Smarr Publishers
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Classical Studies
A Student’s Companion to
Studies in Poetry
by Robert W. Watson
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Studies in Poetry / 1
Introduction to Studies in Poetry
T
HE first book of this series, Moping Melancholy Mad: An Introduction to Poetry, gives
the student a cursory view about the major elements that comprise poetry. This book
will go into a little more detail towards the appreciation of poetry. The student will be
given more examples and exercises to help overthrow some misconceptions regarding this
“stupid stuff” called poetry. In these pages, I will attempt to help eliminate the biggest cause of
many students’ frustration with poetry—that is, poetry is too difficult to understand.
Hopefully, from your previous studies, you have already learned that poetry is not necessarily
mysterious. You have been shown some things to look for when reading and analyzing poetry.
However, the emphasis in this book will be simply this: to understand poetry—and in order to
understand poetry well, you must read carefully and thoughtfully. Each chapter in this book has
only a few selections so that you may read the poems several times. You cannot successfully
understand a poem if you read it like you would a magazine. Look at the choice of words
carefully. Why did the poet choose this word rather than another? What is the overall purpose
of the poem? Who is the narrator? The answer to these questions will help you along to
understanding the poem.
Together, we will try to look at poetry as objectively as possible. Perhaps no greater harm
has been done to poetry than the idea that the meaning of any poem is in the opinion of the
beholder. Poetry is merely a poet relating a personal experience with well-turned phrases.
Poetry does not have to be necessarily deep and cryptic, and we should not try to force a
meaning when the text cannot support it plainly and clearly.
Remember, poetry is art, and art is to delight. Do not merely read the poems as a mental
exercise; let your soul experience the poetry.
ROBERT W. WATSON
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson One
1.1 Vocabulary
nicety n.
stringent adj.
pedagogic adj.
stultify v.
didactic adj.
1.2. Vocabulary Exercise
1. The apprentice ____________ the expensive equipment by jamming it; the young man was
not very well trained to use the machine properly.
2. The one thing that the young scholars disliked was the _____________ drills in spelling.
3. The lecture was designed to be very __________________; the speaker provided a lot of
useful information that was edifying.
4. My cousin Sarah, who is from the country, marveled at the __________ of our indoor
bathtub.
5. The new management came into the troubled company with a host of cost-saving ideas; one
________________ measure was to eliminate all overtime pay.
1.2 Reading Assignment: Chapter 1, Studies in Poetry
1.3 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. What is the foundation of any understanding or appreciation of literature?
2. What does “oblivious” mean and to what does “oblivious” refer in the passage from
Macbeth on page 8?
3. Is the language of literature the same as the language used in daily conversation?
4. What must the student learn to become familiar about the language of literature before he
can deal with literature easily?
5. Other than the language of literature, what else in literature is generally separate from daily
conversation?
Studies in Poetry / 3
6. After learning to read literature intelligently, what must the student bring to the reading of a
book or poem?
7. What is the aim of the teaching of literature?
8. Why should a teacher not praise a book or poem before the student has read it?
9. Why do many teachers draw morals out of literature?
10. How are we to measure the good that literature does for us?
11. According to Bates, what is the definition for “art”?
1.4 Critical Thinking
 Explain how the language of literature is different than that of ordinary speech.
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson Two
2.1 Vocabulary
paramount adj.
bombastic adj.
azure n.
bland adj.
differentiate v.
2.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. Of all of the most pressing needs, the stopping of the water coming into the ship was
______________________.
2. The car designers ________________(d) the new model by merely changing the design of
the headlights; otherwise, everything else was the same as last year’s model.
3. I cannot believe I went to such a dull play; the acting was so _________________ that I fell
asleep even before the second act.
4. Well, it surely is good to see _____________ again, after having had nothing but gray skies
for a solid week.
5. While his speech had some substance to it, our mayor spoke in a ____________________
way that seemed very pompous to us.
2.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 2, Studies in Poetry
2.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. What is meant when someone uses an “objective” standard?
2. Before a student can evaluate poetry, the student must first obtain what?
3. Whenever a student reads poetry, what should the student keep close by?
4. What three kinds of verse are not really poetry?
5. If you are wanting to give information that teaches, which is the better vehicle—poetry or
prose?
6. How do we discover beauty?
Studies in Poetry / 5
7. In order to determine that a poem is either good or bad, what two things must you first
determine?
8. How do you determine whether a poem is just good or great?
9. What makes the Psalms poetical?
10. What is doggerel?
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson Three
3.1 Vocabulary
abyss n.
reck v.
brood v.
scant v.
admonition n.
3.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. In order that her children had enough to eat, the mother ____________ her portion of food.
2. Since hell is a bottomless pit, this place of torment can be properly called an ___________.
3. As we were preparing to leave for home, my grandfather offered us his ______________
for the best route to take.
4. Lady, our collie, _______________ over her puppies like any other protective mother.
5. I _____________ the principal’s advise by deciding to leave my pet rattlesnake at home,
and stop bringing “Killer” to school; he made everyone nervous.
3.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 3, Studies in Poetry
3.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. What do poets generally write about in order that we may enjoy it with them?
2. In “To a Waterfowl,” what does the poet experience?
3. What is meant by the fowler’s eye might do the duck some harm?
4. To whom does the poet credit for teaching the duck to travel?
5. How does the duck remind the poet of himself?
6. In “God’s Grandeur,” what is the purpose of the poem?
7. What word in line l suggests that God is both beautiful and dangerous, like lightening?
8. What is meant by the simile in line 2?
9. What words suggest the defilement of earth by man?
10. What phrase suggests that mankind is insensitive to nature?
Studies in Poetry / 7
11. What does “black West” mean in the plain sense of the words? What is “black West” a
symbol of?
