1a. At what time of year does the speaker find the rhodora in the woods?
2a. Where is the rhodora growing? What is the rhodora's effect on the area in which it is blooming?
3a. According to the speaker, how can the rhodora justify its blooming alone in the woods when usually no one sees it?
4a. Do you think that the speaker is glad that he happened upon the rhodora in the woods? What do you think he gained through this encounter?
1b. Why is the rhodora especially beautiful at this time of year? Why do you think the speaker compares the rhodora to a rose?
2b. Does the speaker believe that any other person besides himself has appreciated the rhodora's beauty? Why is the isolated location of the rhodora significant to the speaker?
3b. Does Emerson agree with the sages that the charm of the rhodora is wasted on the earth and sky? Why, or why not?
4b. Which flower do you think the speaker would find more pleasing—the rhodora blooming alone in the woods or the pampered orchid blooming in a greenhouse? Would the speaker find them equally pleasing? Explain your answer.
Rhyme. Identify the rhyme scheme of "The Rhodora," following the example below. In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, (a) I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, (a) Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, (b) To please the desert and the sluggish brook. (b)
Romanticism. Explain why this poem may be categorized as romantic.
1. Have you ever experienced a special moment in nature, for example, when you were hiking or bicycling? Try to recreate that moment in your mind and jot down a journal entry about the sights you saw, the sounds you heard, and the emotions you felt.
2. Imagine that you are walking in the woods on that May day with the speaker. Write a stream-of-consciousness style paragraph that describes what you are experiencing and thinking as you hike along. Include your thoughts on finding the rhodora by the stream. For a definition of stream-of-consciousness writing, refer to the Handbook of Literary Terms.
3. Write a poem about a natural element that has meaning for you.
Correcting Modifiers. Read the Language Arts Survey 3.46, "Avoiding Dangling or Misplaced Modifiers." Then correctly rewrite each sentence below.
1. While blooming by a quiet stream, the speaker discovered a hidden rhodora.
2. Fallen into the water, the river washed the petals downstream.
3. Cooling his plumes at the brook, the rhodora's purple petals contrasted with the bird's red feathers.
4. The Transcendentalists had a lasting effect on American literature who believed that through intuition humans can know truth.
5. Even more useful than the teachings of organized religion, Emerson believed that the most direct way to enlightenment was an openness to nature.
Technical Writing. Research the rhodora. Then write instructions on caring for it if it were sold in a flower shop.
Care instructions for the rhodora:
Sources used:
Editorial. Write an editorial in which you state your point of view on preserving a particular wilderness area.
