English1stLanguage
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Grade7
English Poetry Workbook
Resource A
Resource B
Barter
Weather
by Sara Teasdale
Whether the weather be fine,
Life has loveliness to sell,
Or whether the weather be not,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Whether the weather be cold,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Or whether the weather be hot,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
We'll weather the weather
Holding wonder like a cup.
Whatever the weather,
Life has loveliness to sell,
Whether we like it or not!
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
Resource C:
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Diamante poem
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Swan
Buy it and never count the cost;
Graceful, quiet
For one white singing hour of peace
Gliding, floating, stretching
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Feathers, water, flock, squawk
Give all you have been, or could be.
Honking, flapping, chasing
Cited:26/04/2016at:
Noisy, territorial,
http://poetryoutloud.org/poems/poem.html?id=172055
Goose
Resource A and C cited: Poems to play with in Class (2010). Cited: 26/04/2016 at:
http://schools.nyc.gov/documents/teachandlearn/Poems_to_Play_With_in_Class_final.pdf
English1stLanguage
2
Grade7
English Poetry Workbook
Resource A:
Activity 1:
1. Compare the meanings of the terms weather and whether in line 1.
(2)
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2. Name the term used in the English language to classify terms such as: whether and weather or
meat and meet. Provide a formal definition of the term.
(2)
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3. In line 5 the term weather is used twice, as shown below.
“We'll weather the weather”
Does the term weather have the same meaning on both occasions? If not provide a reason for
your answer by referring to the meaning of the word on each occasion.
(3)
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English1stLanguage
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Grade7
English Poetry Workbook
4. Through-out the poem the poet has used a specific figure of speech. This figure of speech uses
the repetition of the letter ‘W’. Identify this figure of speech and discuss the importance of its use
and role in poetry.
(2)
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5. Write your own example of this figure of speech using the letter ‘G’.
(2)
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Resource B:
Activity 2:
1. “Soaring fire that sways and sings” is a line extracted from the poem titled “Barter”. Identify the
figure of speech used in this line and explain why you have classified it as such.
(3)
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2. In the poem the poet refers to “Blue waves whitened on a cliff”. Explain the scene she is
describing in this line.
(2)
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English1stLanguage
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Grade7
English Poetry Workbook
3. When we compare two different ideas using the words like and as, what figure of speech are
we using? Identify two examples of this figure of speech in Resource B. Quote them below.
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________________________________________________________________________ (3)
4.
“Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost”
These lines extracted from the poem express that the poet wants to buy the loveliness of life,
but without counting its cost. Explain why she would not want you to count the cost. What
message does this help her convey to readers?
(3)
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5. Consider the title of the poem. In your opinion is this title relevant? Substantiate your answer
using the overall message of the poem as well as the meaning of the term “barter”.
(3)
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English1stLanguage
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Grade7
English Poetry Workbook
Resource C:
Activity 3:
1. This poem is referred to as a diamante poem. Why do you think it has been called this?
(1)
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2. This poem begins by describing a swan and ends by referring to a goose. Using this information
as well as the words used in the poem to describe these two creatures, discuss the function of
this poem.
(3)
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3. Draw upon you own knowledge of swans and geese as well at the descriptions provided in the
poem to explain the similarities and differences between the two creatures using the Venn
diagram below.
(12 x ½ = 6)
English1stLanguage
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Grade7
Memo
Resource A:
Activity 1:
1. Compare the meanings of the terms weather and whether in line 1.
The term ‘weather’ in line 1, refers to the climate for example: the temperature and
if it is hot or cold, the wind speed, chance of rain or other precipitation. The term
‘whether’ on the other hand is a term used to introduce possibilities, for example
‘whether we go or not’ – there are two possibilities we will go or we won’t.
2. Name the term used in the English language to classify terms such as: whether and weather or
meat and meet. Provide a formal definition of the term.
The name used to classify these terms is a homophone. Homophones are words
which sound the same, but have different spelling and meanings.
3. In line 5 the term weather is used twice, as shown below.
“We'll weather the weather”
Does the term weather have the same meaning on both occasions? If not provide a reason for
your answer by referring to the meaning of the word on each occasion.