12. What is the “morning” a symbol of?
13. Even though mankind has worked the soil for generations, what does the poet say about
nature?
14. In “The Cage Skylark,” what is the purpose of the poem?
15. What does “bone-house” mean?
16. What are a couple of meanings for “mean house” in line 2?
17. What is imprisoned in the “bone-house” like a bird in a cage?
18. What line suggests a resurrection?
19. In “Nature the gentlest mother is,” how does the poet bring freshness into the image of
“Mother Nature”?
20. What is meant by “will suffice to light her lamps”?
21. What association is there with the words “assembly,” “aisles,” “prayer,” and “unworthy”?
3.5 Critical Thinking
 Explain how nature is not necessarily kind nor gentle all the time.
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson Four
4.1 Vocabulary
sensuous adj.
cordiality n.
swath n.
bourn n.
croft n.
4.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. The multi-media presentation was very _________________; all of my senses were
affected.
2. After wandering through the woods, we finally came to a ________________, which
flowed down the hills and finally into the river.
3. Cutting the hay was harder work than I thought; after laboring for two hours, I managed a
______________ of only a little longer than a football field.
4. Mr. Jones is known well for his ________________; his guests can always expect the best
attention from this friendly man.
5. Johnny always wanted to leave the city and live on a _______________, where he could
plant a garden, raise a pig or two, and milk a cow.
4.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 4, Studies in Poetry
4.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. What are the five senses that allows us to experience our surroundings?
2. Why are the words in poetry more sensuous than in ordinary conversation?
3. In “Parting at Morning,” to whom does “for him” in line 3 refer?
4. In what sense does it mean that “of a sudden came the sea”?
5. What two meanings are there in line four?
6. In “A narrow Fellow in the Grass,” who is the speaker—male or female?
Studies in Poetry / 9
7. What image comes to mind in line 5?
8. What makes the buggy whip unusual in the third stanza?
9. Who are the “Nature’s People” in the fourth stanza?
10. What is meant by “Zero at the Bone”?
11. What are some of the words that suggest motion?
12. In “To Autumn,” what is Autumn likened to?
13. What are some words that suggest taste?
14. What are some words that suggest smell?
15. What are some words that suggest hearing?
4.5 Critical Thinking
 In John Keat’s “To Autumn,” describe how the day progresses in each stanza.
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson Five
5.1 Vocabulary
sieve n.
evensong n.
sublunary adj.
oblique adj.
5.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. Be sure to sift the flour through a ____________________ first; you can bake better with
fine flour.
2. I figured that something was crooked with that man; he never gave a direct response to
nothing, but ___________________ answers.
3. Don’t you enjoy the sounds of __________________ after the sun goes down? The crickets
seem to play a serenade.
4. The problem with many Christians is they tend to concentrate on things that are worldly and
__________________, and not upon the important things of heaven.
5.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 5, Studies in Poetry
5.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. How are metaphor, personification, and metonymy related?
2. In “It sifts from Leaden Sieves,” what does the “it” refer to?
3. What are the “leaden sieves”?
4. What is the snow being compared to in lines 1 and 2?
5. What are some of the other comparisons for snow?
6. What figure of speech is “It Ruffles Wrists of Posts / As Ankles of a Queen”?
7. Find another simile.
8. In “To Daffodills,” how does the poet personify the daffodils?
9. What is the purpose of the poem?
Studies in Poetry / 11
10. In the last three lines, what two similes are used?
11. In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” is the speaker about to die or is he going on a
trip? What line gives you the clue to your answer?
12. In stanza two, what words suggest that love is sacred?
13. What three similes are used to describe the parting of true lovers?
14. What cannot “dull sublunary lovers” admit? Why?
15. What metaphor is used in stanza six for the parting of two souls?
16. Referring to the compass, why cannot the lover ever roam too far from his beloved?
5.5 Notes
 Apostrophe. An apostrophe is a rhetorical figure, which is a direct address to an absent
person or an inanimate object. “To Daffodills” is an example of an apostrophe.
 Ptolemaic (geocentric) Cosmology. In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” the third
stanza refers to the universe as described by Ptolemy, who was a second century A.D.
Egyptian astronomer, mathematician and geographer. According to Ptolemy, all heavenly
bodies revolve around the earth. Even though the heavenly spheres may suffer disturbances,
these movements do not affect the earth as do the movements on the earth (earthquakes).
 The Metaphysical Conceit. The metaphysical conceit is a very involved metaphor. “A
Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is a wonderful example of this conceit. The use of the
compass with the beloved as the center and the lover as the other point is an unusual
metaphor. In the end, the two points touch, thus “makes me end, where I begun.”
 Gold. In the sixth stanza of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” a reference is made to
the most malleable of all metals—gold. You can beat gold to a very thin gauge. That is why
the speaker states that his separation from his beloved will be an expansion and not a break.
Interestingly enough, an early symbol for gold was  —which is precisely the mark that a
compass makes when drawing a circle (see page 32 in your textbook). Today, the symbol 
represents the sun. This is not surprising since “gold” is derived from the Old Norse word,
goll, which means “to gleam” or “to shine.”
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Studies in Poetry
Lesson Six
6.1 Vocabulary
warp v.
fain adv.
scud v.
mete v.
