Alliteration, rhyme, repetition and poem forms

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Ferry at Dawn (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The ferry leaves at half past five,
   [2] while sleepy gulls still keep the shore.
   [3] A captain checks the rope and bell
   [4] and calls, “All aboard once more!”

   Stanza 2
   [5] A baker climbs on, then a nurse,
   [6] a girl who hums a tune.
   [7] They watch the harbor lights go pale
   [8] beneath the fading moon.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Midway across, the fog comes down
   [10] and hides the other side.
   [11] The captain rings the bell again,
   [12] and slow, we drift and glide.

   Stanza 4
   [13] Then, faint, a bell rings back from far,
   [14] a thin and silver sound.
   [15] The captain steers toward its ring,
   [16] and soon the dock is found.

   Stanza 5
   [17] The ferry leaves at half past five,
   [18] while sleepy gulls still keep the shore.
   [19] A captain checks the rope and bell
   [20] and listens, now, for one bell more.
   Annotations: circle repeated sounds and end rhymes; mark each stanza.

2. 1.

   Kira checks the end words of stanza 1. Which choice names the form and the rhyme pattern that shows it?

   • Ballad: a story told in five four-line stanzas, with the first stanza coming back at the end.
   • Ballad: a story told in four-line stanzas, where lines 1 and 3 rhyme with each other.
   • Couplets: a story told in rhyming pairs, where lines 1 and 2 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
   • Ballad: a story told in four-line stanzas, where lines 2 and 4 rhyme and lines 1 and 3 do not.
3. 2.

   Milo looks for proof that a bell links the middle of the poem. Which two lines show the captain's bell and the bell that answers?

   • [11] The captain rings the bell again, + [13] Then, faint, a bell rings back from far,
   • [11] The captain rings the bell again, + [9] Midway across, the fog comes down
   • [3] A captain checks the rope and bell + [5] A baker climbs on, then a nurse,
   • [1] The ferry leaves at half past five, + [17] The ferry leaves at half past five,
4. 3.

   Noah circles side and glide in lines 10 and 12. Which choice names the device and what it adds?

   • Rhyme: the two words end with the same sound and sit at the ends of lines 10 and 12.
   • Rhyme: the two words end with the same sound, which makes the ferry seem to cross a bridge.
   • Rhyme: the two words end with the same sound, which makes the hidden shore and the slow glide feel linked.
   • Alliteration: the two words start with the same sound, which makes the fog seem rough and jagged, like cracked ice.
5. 4.

   Pia compares stanza 1 with stanza 5. Which choice says what the matching stanzas add to the poem?

   • The matching stanzas frame the story, so the crossing sits inside an ordinary morning that returns changed.
   • The matching stanzas make the poem a villanelle, so the ferry trip repeats each morning in a strict pattern.
   • The matching stanzas show that the ferry is late, so the captain repeats the same call out of worry.
   • The matching stanzas show that the crossing changed nothing, so the ending is exactly like the beginning.

6. Practice Room (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The metronome ticks like a small hard rain
   [2] on the lid of the piano. I play
   [3] the same eight bars until the notes go flat
   [4] as pennies, and the clock says nothing new.

   Stanza 2
   [5] Then, without warning, a phrase comes loose
   [6] and rolls through the room like a low gold bowl,
   [7] and I forget to count. I forget
   [8] the metronome, the clock, the door, my name.

   Stanza 3
   [9] The ticking keeps on underneath, polite,
   [10] as if it never meant to be the boss.
   [11] I let the last note hang
   [12] and hang,
   [13] and the quiet that comes after
   [14] is the best sound in the room.
   Annotations: circle repeated sounds and end rhymes; mark each stanza.

7. 5.

   Tala looks at the end of line 2 and the start of line 3. What does the line break after “I play” add?

   • Enjambment: the sentence runs over the line break between lines 2 and 3, from the piano to the bars.
   • Enjambment: the sentence runs over the line break, so the practice seems to keep going without a stop.
   • Rhyme: the lines at the break end with matching sounds, so the stanza feels finished and closed.
   • Enjambment: the sentence runs over the line break, so the practice seems to stop and start again at each break.
8. 6.

   Zee circles rolls, low, gold and bowl in line 6. Which choice names the device and what it adds?

   • Assonance: the repeated long o sound is rounded and slow, which makes the phrase seem sharp and hurried.
   • Rhyme: the four words end with the same sound, which makes the phrase feel finished and tidy.
   • Assonance: the same long o vowel sound repeats inside the words of line 6 in the poem.
   • Assonance: the repeated long o sound is rounded and slow, which makes the phrase seem to roll smoothly.
9. 7.

   Ari thinks about who speaks and how the lines end. Which choice names the form and the clue that shows it?

   • Free-verse lyric: a speaker shares private feelings, and each stanza has exactly four lines.
   • Free-verse lyric: a speaker shares private feelings, and the lines have no rhyme pattern or regular beat.
   • Sonnet: fourteen lines in a set rhyme pattern, with a turn near the end of the poem.
   • Free-verse lyric: a poem of fourteen lines about a piano, with a metronome as its main object.
10. 8.

    Bo looks at lines 11 and 12, with hang set alone on its own line. What does the short line add?

    • Line 12 is shorter than line 11 and begins with the word and, then the poem goes on.
    • Line 12 repeats hang on a line of its own, so the note seems to stretch and linger.
    • Line 12 rhymes with line 10, so the poem seems to snap shut like a lid.
    • Line 12 repeats hang on a line of its own, so the note seems to end at once.
11. 9.

    Esme circles ticks in line 1 and ticking in line 9. Which choice names the device and what it adds?

    • Rhyme: ticks and ticking end with matching sounds, which makes the poem sound finished.
    • Repetition: the tick returns in stanza 3, which shows the beat still running beneath the music.
    • Repetition: the tick returns in stanza 3, which shows the speaker has broken the metronome in anger.
    • Repetition: the word tick is used in line 1 and used again in line 9 of the poem.
12. 10.

    Jun looks for a long o sound that rolls. Which two lines repeat that sound inside their words?

    • [3] the same eight bars until the notes go flat + [4] as pennies, and the clock says nothing new.
    • [3] the same eight bars until the notes go flat + [6] and rolls through the room like a low gold bowl,
    • [11] I let the last note hang + [12] and hang,
    • [9] The ticking keeps on underneath, polite, + [13] and the quiet that comes after