Test Study Guide for a selection of famous poems
Click here to read "The Village Blacksmith"
"The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem is a bout a hardworking blacksmith. Two details that prove that the blacksmith is an honest, hard-working man are his "honest sweat" and the fact that he works from "morn till night." The blacksmith's philosophy of life is that there is value in hard work. He begins and ends each day with a task. Even though he is strong and hard working, the blacksmith is also sensitive. When he hears his daughter singing in church, he begins to cry. He cries because the sound of her voice reminds him of his wife who died. At the end of the poem, it is clear that the poet agrees with the blacksmith's philosophy about hard work, because he speaks of the blacksmith as an example for others to follow.
Important Quotes:
1)"Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, for the lesson thou hast taught!"
2)"His brow is wet with honest sweat, He earns whate'er he can."
Click here to read "The Highwayman"
"The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes
"The Highwayman" is a narrative poem about a theif who is in love with a black-eyed, black-haired girl named Bess. The highwayman has a plan to rob some gold before morning. If the soldiers chase him, though, he will return the next night. The REdcoats, who are looking for the highwayman, enter the inn and gag Bess, the landlord's daughter. They then tie her to the foot of her bed, and tie a musket onto her. They wait at the windows for the highwayman to return. Bess wants to warn the highwayman about the Redcoats, so she fires the gun, killing herself. He hears the gunshot and realizes something is wrong. The next day, realizing what happened to Bess, the highwayman gallops toward the inn, and is shot down on the highway by the Redcoats. The repetition
of the color red adds to the dramatic quality of this poem because it symbolizes love and passion. The galloping rythms of the poem carry the action forward. The repetitions highlight dramatic details like the moonlight and the shining pistol butts.
Important Quotes:
1)"But he loved the landlord's daughter, Bess, the landlord's daughter."
2)"There was hell at every window, and hell at one dark window."
Click here to read "The Cremation of Sam McGee"
"The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service
This poem is a narrative poem about a practical joke. Sam McGee missed the warm weather of his home in Tennessee. He was traveling in the Yukon with his friend the narrator, and thought of a way to get warm. Sam McGee makes the narrator promise to cremate his remains if he should freeze to death. The narrator agrees to his request, and tries to keep his promise because the code of trail requires it. The rythm of the poem is a drumbeat rhythm. The rhythm adds drama and humor that would otherwisae be missing. The poem also contains examples of internal rhyme. Internal rhyme is when words within a lone of poetry rhyme with one another. Examples of internal rhyme can be seen in the second stanza of the poem. Repetition in the last stanza brings the reader back to the beginning.
Important Quotes:
1)"Now a promise made is a dept unpaid."
2)"I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked."
Click here to read "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out"
"Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" by Shel Silverstein
This poem is about a girl who refused to take the garbage out. It eventually piled so high that it reached across the country and probably drowned Sarah(her "awful fate"). Exaggeration is what makes this poem humorous. Examples of when the poem becomes unrealistic are: 1) when the garbage cracks the window and block the door; 2) when it raised the roof and broke the wall; 3) when the garbage reached so high it touched the sky; 4) all the neighbors moved away; and 5) when the garbage reached from New York to the Golden Gate.
Important Quotes:
1)"rubbery blubbery macaroni"
2)"moldy melons, dried up mustard"
"Season at the Shore" by Phyllis McGinley
This poem is about spending a summer at the shore. It emphasizes the way that sand seems to get into everything and can become a sort of funny minor problem. The poet usues a lot of alliteration with the letter "s" to create the sound sand makes, and to reinforce the music of the poem.
Important Quote:
1)"sand in the soap and the suntan lotion"
Click here to read "Oranges"
"Oranges" by Gary Soto
This poem is about the magic of an early love. The poet usues an ornage to symbolize his warm feelings. The speaker in the poem is a boy of 12. Since the poem is without rhyme, it is written as free or blank verse.
Important Quote:
1)"Fog hanging like old coats between the trees"
Click here to read "Annabl Lee"
"Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe
This is a narrative poem about a man's wife who died from an illness. He tells the story when he is an adult, but he actually fell in love when he was a boy. Annabel Lee dies because of a chill sent by angels who were jealous of this great love. The poet uses repetition to create a sad and haunting mood.
Important Quotes:
1)"She was a child and I was a child in this kingdom by the sea."
2)"The moon never beams without bringing me dreams"
Click here to read "Seal" (note: this poem takes the shape of a seal, but at this site it doesn't)
"Seal" by William Jay Smith
This is a concrete poem about the lively actions of a seal. The poem takes the shape of the subject, the seal. The poem is lighthearted and playful.
Important Quotes
1)"Quicksilver quick"
2)"See how he dives from the rocks with a zoom"
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