6.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. By the time I got to be next to receive some free baseball cards, there were none to
_________________ out to me and the others behind me.
2. “I would ____________ improve every opportunity to wonder and worship, as a sunflower
welcomes the light.”—Henry David Thoreau
3. The strong winds helped the clouds to _____________ across the sky quickly.
4. I cannot believe Susan __________________ her opinion in order to agree with Janet, after
she was Janet’s strongest opponent.
6.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 6, Studies in Poetry
6.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. What is a symbol?
2. Do all poems have symbols in them?
3. What is an allegory?
4. In “The Wood-Pile,” what lines suggest that the speaker has no landmarks by which to
guide him?
5. What did the speaker imagine the bird was afraid that the speaker wanted from him?
6. What does the speaker find out in the woods that caught his attention?
7. If “he” in the line, “He spent himself, the labour of his axe,” were a symbol for God, what
would the wood pile most likely represent?
8. What do these lines mean: “It was a cord of maple, cut and split / And piled—and
measured, four by four by eight. / And not another like it could I see”?
9. What seems to be the purpose of the poem?
Studies in Poetry / 13
10. In, “The Tyger,” what figure of speech is “immortal hand or eye”? To whom does this
phrase refer?
11. The tiger is a symbol of whom?
12. What are the stars in stanza five a symbol of?
13. In stanza five, who does “the Lamb” represent?
14. In, “My Star,” what is the literal meaning of the poem?
15. If the speaker were writing about his style of poetry (the star) and if Lord Tennyson were
considered the greatest poet during the life of Browning, what would Tennyson be
represented as in the poem?
16. On the other hand, if the poem is about Browning’s wife, Elizabeth, then what would she be
represented as?
17. In “Ulysses,” in what direction does Ulysses intend to travel?
18. Does Ulysses intend to return after this voyage?
19. Literally, to whom is Ulysses addressing his words? Symbolically?
20. What does Telemachus symbolize?
21. What is contrasted with idleness?
22. What is contrasted with duty?
23. In line 48, what do thunder and sunshine symbolize?
24. What do the two metonymies, “Free hearts, free foreheads,” represent?
25. What line suggests that Ulysses is not just wanting to travel for adventure?
6.5 Notes
 Hyades. In “Ulysses,” the Greek hero mentions “the rainy Hyades.” According to Greek
mythology, the Hyades were the five daughters of Atlas and the sisters of the Pleiades.
These five women were placed by Zeus among the stars. Today, the Hyades is the name for
14 / Studies in Poetry
a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus, which are the five brightest. These stars create
a V and supposedly indicate rain when they rise with the sun.
Studies in Poetry
Lesson Seven
7.1 Vocabulary
inconstancy n.
visage n.
officious adj.
munificence n.
7.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. The soldiers so marred the _________________ of Jesus that no one could recognize Him.
2. My father’s company showed its _________________ by donating several thousand dollars
in order to buy new playground equipment for our neighborhood.
3. I can overlook many of Bob’s faults; however, his ____________ is intolerable, because I
never know what to expect from him. Bob always changes his mind about everything.
4. I was fully capable of handling my own baggage; but the _______________ bellhop yanked
my suitcase out of my hand and led the way down the hall to my room.
7.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 7, Studies in Poetry
7.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. When someone blows on his hands to make them warm and then blows on his soup to make
it cool, this is known as a what?
2. If someone states that a man has “bold humility,” this is an example of what?
3. If Robin Hood were to call Friar Tuck “his fat, wicked priest,” this is a kind of irony that is
called what?
4. In “To Lucasta,” what is the contrast in lines 4 and 5?
5. What is the paradox found in lines 9 and 10?
6. What is the paradox in lines 11 and 12?
Studies in Poetry / 15
7. According to the traveler, what remained of the once great statue of Ozymandias?
8. To whom do the “hand” and “heart” belong? What figure of speech is this?
9. What is ironic about the words on the pedestal, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and
despair”?
10. “My Last Duchess” is an example of a dramatic monologue (see notes). To whom is the
speaker talking?
11. What is hidden behind curtains that is only drawn back by the speaker?
12. According to the speaker, what was the fault of his previous wife?
13. According to the speaker, what gift did he give to his first wife?
14. What do you sense about the speaker’s attitude toward his first wife?
15. Since the speaker only regards his first wife as a collector’s item (a portrait on the wall),
what word suggests that the second wife will also be added only as an addition to his
collection of art?
16. What is significant about Neptune taming a seahorse?
17. As you read what the speaker says about himself, you realize that he is quite different than
he seems to be. What kind of irony is this?
18. In “The Chimney Sweeper,” who is the speaker?
16 / Studies in Poetry
19. In Tom’s dream, what are some of the possible meanings of the boys being “locked up in
coffins of black”?
20. What is the reward that the young chimney sweepers receive if they faithfully do their duty?
7.5 Notes
 Ozymandias. In reality, Ozymandias is known as Ramses II. This pharaoh ruled sixty-
seven years from 1279 B.C. to 1212 B.C. Ramses was a prolific builder: he had built more
temples, obelisks, and monuments than any other pharaoh in history. Reportedly, Ramses
had eight wives, not counting concubines, and claimed to have begotten more than 162
children. Ramses’ kingdom extended from present-day Libya to Iraq in the east, as far north
as Turkey and southward into the Sudan. Some scholars suggest that Ramses is the “king”
in the book of Exodus, whose daughter found Moses and reared him as her own son.
However, other scholars think that this pharaoh was either Menephthah, Tutankamen,
Harmhabtah, Thutmose III, or Thutmose IV as the king of Exodus 1:8. Frankly, we cannot
know for sure which Pharaoh sought to kill Moses, or which one drowned in the Red Sea.
