Kubla Kahn
focus: To examine the main idea behind the poem. To review figurative language
figurative language: Words that stand for more than their literal meaning. These include all figures of speech. Metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, etc....
Summary:
– The author describes the beautiful dome built by Kubla Kahn.
– Khan hears voices predicting war.
– The speaker then describes his wish to rebuild the dome.
Points to Ponder:
What kind of setting do the images in the first stanza create?
How does the tone change in ln 12 - 17?
Explain the figurative language used in ln 18 - 22..
What does the author’s attention shift to in line 37?
Explain the last section of the poem. What does it mean?
What might be the main idea behind the poem?
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
focus: To review personification.
To examine the main theme behind the poem.
Summary:
– The Mariner begins his story by describing how his ship set sail for the South Pole.
– On the way there, he committed a senseless crime by killing an albatross.
– The Mariner describes the punishments he had to endure because of his act.
– These included the death of his shipmates, supernatural forces, and having to wander the earth retelling his story.
Points to Ponder:
What elements of a story are located in this poem?
How does the author create suspense within the piece?
What is the personification in ln 45 - ? Why is it used?
Why are they excited to see an albatross? Why does the Mariner shoot it?
What is the irony located in ln 119 -?
Paraphrase Part 2 & 3.
What does the Mariner tell the wedding guests in ln 229 -? Why?
What are some examples of effective imagery in stanza IV?
What does the Mariner realize at the end of Stanza IV?
What happens in Stanza 5 as a result of this?
What supernatural elements are present in Stanza V? Paraphrase part VI.
What is the falling action of the poem?
What is the theme of the poem?
Ode to the West Wind
focus: To examine the main theme of the poem.
concept: apostrophe An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which an object, abstract quality, or an absent imaginary person is addressed directly as if it could understand.
summary:
– This poem is an apostrophe addressed to the west wind.
– The speaker describes the wind and its powerful effects.
– The speaker then describes the wind as both a preserver and destroyer.
– The speaker then asks the wind if he could use its power.
Points to ponder:
How is this poem an apostrophe?
In what ways does Shelly describe the wind? How is it affective?
What do the first two stanzas describe? How does the poet describe the wind’s effect on the seas? Stanza 3
How do the first three lines of Stanza IV link everything together?
What are the “thorns of life”? Ln 54
Why does the author want the wind’s power?
To A Skylark
focus: To examine the main theme behind the poem.
summary:
– The speaker first describes the unique qualities of the bird.
– He then makes a number of comparisons to the bird.
– The speaker than asks the bird for some of its joy.
Points to Ponder:
Why might the poet say the skylark was never a bird? (Stanza 1)
What are the four possible responses to the speaker’s question in ln 32?
What is the poet saying about himself in these stanzas?
What is the most powerful simile in these same stanzas?
Why does the speaker want to hear the skylark’s “sweet thoughts”? Ln 61 - 62
What was the speaker’s main point at the end of the poem?
When I Have Fears
focus: To focus on the main theme of the poem.
summary:
The speaker’s concern over death cause him to question the ultimate importance of fame and love.
Points to Ponder:
What fears come about the speaker when he thinks about the possibility of an early death?
How is the imagery used in the poem appropriate for the theme of death?
Explain the turn in the sonnet?
What might be the main theme of this poem?
Ode on a Grecian Urn
focus: To examine the main theme behind the poem.
summary:
The speaker addresses a Greek vase upon which two scenes are painted.
Points to Ponder;
What do the metaphors in the first few lines tell you about the urn?
What is the first scene described on the urn?
What is the meaning behind the first two lines of stanza two?
How does the last line of stanza two sum up the theme of the poem?
What is the second scene described in stanza 4?
Paraphrase stanza 5.
Death Be Not Proud Holy Sonnet 10
concept: apostrophe A direct address to an absent or dead person, anabstract
quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and could reply.
focus; To examine the use of apostrophe.
summary:
The speaker taunts death, stating that death does not kill and will die itself.
Death is only a passageway to eternal life.
Points to ponder:
Describe the use of apostrophe in this piece. What/who is being addressed?
How does this use of apostrophe make the poem effective?
How does the author suggest that death is not as powerful as it may seem?
What is the main theme or idea expressed within the poem?