1a. What does the sun do in the third stanza?
2a. What happens at sunset?
3a. Where do the horses go in the last stanza?
4a. How many of the speaker's observations describe things? How many of her observations describe actions she witnesses?
5a. How well does this poem capture and interpret the speaker's experience? What, if anything, does the speaker fail to reveal about her experience?
1b. How does the speaker regard the sun? What makes you think so?
2b. How does the speaker react? How can you tell?
3b. How does this serve to conclude the poem?
4b. Explain how the speaker's descriptions work together to provide the reader with a vivid picture of the speaker's experience, observations, and reactions to the experience.
5b. In what ways does this poem describe a universal experience that all people could share? In what ways is it more of a personal statement? How would you describe a similar experience in a different way?
Lyric Poem. What emotions does the speaker share in this poem? What do we learn about the speaker's likes and dislikes? How do the speaker's emotions contribute to the poem's songlike quality?
Figures of Speech. Look back at your graphic organizer. What examples of metaphor did you find in the poem? What affect do they have on the poem? What similes did you find? How do they impact the poem? What objects in the poem are personified? In what ways does this help the reader "see" an unusual aspect of the object or objects?
1. Imagine that you are a teacher and that your class discussions sometimes result in everyone talking loudly at the same time. Write a list of ten rules for group discussion, reminding your students to respect one another's points of view.
2. Write a lyric poem describing a secret hideaway that you have or wish to have.
3. Write a "for sale" classified advertisement for the property described in "Under the Apple Tree."
Homonyms. Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different meanings and are often spelled differently. Study the difference between the pairs of homonyms presented below, then use each homonym correctly in a sentence. (Note: the definitions that follow are not all inclusive but show common usage.)
1. already: previously all ready: all are ready
2. principle: a fundamental belief, a rule of conduct principal: a person with controlling authority
3. stationary: in a fixed position stationery: writing paper
4. altar: a table or stand in a church; a place for outdoor offerings alter: to change
5. born: given birth borne: carried
6. brake: a device to stop a machine break: to fracture, shatter
7. complement: something that completes or makes perfect compliment: a remark that says something good about a person
8. coarse: rough, crude course: path of action; series of studies
9. desert: to leave dessert: the final course of a meal
10. peace: opposite of strife piece: a part of something
Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of syllables and words, as in Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Literary techniques like alliteration and assonance help tie together words in a line or in a series of lines.
For each of the consonant sounds given below, create an alliterative phrase or sentence using the letter at the beginning of a word or syllable at least three times.
1. s
2. t
3. b
4. h
5. k or hard c
6. w
7. m
8. r
9. d
10. qu
