1a. What time of day is described in the first stanza of "English Sparrows (Washington Square)"? What does the speaker do, see, and hear at this time of day?
2a. In the second stanza of "English Sparrows (Washington Square)," what does the speaker see a man do? What do both the speaker and the man watch?
3a. In "City Trees," what sound does the speaker say the trees would have made in country lanes? What would people standing beneath them in a rainstorm hear? What sounds are heard in the city instead of these sounds?
1b. How does the speaker seem to feel about this time of day and what she does, sees, and hears?
2b. In what way do the speaker and the man seem to be alike?
3b. Explain whether the speaker is satisfied just knowing the sound that the trees would make in a country setting or whether she wishes she were in the country.
4a. In stanza 1, how does the speaker of "English Sparrows (Washington Square)" seem to feel about her time alone? In stanza 2, what does she share with the man on the bench? In what ways are they together, and in what ways are they apart? In "City Trees" what would people hear when it showers? What does the speaker watch? What does the speaker know?
4b. Based on what you have read about the speaker of these two poems, explain what the speaker's attitude might be toward being alone.
5a. Based on the two poems you have read, explain how you think the speaker feels about the city in which he or she lives.
5b. Explain whether you would enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the city the speaker describes.
Lyric Poem. In a sentence or two, sum up the emotions revealed in each poem.
Mood. Explain what mood is created in each poem. How are the moods similar? How are they different?
1. Write a descriptive paragraph about a time of day that you enjoy. What are the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, or feelings you associate with this time of day?
2. Imagine that you are an advice columnist. You receive a letter from a person who lives in the city and is homesick for the country. Write an advice column in which the person explains his or her problem and you give some helpful advice.
3. Write four or five lines of your own lyric poem about how you feel in a certain setting.
Antonyms. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. Write three antonyms for each of these Words for Everyday Use.
1. dote
2. indulgence
3. magnanimous
4. suffuse
Capitalization of Place Names. The names of specific places are capitalized, while names of general places are not. For example, Washington Square is capitalized because it is the name of a specific square, but if you are writing about town squares in general, squares should be lowercase. Read the sentences below, and indicate the correct word from the pair in parentheses.
1. Edna St. Vincent Millay lived in click to select answer Greenwich Village greenwich village .
2. She explored her thoughts about living in a click to select answer City city .
3. Did you know the capital of click to select answer new york New York is click to select answer albany Albany , not click to select answer New York City new york city ?
4. Millay lived in a click to select answer Neighborhood neighborhood filled with narrow, winding, click to select answer Streets streets .
5. Head click to select answer east East to the click to select answer brooklyn bridge Brooklyn Bridge .
Experimenting with Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of syllables, as in "How sweet the sound in the city an hour before sunrise." Read aloud "English Sparrows (Washington Square)" and "City Trees" with a partner. Together, list at least five examples of alliteration from these poems.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Then, write five phrases or sentences of your own that make the use of alliteration. Try out the phrases or sentences by reading them aloud to one another.
