How the shape of a poem adds to its meaning

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Epic of the Last Slice (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] Sing, Muse, of the hunger that fell on the third-period lunchroom,
   [2] of Ren the swift-handed and Pia the sharp-eyed, and the last slice of pizza,
   [3] cooling and gleaming alone on the great steel tray like a moon over water.
   [4] Sing how two heroes, both starving, rose from their benches at once.

   Stanza 2
   [5] Swift-handed Ren swept over the tiles as a wave sweeps in toward the shoreline,
   [6] and sharp-eyed Pia, by a shortcut behind the milk coolers, came flanking the line.
   [7] Chairs scraped; the lunch aides watched; a bold sixth grader dropped a tray,
   [8] and the whole room held its breath as the heroes drew near to the prize.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Both hands reached down together. The slice, in the midst, slid sideways,
   [10] and each hero, gripping an edge, felt the cheese stretch long between them.
   [11] Neither would yield; then Pia, mighty in wisdom, spoke: “Let us divide it.”
   [12] And Ren the swift-handed, to the surprise of the ages, agreed.

   Stanza 4
   [13] So the slice was halved, and the halves were enjoyed in a peace that the poets will remember,
   [14] and the lunch aides nodded, and the great bell rang for the end of third period;
   [15] and the tale of the last slice goes on being told, in the hall and at the lockers,
   [16] wherever hungry heroes share what is left.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the call to the Muse; stanza 2 = the race; stanza 3 = the standoff; stanza 4 = the ending.

2. 1.

   Ari reads the opening and the long lines. Which choice names the form and the clue that shows it?

   • Mock epic: it opens by calling on the Muse and gives a lunchroom squabble the grand style of a hero's tale.
   • Mock epic: it begins with a rhymed couplet and keeps a steady rhyme scheme through the sixteen lines of the poem.
   • Mock epic: the poem is about lunch, has four stanzas, and ends with the heroes sharing a slice.
   • Limerick: five-line stanzas that rhyme AABBA, with a joke in the last line of each stanza.
3. 2.

   Bo circles swift-handed and sharp-eyed beside the names Ren and Pia. Which choice names the device and what it adds?

   • Onomatopoeia: the phrases sound like the actions they name, which makes the lunchroom sound crowded and loud.
   • Epithet: a describing phrase attached to each name, which makes the two students sound small and ordinary.
   • Epithet: swift-handed and sharp-eyed are describing phrases attached to the names Ren and Pia in the poem.
   • Epithet: a describing phrase attached to each name, which makes two hungry students sound like heroes in an old tale.
4. 3.

   Esme circles the comparison in line 5, as a wave sweeps in toward the shoreline. What does the long comparison add to the poem?

   • It shrinks the walk into something tiny, so the reader sees how little the race matters.
   • It compares Ren's walk to a wave, and the comparison takes up most of the line.
   • It shows that Ren is afraid of the sea, so the walk across the lunchroom feels dangerous.
   • It lifts a walk across a lunchroom into a grand, sweeping action, which is the joke in a mock epic.
5. 4.

   Jun wants one clue that shows this is a mock epic. All four statements are true. Which clue proves the form best?

   • The poem compares the slice to a moon over water in line 3 and Ren's rush to a wave in line 5.
   • Ren and Pia are given describing phrases, swift-handed and sharp-eyed, in lines 2, 5 and 6, as heroes in old tales are.
   • A call to the Muse and hero-sized language are used for a small event, a standoff over the last slice of pizza.
   • The poem has four stanzas, and each stanza holds four long lines about a lunchroom and a slice of pizza.
6. 5.

   Kira looks for repeated sounds that make the movement feel fast. All four lines are true. Which line shows it most strongly?

   • [5] Swift-handed Ren swept over the tiles as a wave sweeps in toward the shoreline,
   • [3] cooling and gleaming alone on the great steel tray like a moon over water.
   • [7] Chairs scraped; the lunch aides watched; a bold sixth grader dropped a tray,
   • [6] and sharp-eyed Pia, by a shortcut behind the milk coolers, came flanking the line.
7. 6.

   Luz notices line 11 ends with a very plain request inside a very grand sentence. What does that plain request add?

   • It drops the grand tone into an everyday request, which supplies the joke by contrast.
   • It makes the tone grander still, so the request sounds as mighty as the Muse's opening.
   • It turns the poem into a true battle story, so the reader is meant to fear for Pia.
   • It is the sole line with spoken words in it, and the words come at the end of the line.

8. Last Bus (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The streetlight clicks on, and I wait.
   [2] My shadow stretches long and thin.
   [3] The practice field has emptied out,
   [4] and the dark is slowly closing in.

   Stanza 2
   [5] The streetlight clicks on, and I wait.
   [6] A paper cup rolls down the street.
   [7] I count the cars that do not stop
   [8] and tap a rhythm with my feet.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Then headlights climb the hill, and slow,
   [10] and the doors fold open with a sigh.
   [11] “Long wait?” the driver asks, and I
   [12] say, “Not so long,” a small white lie.

   Stanza 4
   [13] The streetlight clicks on, and I ride.
   [14] It shrinks behind us, small and thin.
   [15] The wait that felt so long out there
   [16] is something I can tell with a grin.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the wait begins; stanza 2 = the wait goes on; stanza 3 = the bus; stanza 4 = the ride.

9. 7.

   Noah circles clicks in lines 1, 5 and 13. Which choice names the devices and what they add?

   • Alliteration: the words start with the same sound, which makes the waiting seem smooth and sleepy.
   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: clicks sounds like what it names, and it appears in three stanzas.
   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: the sound word returns each time, which marks the evening passing with the same small sound.
   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: the sound word returns each time, which makes the evening seem frozen, with no sense of time passing.
10. 8.

    Pia compares line 13 with lines 1 and 5. What does changing wait to ride add?

    • It shows that the speaker is still waiting, so the evening has not changed for the speaker.
    • It changes one word in the returning line, and the line still ends with a verb.
    • It shows that the streetlight has stopped working, so the speaker rides home in the dark.
    • It shows the same moment now meaning something new, because the speaker has gone from waiting to riding.
11. 9.

    Ren wants one clue that shows the opening line works as a refrain. All four statements are true. Which clue proves it best?

    • The poem uses sound words such as clicks and sigh, along with the repeated word thin.
    • The poem is about waiting for a bus, and the bus does arrive in stanza 3 with a sigh from its doors.
    • Lines 1 and 5 both mention the streetlight and the speaker waiting, and each one opens a stanza.
    • Line 1 comes back word for word in line 5, and in line 13 it comes back with one word changed.
12. 10.

    Zee notices line 11 ends with the words and I, and the sentence runs on into line 12. What does the line break add?

    • It rushes the answer out at once, so the speaker replies before the driver has finished asking.
    • It holds back what the speaker says for a moment, so the small white lie lands after a pause.
    • It shows the speaker is out of breath from running, so the answer comes out in pieces.
    • It splits the sentence across two lines, so the speaker's words begin at the start of line 12.