Your guess will be just as good anyone’s. Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias,” inspired by the
fallen statues at Thebes, takes its title from the Greek word of one of Ramses’ alternative
names, User-maat-re. The actual inscription that Shelley uses for his poem is
I am Ozymandias, King of kings.
If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie,
Let him surpass any of my works.
 Dramatic Monologue. Robert Browning perfected the dramatic monologue. This kind of
poem will have the following three characteristics: 1) There is only one speaker who is not
the poet himself. The speaker offers the monologue during a specific moment that is critical.
2) The speaker talks to others, but the reader knows of the others’ presence and their
reactions to the speaker only through the speaker. 3) The focus of the monologue centers on
the speaker’s character that is unintentionally revealed by the speaker. Other poets who
have used the dramatic monologue are Lord Tennyson, Robert Frost, and T. S. Eliot.
Studies in Poetry / 17
Studies in Poetry
Lesson Eight
8.1 Vocabulary
chide v.
copse n.
wonted adj.
asphodel n.
8.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. I can set my watch according to old Mr. Whitehead; he takes his ________________ walk
around the block at the same time every day.
2. On our land, there is only a ________________; other than that, there are no other trees.
3. In Greek mythology, the ___________________ was the flower of the dead and was sacred
to Persephone, queen of the underworld.
4. The mother __________________ her young son for jumping in the mud puddle since he
had just taken a bath.
8.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 8, Studies in Poetry
8.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. When Shylock the Jew refers to Portia as “a Daniel come to judgment,” this reference is an
example of what?
2. In “On His Blindness,” what source does Milton allude?
3. Identify at least three allusions found in the poem.
4. What was the one talent that Milton had that apparently required his eyesight?
5.
“The Lotos-Eaters” is an allusion to Homer’s Odyssey. Ulysses and his men land on an
island. What happens to a person who eats the lotos fruit?
6. What effect does the long “o” sounds have on the poem?
7. In the Choric Song I, what is “sweet” on the island?
8. In the Choric Song II, what is the chief complaint of the mariners?
9. In the Choric Song III, what tree is in the midst of the wood?
18 / Studies in Poetry
10. In the Choric Song IV, the mariners request one of two things. What are they?
11. In the Choric Song V, what is the “Two handfuls of white dust, shut in an urn of brass”?
12. In the Choric Song VI, what is worse than death?
13. In the Choric Song VII, what is the “sparkling brine”?
14. In the Choric Song VIII, the mariners want to lie down and remove themselves from the
affairs of the world just like who?
15. Before reading “Hymn to Diana,” look up the following allusions in a good dictionary:
Diana, Hesperus, and Cynthia.
16. In “Hymn to Diana,” what is “thy silver chair”?
17. When the speaker addresses the Earth in line seven, what is this device called?
18. Why would the Earth have an “envious shade”?
19. What is ironic about Diana giving the “flying hart space to breathe”?
8.5 Notes
 Irony in history. Even though John Milton at first felt his blindness was tragic, it was the
fact of his blindness that saved his life and he was able to continue writing. Milton’s one
passion in his lifetime was to see the monarchy of England replaced by a republic. In 1649,
this republic became a reality when Charles I of England was executed. The victorious
leader against the king, Oliver Cromwell, established the Protectorate. Cromwell appointed
Milton to be his “Secretary for Foreign Tongues” (or Latin Secretary). Milton wrote many
pamphlets that defended the new republic, including a justification for the death of Charles
I. However, in 1652, Milton becomes completely blind. After the death of Cromwell in
1658, the English people began to grow tired of the republic. Charles II was invited to come
to England in 1660 to take the throne of England. Because of Milton’s role in the
Protectorate, many of the advisors to the new king wanted Milton executed. However, due
to Milton’s blindness and old age, the king chose not to have Milton killed, because he
perceived that Milton was no longer a threat. And it is a good thing. It was in 1667 that John
Milton wrote, arguably, the greatest piece of literature in all of the world—Paradise Lost. In
1671, Milton writes two more literary masterpieces—Paradise Regained and Samson
Agonistes. Thus, John Milton’s blindness was not a hindrance to his “one talent” but an
asset.
Studies in Poetry / 19
Studies in Poetry
Lesson Nine
9.1 Vocabulary
tulle n.
surmise v.
haunt n.
plaintive adj.
9.2 Vocabulary Exercise
1. Jackie’s wedding veil was made of a very fine ________________, which was given to her
by her aunt who lives in France.
2. The ___________________ sound of the fog horn caused me to feel sadness; the fog on the
sea only added to my melancholy.
3. The “Burger Barn” was the favorite _________________ of my friends and me; we met
there often, sometimes twice a week.
4. When Bonnie discovered that her watch was missing, she ___________ that she left it at
Sally’s house; but she did not know for sure.
9.3 Reading Assignment: Chapter 9, Studies in Poetry
9.4 Questions: Refer to your text as you answer these questions.
1. Why is ascertaining the proper tone of a poem important?
2. In “Because I could not stop for Death—,” how does the speaker characterize Death?
3. Other than for Death’s civility, why does the speaker state that she put away her labor and
leisure?
