Graphical and Structural Elements in Poetry - Quiz Quiz Answers

Which action would best help determine the tone of a poem?

Read the excerpt from "My City” by James Weldon Johnson. Will it be that no more I shall see the trees Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds? No, I am sure it will be none of these. How does the poet’s use of punctuation develop the tone of contemplation in this excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask! Which structural element does the poet use in this excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "On Imagination” by Phillis Wheatley. Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies, Till some lov'd object strikes her wand'ring eyes, Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, And soft captivity involves the mind. Imagination! who can sing thy force? Or who describe the swiftness of thy course? How does the poet’s use of rhyme scheme in the excerpt contribute to the tone?

A golden shovel can impact the meaning of a poem by using a different poet’s

What is meter?

Read the excerpt from "On Imagination” by Phillis Wheatley. Thy various works, imperial queen, we see, How bright their forms! how deck’d with pomp by thee! Thy wond’rous acts in beauteous order stand, And all attest how potent is thine hand. Which line from the excerpt shows a different justification than the others?

Read the excerpt from "Rosa” by Rita Dove. How she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy. How does the poet’s use of enjambment affect the meaning of the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "Rosa” by Rita Dove. Doing nothing was the doing: the clean flame of her gaze carved by a camera flash. How she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy. How do the short sentences and the punctuation affect the tone of the excerpt?

What is a break or pause in the middle of a line, often marked with punctuation, called?

Read the excerpt from "Jabari Unmasked” by Nikki Grimes. One look, and we are neatly judged this gang, these thugs, these dark delinquents in debt to society. Meanwhile, you fail to see that we are college-bound (more than a few), prepared to pay attention to psychology, the sciences, the arts, to thoughtfully unfurl the scrolls of human history. Instead, you see a thief who uses guile . Which statement best explains the poet’s use of the phrase "you fail to see” in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "Jabari Unmasked” by Nikki Grimes. The ignorant ignore as best you can, and in the end, mask aside, freshen your mouth with ferocious lines of potent poetry, with metaphors that mightily reveal the myriad of emotions you feel—yet, in all their subtleties. Which graphical element does the poet use in this excerpt?