Snider – ELA 8
Blizzard Bag #2
Directions: Read the poem and answer the questions that follow.
From The Village Blacksmith
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands.
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate’er he can,
And looks the world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
** *
Toiling – rejoicing – sorrowing;
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin.
Each evening sees it close.
Snider – ELA 8
Blizzard Bag #2
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.
Thanks, thanks, to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lessons thou has taught!
Thus at flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on the sounding anvil shaped.
Each burning dead and thought.
Snider – ELA 8
Blizzard Bag #2
1. The poet make an analogy between the blacksmith’s hard work and –
a. Honest sweat
b. An individual’s deeds and thoughts
c. The spreading chestnut tree
d. Ringing a bell
2. As used in the poem, what does the word repose mean?
a. Work
b. Do over
c. Rest
d. Reward
3. Finish the following word analogy.
Carpenter: hammer:: Blacksmith :
a.
b.
c.
d.
Sledge
Forge
Horse
Hands
4. The poet uses words such as mighty, honest, and worthy to create a tone of –
a. Surprise
b. Suspicion
c. Jealousy
d. Approval
5. What impact does using poetry to describe the blacksmith have on readers?
a. The words and images of the poem appeal to readers’ emotions.
b. The words present a true account of a blacksmith whom the poet knew.
c. The language will help explain what is involved in a blacksmith’s job.
d. Poetry appeals to readers because it is short and easy to read.
6. Which statement best expresses the comparison made in lines 15–18?
a. The blacksmith is a holy man like the sexton.
b. The blacksmith’s steady pounding matches the sexton’s steady bell ringing.
c. The blacksmith and the sexton both work as late afternoon turns to evening.
d. The blacksmith and the sexton are both very strong and brawny.
Snider – ELA 8
Blizzard Bag #2
7. What comparison is made in the final stanza?
a. Life, like the work of the blacksmith, can be difficult.
b. A blacksmith is like a teacher who molds human lives.
c. Life is like the fire of the blacksmith’s forge; it may strengthen us or burn us.
d. We must shape our lives with actions and ideas like the blacksmith shapes metal by
heating and pounding it.
8. Is the picture of the blacksmith that Longfellow draws positive or negative? How does the poet
characterize him?
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