4. What is the house in stanza five?
5. How long has the speaker been dead?
6. What is the tone of this poem?
20 / Studies in Poetry
7. In “Crossing the Bar,” what is the subject of the poem?
8. What do the “moaning of the bar” symbolize?
9. What is the contrast between lines 3 and 11?
10. What is the “boundless deep” contrasted to?
11. If death is symbolized as a departure to sea, then how would life be symbolized?
12. What is the tone of this poem?
13. What tone of song does the young lady sing in “The Solitary Reaper”?
14. Where does the speaker put the music that he heard?
15. What is the tone of this poem?
9.5 Notes

Hebrides: These islands are also called the Western Islands. The islands are located
northwest of Scotland in the Atlantic Ocean, divided into the Inner Hebrides, closer to
the Scottish mainland, and the Outer Hebrides, to the northwest. The original Celtic
inhabitants were conquered by Scandinavians, particularly Norwegians, who ruled the
islands until 1266. Native Scottish chieftains controlled the Hebrides until the 16th
century, when the islands passed to the kingdom of Scotland.
Studies in Poetry / 21
Glossary for Studies in Poetry
abyss (…-b¹s“) n. An unfathomable chasm; a yawning gulf; an immeasurably profound depth or
void; the primeval chaos out of which it was believed that the earth and sky were formed;
the abode of evil spirits; hell.
admonition (²d”m…-n¹sh“…n) n. Mild, kind, yet earnest reproof; cautionary advice or warning
asphodel (²s“f…-dμl”) n. Any of several chiefly Mediterranean plants of the genera Asphodeline
and Asphodelus in the lily family, having linear leaves and elongate clusters of white, pink,
or yellow flowers; in Greek poetry and mythology, the flowers of Hades and the dead,
sacred to Persephone
azure (²zh“…r) n. The color blue; the blue sky
bland (bl²nd) adj. Characterized by a moderate, unperturbed, or tranquil quality, especially
pleasant in manner; smooth or not irritating or stimulating; soothing; exhibiting no personal
worry, embarrassment, or concern; dull and insipid
bombastic (b¼m-b²s”t¹k) adj. Characterized by pompous speaking or writing
bourn (also bourne) (bôrn) n. A small stream; a brook
brood (br›d) v. To sit on or hatch (eggs) or to protect (young) by or as if by covering with
the wings; to hover; loom; to be deep in thought; meditate; to focus the attention on a
subject persistently and moodily; worry; to be depressed
chide (chºd) v. To scold mildly so as to correct or improve; reprimand
copse (k¼ps) n. A thicket of small trees or shrubs
cordiality (kôr“-j²l“¹-t¶) n. Warm and sincere; friendly; strongly felt; fervent; serving to
invigorate; stimulating
croft (krôft) n. A small enclosed field or pasture near a house, a small farm, especially a tenant
farm
didactic (dº-d²k“t¹k) adj. Intended to instruct; morally instructive; inclined to teach or moralize
excessively
differentiate (d¹f”…-rμn“sh¶-³t”) v. To constitute the distinction between; to perceive or show
the difference in or between; discriminate; to make different by alteration or modification
evensong (¶“v…n-sông”) n. An evening prayer; a song sung in the evening; evening
fain (f³n) adv. Happily; gladly
haunt (hônt) n. A place much frequented
inconstancy (¹n-k¼n“st…n-s¶) n. The state or quality of being eccentrically variable or fickle; an
instance of being eccentrically variable or fickle
mete (m¶t) v. To distribute by or as if by measure; allot
munificence (my›-n¹f“¹-s…nt) adj. Very liberal in giving; generous; showing great generosity
nicety (nº“s¹-t¶) n. The quality of showing or requiring careful, precise treatment; delicacy of
character or feeling; fastidiousness; a fine point, small detail, or subtle distinction; an
elegant or refined feature; an amenity
oblique (½-bl¶k“) adj. Having a slanting or sloping direction, course, or position; inclined;
indirect or evasive; devious, misleading, or dishonest
officious (…-f¹sh“…s) adj. Marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted services or
advice to others
paramount (p²r“…-mount”) adj. Of chief concern or importance; supreme in rank, power, or
authority
pedagogic (pμd”…-g¼j“¹k) adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of teaching; characterized by
pedantic formality
22 / Studies in Poetry
plaintive (pl³n“t¹v) adj. Expressing sorrow; mournful or melancholy
reck (rμk) v. To take heed of or to have caution
scant (sk²nt) v. To give an inadequate portion or allowance to; to limit, as in amount or share;
stint
scud (sk¾d) v. To run or skim along swiftly and easily
sensuous (sμn“sh›-…s) adj. Of, relating to, or derived from the senses; appealing to or
gratifying the senses; highly appreciative of the pleasures of sensation
sieve (s¹v) n. A utensil of wire mesh or closely perforated metal, used for straining or sifting
stringent (str¹n“j…nt) adj. Imposing rigorous standards of performance; severe; constricted;
tight
stultify (st¾l“t…-fº”) v. To render useless or ineffectual; cripple; to cause to appear stupid,
inconsistent, or ridiculous
sublunary (s¾b-l›“n…-r¶) adj. Situated beneath the moon; of this world; earthly
surmise (s…r-mºz“) v. To infer something without sufficiently conclusive evidence; to make a
guess
swath (sw¼th) n. The width of a path made by a scythe stroke or a mowing-machine blade; the
mown grass or grain lying on such a path
tulle (t›l) n. A fine, often starched net of silk, rayon, or nylon, used especially for veils or
gowns
warp (wôrp) v. To turn or twist (wood, for example) out of shape; to turn from a correct or
proper course; deflect; to affect unfavorably, unfairly, or wrongly; bias
wonted (wôn“t¹d) adj. Accustomed; usual
visage (v¹z“¹j) n. The face or facial expression of a person; countenance; appearance; aspect
Studies in Poetry
Vocabulary Quiz #1—Lessons 1–4
1. ______ Professor Gradgrind always presents his lectures in a formal, _________ manner.