These terms have different meanings. The first term ‘weather’ refers to one’s
ability to withstand or endure something. So we will withstand the weather. While
the second term “weather” is referring to the climate. This weather includes the
conditions of the atmosphere – temperature, rainfall and so on. In this case the
words are referred as homonyms – same spelling and pronunciation, but different
meanings.
4. Through-out the poem the poet has used a specific figure of speech. This figure of speech uses
the repetition of the letter ‘W’. Identify this figure of speech and discuss the importance of its use
and role in poetry.
The poet has used the repetition of a consonant sound – this is known as
alliteration. This is an important figure of speech as it gives the feeling of
continuity and repetition to readers which makes the poem flow better and holds
the interest of readers.
English1stLanguage
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5. Write your own example of this figure of speech using the letter ‘G’.
Great girls give guests gifts
Geese go get gold goose eggs
Any sentence with the repetition of “g” – one mark for using ‘g’ one mark for
repeating the letter ‘g’ at least 3 times
Resource B:
Activity 2:
1. “Soaring fire that sways and sings” is a line extracted from the poem titled Barter. Identify the
figure of speech used in this line and explain why you have classified it as such.
This is an example of personification as it gives human qualities to a nonhuman/inanimate object. Fire is non-human and the poet is saying it can sway
and sing – these are actions which humans can perform.
2. In the poem the poet refers to “Blue waves whitened on a cliff”. Explain the scene she is
describing in this line.
When waves hit the coastline the blue water crashes and this action causes the
water to become white and foamy. The poet is saying that the waves are
crashing against a cliff and are going from blue to white and the white water is
flowing over the cliff and ‘whitening’ it.
3. When we compare two different ideas using the words: like and as, what figure of speech are
we using? Identify two examples of this figure of speech in Resource B. Quote them below.
When we compare two ideas using as or like this is known as a simile. “Holding
wonder like a cup” and “Music like a curve of gold,” are examples of similes from
resource B.
4.
“Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost”
These lines extracted from the poem express that the poet wants to buy the loveliness of life but
without counting its cost. Explain why she would not want you to count the cost. What message
does this help her convey to readers?
The poet wants you to buy loveliness from life. She wants you to buy it and keep
it so that you have all that is lovely. She does not want you to count the cost
because the beauty that life holds has no value, as no amount is worth paying.
English1stLanguage
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Grade7
Life is worth far more than anyone could afford. If we were to count the cost, we
would view the loveliness of life as an expense something that costs us money
and this allows us to think that we could spend the money on other things rather
than the lovely things of life. The poet is trying to remind readers that we must
appreciate life and that we should not take it for granted – we must appreciate
waves that hit the shore and fire that sways and should ensure that we never
forget their worth.
1 mark for explaining why we should not count the cost. 2 marks for the
message.
5.
Consider the title of the poem. In your opinion is this title relevant? Substantiate your answer
using the overall message of the poem as well as the meaning of the term Barter.
The title of the poems “Barter”. When we barter we are trading something of
value for something else of similar or equal value. In the poem the poet says life
is selling loveliness and at the end she says we must give all we can be. This
means we are giving all we can in exchange for the loveliness that is life. We
are bartering. I therefore think the title is relevant. We are buying the loveliness
of life and giving our best in life to appreciate it.
Resource C:
Activity 3:
1. This poem is referred to as a diamante poem. Why do you think it has been called this?
The poem is called a diamante poem as it takes the shape of a diamond when it
is centered.
2. This poem begins by describing a swan and ends by referring to a goose. Using this information
as well as the words used in the poem to describe these two creatures, discuss the function of
this poem.
The function of this poem it to contrast two things. In this case a swan and
goose are compared. The Swan is described with words such as: graceful and
quiet. Its movements are referred to as gliding and floating. The goose on the
other had is referred to as noisy and territorial. They honk, squawk and flap their
wings and give chase if required. The poem is therefore differentiating between
these two creatures.
English1stLanguage
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Grade7
3. Draw upon you own knowledge of swans and geese as well at the descriptions provided in the
poem to explain the similarities and differences between the two creatures using the Venn
diagram below.
Goose
Swan
squawking,
graceful,
quiet
gliding,
floating,
stretching
birds,
feathers,
beaks,
webbed
feet,
long neck
honking,
flapping,
chasing,
noisy,
territorial,
short legs,
comfortable
on land