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    Figurative Language Poem 6

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    Maria
    These poems by Emily Dickinson praise books and the joy of reading. In the first poem, the speaker expresses the pleasure of meeting an old book and feeling as though they have traveled back in time through its aged pages. The second poem describes how a man gains robust spirit and disregards his mortality through consuming the "precious words" within books. Both portray books as almost human and credit reading with providing enlightenment, knowledge, and spiritual freedom beyond one's worldly concerns.

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    Figurative Language Poem 6

    Uploaded by

    Maria
    5K views2 pages
    These poems by Emily Dickinson praise books and the joy of reading. In the first poem, the speaker expresses the pleasure of meeting an old book and feeling as though they have traveled back in time through its aged pages. The second poem describes how a man gains robust spirit and disregards his mortality through consuming the "precious words" within books. Both portray books as almost human and credit reading with providing enlightenment, knowledge, and spiritual freedom beyond one's worldly concerns.

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    These poems by Emily Dickinson praise books and the joy of reading. In the first poem, the speaker expresses the pleasure of meeting an old book and feeling as though they have traveled back in time through its aged pages. The second poem describes how a man gains robust spirit and disregards his mortality through consuming the "precious words" within books. Both portray books as almost human and credit reading with providing enlightenment, knowledge, and spiritual freedom beyond one's worldly concerns.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    5K views2 pages

    Figurative Language Poem 6

    Uploaded by

    Maria
    These poems by Emily Dickinson praise books and the joy of reading. In the first poem, the speaker expresses the pleasure of meeting an old book and feeling as though they have traveled back in time through its aged pages. The second poem describes how a man gains robust spirit and disregards his mortality through consuming the "precious words" within books. Both portray books as almost human and credit reading with providing enlightenment, knowledge, and spiritual freedom beyond one's worldly concerns.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Figurative Language Poem 6

    from X
    By Emily Dickinson
    A precious, mouldering1 pleasure 't is
    To meet an antique book,
    In just the dress his century wore;
    A privilege, I think,
    His venerable hand to take,
    And warming in our own,
    A passage back, or two, to make
    To times when he was young.
    His quaint opinions to inspect,
    His knowledge to unfold
    On what concerns our mutual mind,
    The literature of old;

    XXI
    By Emily Dickinson
    He ate and drank the precious words,
    His spirit grew robust;
    He knew no more that he was poor,
    Nor that his frame was dust.
    He danced along the dingy days,
    And this bequest3 of wings
    Was but a book. What liberty
    A loosened spirit brings!
    1. Slowly decay or disintegrate
    2. Fine parchment made from calf skin.
    3. Pass something on to someone else

    His presence is enchantment,


    You beg him not to go;
    Old volumes shake their vellum2 heads
    And tantalize, just so.

    Review Questions

    Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your ability. Answer the questions
    completely. If you need more space, use the back or a separate sheet.
    1. Identify two examples of personification: explain what is being personified in each example.
    The following examples are ways in which the book in X to which the speaker refers is
    personified:
    To meet an antique book, In just the dress his century wore;
    His venerable hand to take,
    To times when he was young.
    His quaint opinions to inspect,
    His knowledge to unfold
    Old volumes shake their vellum heads
    2. Identify three examples of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared in each
    example.
    He ate and drank the precious words: words are implicitly compared to food and drink.
    Nor that his frame was dust: his mortal body is implictly compared to dust.
    And this bequest of wings: the freedom of his spirit is compared to wings
    Students may also cite the following, and I would give them credit:
    His presence is enchantment,
    A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is / To meet an antique book,
    1

    3. Find two examples of alliteration. List the alliterative words.


    mutual mind,
    knew no
    danced along the dingy days,
    bequest of wings / Was but a book
    liberty / A loosened
    4. What tone does the speaker use in these poems? How does the speaker feel about the subjects
    of these poems? Use evidence from the text to explain your answer.
    The tone is wonderous, reverent, venerating, respectful...
    The speaker holds books in high regard.
    There are many examples of this tone. Here are some word choices that demonstrate this tone:
    pleasure, privilege, venerable, warming, tantalize, precious, liberty...
    5. What does the speaker mean by the following lines from XXI, "He knew no more that he was
    poor, /
    Nor that his frame was dust." Why is the man unaware that he is poor? What is meant by "dust
    frame"?
    The man is not poor because he is rich in knowledge and culture.
    Since the man is mortal and will surely die, his frame, or body, is little more than dust. In other
    words, this line expresses the temporal state of all living creatures, but the joy of reading has
    caused the man to disregard this ever present fact.
    6. Compare and contrast these two poems. How are they similar and different?
    Both of these poems are about books. One focuses on the books themselves; the other describes
    the benefits of reading. One uses lots of personification; the other uses a lot of metaphor.

    Figurative Language Poem 6: from X and XXI by Emily Dickinson This worksheet is
    actually two poems, each of which is about books. They compliment one another really well.
    These poems contain numerous examples of personification, metaphor, and alliteration; more
    importantly, they promote literacy. Together, these poems contain metaphor, personification,
    and alliteration.

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