Seldom—if ever—does the professor amuse his students, always giving boring instruction.
(A) sensuous
(B) cordial
(C) didactic
(D) stringent
(E) bombastic
2. ______ How would you describe an “abyss”?
(A) bottomless
(B) pedagogic
(C) shallow
(D) sensuous
(E) humorless
3. ______ My boss was less than __________ when I lost our best client; nevertheless, Mr.
Gates’s ______________ to me had a tone of disappointment and not of anger.
(A) bombastic . . nicety
(B) sensuous . . croft
(C) bland . . swath
(D) cordial . . admonition
(E) reckless . . cordiality
4. ______ True poetry seldom includes verse that is sentimental, rhethorical, or
____________, which tends to be the work of aspiring poets, who compose patriotic
themes.
(A) bland
(B) sensuous
(C) stringent
(D) scant
(E) bombastic
5. ______ As the sinking ship began to take on more water, the ___________ concern among
the sailors was to ensure the lifeboats were properly equipped; but much to their dismay,
there was a ____________ supply of water, which was sufficient for only a few days.
(A) reckless . . sensuous
(B) pedagogic . . stringent
(C) nice . . bland
(D) stringent . . brooding
(E) paramount . . scant
OVER
1
6. ______
In his book, Arlo Bates point out that the key to
A
B
understanding or to even appreciating literature
C
is reading with intelligence. No error.
D
E
7. ______
Some teachers fail to realize that a class of
A
normal students are often confounded, because
B C
the language of literature is different than the
D
language used in daily conversation. No error.
E
8. ______
11. ______ The government began to lose
favor when the officials restricted its
citizens’ freedom of travel, a restriction
that was very stringent according to
modern standards.
The word “stringent” means
(A) lax.
(B) indifferent.
(C) severe.
(D) silly.
(E) unfortunate.
12. ______ After being convinced of its
usefulness in the classroom, the
teachers wholeheartedly tried to use the
new pedagogic theory on their pupils.
The word “pedagogic” means most
nearly in this sentence
The chief end of it is to delight, to become part
A
of the intimate and actual life of the student
B
and not a subject to be tossed aside whenever
C
the academic pressure is removed. No error.
D
E
(A) instructional.
(B) scientific.
(C) experimental.
(D) illogical.
(E) useful.
13. ______ Many students seldom see the
connection with the word “reckless” as
describing someone who fails to reck.
9. ______
In “To a Waterfowl,” the poet is reminded that
A
even though he may perhaps be alone in this
B
world, God ensures that none of His creatures
C
live without His guidance. No errors.
D
E
The word “reck” means to
(A) hover.
(B) ignore.
(C) withhold permission.
(D) forget often.
(E) take heed.
10. ______
Typical of most American Romantics, Emily
A
Dickinson displays a very sentimental and
B
unrealistic view of nature, which tends toward
C
giving God-like attributes to the physical
D
world. No errors.
E
CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE
2
The brilliant though tragically brief life and career of John Keats
represents a great chapter in English literature. Even though some
14
poets have risen higher than Keats, few have begun life more
15
humbly. Born the son of a livery stable hand and an innkeeper’s
daughter, Keats was orphaned at fifteen years of age and left school
to become an apprentice of an apothecary-surgeon. While seemingly
headed for a career in medicine, he gave it up suddenly in favor of
16
poetry, for which he had developed a passion since discovering
Spenser’s poetry, who wrote The Faerie Queene. Keats was
17
encouraged by the essayist and poet Leigh Hunt, by who he was
18
introduced to Hunt’s circle of literary friends, who included
Wordsworth, Shelley, Hazlitt, and other eminent literary figures. His
personal letters and the testimony of friends show Keats to have been
a vigorous, zestful, warm-hearted person. However, Keats is
distinguished and best remembered for his devotion to beauty. Seeing
the world not as a symbol of religious truth as Wordsworth did nor as
the mere tangible manifestation of ideal beauty as Shelley.
19
Rather he resembles the Elizabethan poets in his celebration of the
20
beauties and joys of the world as excellent in themselves.
STOP
3
14. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
was represented
represent
is
15. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
risen higher
has risen higher
has risen better
16. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
he abandoned it
he gave medicine
Keats gave it
17. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
Spenser’s poem
Spenser’s verse
the poetry of
Spenser
18. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
by whom he
by who Keats
of who Keats
19. A.
B.
C.
D.
prepositional phrase
appositive phrase
fragment
independent clause
20. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
Therefore he
So Keats
Rather Keats
4
Studies in Poetry
Vocabulary Quiz #2—Lessons 5–9
1. I could see it in her face. When I told my sister that she was not selected to represent our
club at the upcoming competition, her ___________ turned from shock to anger in just
moments.
(A) munificence
(B) haunt
(C) sieve
(D) visage
(E) tulle
2. Legend relates that Mercury, the messenger of the gods, would _____________ across the
seas, skimming swiftly along the surface of the waters.
(A) chide
(B) mete
(C) surmise
(D) scud
(E) haunt
3. The new employee seems a bit too _____________; he is always wanting to _________ out
equally his unwanted advice about how to do our jobs.
(A) officious . . mete
(B) wonted . . surmise
(C) plaintive . . chide
(D) haunting . . scud
(E) reckless . . warp
4. When I heard the scheme of our leader, the plan seemed very _______________; there is
something wrong about having to use misleading information to achieve our goals.
(A) wonted
(B) plaintive
(C) sublunary
(D) oblique
(E) inconstant
5. After our family lost our house to fire, our entering into poverty was ___________ and sad;
yet our good and generous neighbors displayed their _______________ by giving us food,
clothing, and money.
