Poetry Review #3
Part One: Read the poems below, then answer the questions that follow.
Alone
Edgar Allan Poe
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then—in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.
Alone
Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Multiple Choice Questions for Poe and Angelou’s “Alone” poems (Two Points Each):
1. The Rhyme Scheme of the Poe’s poem follows which of the following patterns:

a. ABAB, CDCD, EFEF…

b. AABB, CCDD, EEFF…
c. ABCD, EFGH, IJKL…
d. AAAB, CCCD, EEEF…

2. In Poe’s poem, the idea of “a heart getting awakened,” or woken up, is an example of what literary element?

a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Personification
d. Hyperbole

3. In Maya Angelou’s poem, the idea of the “bread being stone” is an example of what literary element?

a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Personification
d. Hyperbole

4. In Angleou’s poem, what is the literary element for the line “their wives run round like banshees”?

a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Personification
d. Hyperbole

5. The use of these three lines from Angelou’s poem best show an example of what literary element?

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

a. Alliteration
b. Imagery
c. Repetition
d. Symbol

6. In Angelou’s poem, the idea of “storm clouds gathering” and the “wind is gonna blow” stands for the bad things that are going to
happen in anyone’s life. Based on this, these line best demonstrate what literary element?

a. Alliteration
b. Imagery
c. Repetition
d. Symbol

7. In Poe’s poem, “the red cliff of the mountain” and the “autumn tint of gold” best demonstrate Poe’s use of what
literary element?

a. Alliteration
b. Imagery
c. Repetition
d. Symbol

8. Both poems have the title “Alone,” but they have different tone’s. Choose the best response that explains the difference in each
poet’s tone towards being “Alone”:
a. Poe’s poem has a very depressing tone toward begin alone, while Angelou’s poem is cheerful about it.
b. Poe could care less about begin alone, while Angelou seems affected by it greatly.
c. Poe’s poem takes on a confessional, personal tone, while Angelou’s poem is more universal, or collective.
d. Poe believes that everyone should be alone, while Angelou cannot figure out her own loneliness.
Part Two: Answer the questions below on the following four stanzas.

Stanza #1
Stanza #3
The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
So answerest thou; but why not rather say:
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
"Hath man no second life? - Pitch this one high!
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
Sits there no judge in Heaven, our sin to see? -
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
More strictly, then, the inward judge obey!
Was Christ a man like us? O, Lord! let us try
Stanza #2 If we then, too, can be such men as you!"

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, Stanza #4
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present They say, “all good things come to those who wait”
My true account, lest he returning chide, But bad things come to those who procrastinate.
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

Questions:

1. Stanza #1 is an example of which of the following:

a. Couplet c. Sestet
b. Quatrain d. Octave

2. Stanza #2 is an example of which of the following:

a. Couplet c. Sestet
b. Quatrain d. Octave

3. Stanza #3 is an example of which of the following:

a. Couplet c. Sestet
b. Quatrain d. Octave

4. Stanza #4 is an example of which of the following:

a. Couplet c. Sestet
b. Quatrain d. Octave

5. In stanza #4, when the speaker says, “O, Lord,” this is an example of which poetry device?
a. Alliteration c. Onomatopoeia
b. Consonance d. Apostrophe
6. What is the rhyme scheme of stanza #2?
a. ABCD c. ABBCA
b. ABBA d. AABBCC

7. Although very different in structure, all of the above stanzas have ALL of the following EXCEPT:
a. End Rhyme c. Personification
b. Speakers d. Lines