Name: ____________________________________________
Poetry Quiz Part 1: Study Guide (Due Friday, March 3rd). Skip the questions about allusion for
know unless you have prior knowledge about this literary device.
1. Define the following:
metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison of two seemingly unalike things.
simile
A simile is a comparison between two things. Similes always include the
work “like” or “as” when making a comparison.
hyperbole
A hyperbole is an exaggeration. It makes something seem much, much
better or much, much worse than it actually is.
allusion
An allusion is reference to a famous work of art, literature, a movie, or
song. Allusions are used to tell an “inside joke” or communicate an
characteristic or a person or place by making us think about a famous
person or phrase in literature.
2. Why do authors include similes and metaphors in their writing?
Similes and metaphors allow authors to explain a person, place, or idea by creating an image in
the readers’ minds. By comparing something they wish to describe with another idea we
understand, we can create a picture of the comparison. This imagery make the author’s writing
more interesting and vivid. For example, when Taylore-Morgan described her family as a busy
beehive, I got an image in my head of lots of people buzzing around, making food and talking.
This is more effective than Taylore simply stating: “My family is busy:.
3. Write a metaphor to ​ describe the ​Mona Lisa painting.
1. Her smile is a hiding place for secrets.
2. Her eyes are a piercing sword.
3. There are question marks at the corners of her mouth.
4.
Write a metaphor and simile for each of the following categories:
Homework
M- Homework is brain broccoli.
S- Homework is like washing dishes. If you don’t do it right way, it
stacks up and takes over your life.
Family
M- Family is loud women in the kitchen, cooking.
S- Your family is like your nose. You didn’t choose it, but you are glad
it’s around.
5. Label each of the following statements as a metaphor (M), simile (S), allusion (A), or
hyperbole (H). Some statements will have more than one answer.
___A____ You're a regular ​Einstein​.
___S, H____ He is as skinny as a toothpick
___S____ The sunset was like a bouquet of flowers.
___M____ ​Her anger was bottled up inside.
___M_____ You are the apple of my eye.
____M, H____ It was a shot heard around the world.
___M, H_____ We waited through the endless night.
____S____ The sea was still as glass.
6. Read the poem below and answer the questions which follow. Use separate paper if
needed.
The Grave
By Robert Blair
Dull Grave!—thou spoil'st the dance of youthful blood,
Strik'st out the dimple from the cheek of mirth,
And every smirking feature from the face;
Branding our laughter with the name of madness.
Where are the jesters now? the men of health
Complexionally pleasant? Where the droll,
Whose every look and gesture was a joke
To clapping theatres and shouting crowds,
And made even thick-lipp'd musing Melancholy
To gather up her face into a smile
Before she was aware? Ah! sullen now,
And dumb as the green turf that covers them.
6a.Identify an example of hyperbole: explain how it is exaggerated.
The first three lines are an exaggeration because the speaker is over-dramatizing death. Yes,
death is awful and sad, but it does not forever make the joys of youth and happiness impossible.
The speaker makes it sound like a person will never, ever be able to recover after the death of
someone they love, when in reality, humans are very resilient and are not usually sad and
depressed for the rest of their lives.
6b.. Identify an example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.
The second line: :Strik'st out the dimple from the cheek of mirth” is a metaphor that is comparing
death to striking out a dimple from a happy face. Death is not literally make the dimple go away,
but the sadness means that people do not want to smile.
6c. Identify an example of simile: explain which two things are being compared.
The last line: “And dumb as the green turf that covers them” is an example of a simile. The
speaker is comparing people who have died as being as “dumb” (or without life, emotion, or
thought) as the grass that covers their graves.
6d. What is the tone of this poem? How does the speaker feel about the subject(s) of the poem?
Use evidence from the text to explain your answer.
The tone is incredibly DEPRESSING! The speaker uses words like “spoiled” to describe how
everything lovely and beautiful and full of youth is dreary and sad because death has come.
The speaker sound like she/he cannot be lifted out of this depression.
6e. In line four of the poem, the speaker says that “[the Dull Grave brands] our laughter with the
name of madness.” What does the speaker mean by this line? Explain your answer.
We someone dies, everything is tainted or changed. A darkness falls over people. Even
laughter-something that should be a sign of enjoyment and pleasure is effected. In the shadow
of death, laughter doesn’t sound happy or joyous anymore; it sounds like the laughter of
madness.
6f. What is the thematic message of the poem? In other words, what lesson is the author
attempting to express with this poem?
The theme of the poem ​Grave is that death is final. We enjoy the pleasures and excitements of
being young, not thinking that it can easily slip away. The death of someone we love changes
us. It can make us more sad or cynical, not wanting to enjoy life’s pleasures.