(A) officious . . inconstancy
(B) plaintive . . munificence
(C) oblique . . tulle
(D) surmising . . visage
(E) chiding . . sieve
OVER
1
11. During the twilight service, the minister
offered up a most beautiful evensong
that truly was poetic.
6. SIEVE : FLOUR : :
(A) hammer : saw
(B) pencil : paper
(C) shoe : foot
(D) wrench : bolt
(E) gold : bank
The word “evensong” means a
(A) sermon.
(B) homily.
(C) prayer.
(D) eulogy.
(E) oration.
7. TULLE : FABRIC : :
(A) coat : hat
(B) canoe : boat
(C) fox : rhyme
(D) juice : fruit
(E) oak : flower
12. Nearby the manor stood a copse, which
seemed out of place with the open
meadows.
The word “copse” means in this
sentence
8. CHIDE : SCOLD : :
(A) forgive : rebel
(B) relieve : burden
(C) admonish : warn
(D) work : sleep
(E) refuse : accept
(L) a small lake.
(M)a shed.
(N) a deer.
(O) a thicket of small trees.
(P) a pond.
9. STRAIGHT : WARP : :
13. In my hometown many years ago, the
favorite haunt of my friends was Old
Joe’s Hamburger Barn.
(A) true : correct
(B) confident : discouraged
(C) brave : bold
(D) buy : own
(E) retain : possess
The word “haunt” means
(A) entertainment.
(B) a frequently visited place.
(C) trip.
(D) diversion.
(E) food.
10. INCONSTANCY : FICKLENESS : :
(A) manners : disrespect
(B) garden : mansion
(C) bank : debt
(D) pathway : destination
(E) asphodel : lily
CONTINUE ON NEXT PAGE
2
In her life as in her poetry, Emily Dickinson followed the injunctions
of them: she perceived and experienced the greatest richness, beauty,
14
and finding terror in the familiar and the near-at hand.
15
She found miracles of meaning in a bobolink, a bat, a hummingbird,
16
and the cricket. In addition to this, Emily discovered deep meaning in
17
ordinary things like a sermon, a shadow on the grass, and a buzzing
fly. At the nationally known seminary, Mount Holyoke Seminary,
founded by the brilliant and redoubtable Miss Mary Lyon, Emily met
girls from Canada and of the American South, and from as far west as
18
14. A. NO CHANGE
B. for them
C. of Emerson and
Whitman
D. of Emerson/Whitman
15. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
terror found
terrible
greatest terror
16. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
Her finding
She could find
Emily found
17. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
of the cricket
a cricket
for crickets
18. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
by
to
from
19. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
Emily became
Her becoming
She becoming
20. A.
B.
C.
D.
NO CHANGE
There it was
here also that
also at Mount
Holyoke
Iowa and Wisconsin. She became a great favorite with students and
19
teachers and excelled in the study of Latin and literature, as well as
training in voice and piano. At the seminary, Emily faced what was
perhaps the most important religious crisis of her life.
However, it was here also that Emily was often seen surrounded by a
20
group of classmates who gathered to hear her make up a series of
very funny stories, as she could always do on the spot.
STOP
3
4
Answer Keys to Studies in Poetry
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 1
1. stultified
2. pedagogic
3. didactic
4. nicety
5. stringent
Lesson 1
1. The power of reading it intelligently.
2. Oblivious is an adjective that means forgetful. The word refers to the power of the antidote
that will help Lady Macbeth forget.
3. No
4. Allusions, figures of speech, and unusual use of words
5. The ideas and sentiments of literature
6. Personal experience
7. To make literature a part of the student’s intimate and actual life.
8. The student may not form an independent evaluation of the literature; teachers are assumed
to enjoy and like the subject matter that they teach.
9. They feel that they must teach something tangible or something with substance.
10. By the amount of pleasure that we receive from literature.
11. The ministry of joy.
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 2
1. paramount
2. differentiated
3. bland
4. azure
5. bombastic
Lesson 2
1. The standard exists independently of anyone’s mind and opinion.
2. Knowledge about the art of poetry
3. A dictionary
4. Verse that is sentimental, didactic, and rhetorical
5. Prose
6. By experience
7. Determine what is the purpose of the poem and whether the poem fulfills the purpose.
8. By determining whether the purpose is an important one
9. The Psalms deal with human experience
10. Trivial, poorly constructed verse
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 3
1. scant
2. abyss
1
3. admonition
4. brooded
5. recked
Lesson 3
1. An experience
2. He sees a lone duck flying
3. The hunter would want to kill the duck.
4. A Power (God)
5. That God will also guide the poet through the unknown
6. God’s presence is both beautiful and dangerous
7. “Charged”
8. The comparison is shaking metal foil and seeing the sparkling of it is the same as lightening
flashing.
9. Trod, seared with trade, bleared, smeared, smudge, smell
10. “Nor can foot feel, being shod”
11. The end of day; death
12. The resurrection
13. Nature is never spent or exhausted.
14. To show that man in imprisoned until death and then has a hope of a resurrection
15. The human body
16. Malicious, average, common
17. The soul
18. Line 14
19. The poet presents a mother who is tender and active, not one who is unconcerned about her
household
20. The stars appear
21. A church
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 4
1. sensuous
2. bourn
3. swath
4. cordiality
5. croft
Lesson 4
1. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling
2. The poet must express emotions and does not have the aid of body language and voice
intonations
3. The sun
4. The sea appeared quickly to the speaker’s sight
5. That the speaker needs a world of men and that the world needs the speaker
6. Male
7. A dividing of tall grass without a cause
8. It moves
2
9. Docile creatures like squirrels, birds and rabbits
10. When one sees a snake, one generally freezes with fright.
11. Rides, sudden, divides, unbraiding, stooping, wrinkled.
12. Like one who is harvesting grain
13. Sweet kernel (nuts), clammy cells (honey), last oozings (apple cider)
14. Later flowers and fume of poppies
15. Small gnats mourn, loud bleat, hedge-crickets sing, red-breast whistles, swallows twitter
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 5
1. sieve
2. oblique
3. evensong
4. sublunary
Lesson 5
1. These figures of speech all deal with comparisons
2. Snow
3. Gray clouds
4. Flour being sifted
5. Alabaster wool, fleeces, celestial veil
6. A simile
7. “Then stills its Artisans—like Ghosts, / Denying they have been—“
8. They pray
9. Show that our lives are short like the blooming of daffodils
10. Life is short like summer rain and as morning dew
11. Going on a trip; the last line
12. Profanation and laity
13. Death (stanza one), beating gold very thin (stanza six), a compass (stanza seven)
14. Absence; their relationship is based of physical attraction, not of the soul.
15. An expansion, not a breach
16. The beloved is the fixed foot of a compass, the lover cannot travel too far from the center.
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 6
1. mete
2. fain
3. scud
4. warped
Lesson 6
1. A word or set of words that represent a deeper meaning than the literal meaning
2. No
3. The text has a secondary meaning as well as a literal meaning.
4. Lines 5 through 9
5. A white tail feather
6. A pile of split maple
7. The world
3
8. The pile was unique, like the earth.
9. That God had abandoned the earth and did not finish His work.
10. Metonymy, or synecdoche; God
11. The devil
12. The angels
13. The Lord Jesus Christ
14. The speaker is writing about a particular star in the sky
15. Saturn
16. The star
17. Westward
18. No, he intends to travel until he dies
19. His friends and fellow mariners; those who have given up on life
20. The younger generation that is more suited to rule
21. Adventure
22. Self-indulgence
23. Danger and safety
24. Those of independent will and thought
25. “Some work of noble note, may yet be done.” (line 52)
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 7
1. visage
2. munificence
3. inconstancy
4. officious
Lesson 7
1. Paradox
2. Oxymoron
3. Invective
4. Leaving the quiet of a woman’s embrace to embrace the terrors of war
5. That his beloved will admire the soldier for his unfaithfulness to her
6. Without loving honor more, the soldier could not love his beloved.
7. A shattered face and two legs on a pedestal
8. The sculptor; metonymy
9. Though the words were meant to boast about his works and strike despair in the hearts of
others, Ozymandias’ words show that even great empires will crumble and should cause
despair rather than boasting.
10. A representative of a count who is negotiating the marriage of another wife for the speaker.
11. A portrait of the previous wife of the speaker.
12. She had a heart that was easily made glad
13. His family’s name
14. He was very jealous of her
15. The daughter of the count was his “object.”
16. It symbolizes the speaker’s belief that women should be tamed as well.
17. Verbal irony
18. A young chimney sweeper
4
19. They worked by going up narrow chimneys; the work could easily lead to an early death;
the boys were sold and were not their own masters; etc.
20. Death
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 8
1. wonted
2. copse
3. asphodel
4. chided
Lesson 8
1. An allusion (to the Bible)
2. The Bible
3. Parable of the talents (Mat. 25:14–30); the Lord’s yoke (Mat. 11:29–30); waiting on the
Lord (Isa. 40:31) (There can be other references)
4. Writing
5. They would go into a trance and would no longer have a desire to go home.
6. It creates the effect of drowsiness and sleepiness.
7. Music
8. Everything seems to have rest but them.
9. An apple tree
10. Rest or death.
11. The remains of a human body
12. Confusion caused by returning home after being away so long
13. The sea
14. The gods.
15. Goddess of the hunt and associated with the moon; the planet Venus as the evening star;
another name for Diana or the moon personified
16. The moon
17. An apostrophe.
18. The Earth has no light to offer or is able to reflect light.
19. During the day, Diana is a huntress, but at night she protects the animals and allows them to
sleep.
Vocabulary Exercise, Lesson 9
1. tulle
2. plaintive
3. haunt
4. surmised
Lesson 9
1. It is necessary for complete understanding of the poem.
2. As a gentleman caller
3. She is dead
4. A grave
5. For centuries
6. Calm, peaceful, like a ride in the country
5
7. Departure in death
8. Troubles and grief during life
9. While grief may accompany life, there should be no grief in death
10. The bourne of Time and Place
11. A journey on land
12. One that expresses hope after life has ended
13. One that is melancholy
14. In his heart
15. Somewhat sad, but thoughtful (pensive)
Studies in Poetry
Quiz #1
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. E
5. E
6. B (subj-verb agreement)
7. B (subj-verb agreement)
8. A (indefinite subject)
9. D (subj-verb agreement)
10. E
11. C
12. A
13. E
14. C (subj-verb agreement)
15. A
16. D (indefinite subject)
17. D (pronoun antecedent problem)
18. B (error in case)
19. C
20. D (indefinite subject)
Quiz #2
1. D
2. D
3. A
4. D
5. B
6. D
7. B
8. C
9. B
10. E
11. C
12. D
13. B
14. C (indefinite object)
15. B (parallelism)
16. D Indefinite subject)
17. C (parallelism)
18. D (parallelism)
19. B (indefinite subject)
20. D (indefinite subject)
6