How sound and shape carry a poem’s message

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Rosin (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] I tighten every peg and test the string,
   [2] then rub the rosin cake until it grips.
   [3] One note is all I wanted it to bring:
   [4] it wobbles, wanders off, and then it slips.

   Stanza 2
   [5] My teacher says, "Again," and taps the beat,
   [6] as patient as the hand upon a clock;
   [7] I play the same eight bars, and then repeat,
   [8] and every pass, my fingers are not quick.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Then, somewhere in the seventh time, a change:
   [10] the bow stops fighting me and starts to glide
   [11] across the strings, so smoothly and so strange
   [12] that I forget to count, and step inside.

   Stanza 4
   [13] Nobody claps. The window's gone to gray.
   [14] I wipe the rosin dust from off my sleeve,
   [15] and still I hear that note go on its way,
   [16] a little farther than I dared believe.
   Annotations: mark each stressed syllable, and note where each line ends: punctuation or no punctuation.

2. 1.

   Ari scans the lines of stanza 1. Which choice names the meter and an effect it has?

   • Iambic pentameter: the steady da-DUM beat sounds like patient, repeated work.
   • Iambic pentameter: the quick bounce of the beat sounds like a performance full of joy.
   • Iambic pentameter: the uneven jumping of the beat shows how little control the speaker has.
   • Trochaic pentameter: the falling beat sounds like a bow dragging across the string.
3. 2.

   Bo compares line 13, “Nobody claps. The window's gone to gray.” with the lines around it. Which choice names the break and its effect?

   • No break: line 13 is regular iambic pentameter, with the first beat on the word claps.
   • A reversed first foot, NO-bod-y: the stress falls on the first word, so the silence feels gentle and expected.
   • A reversed first foot, NO-bod-y: the stress falls on the first word, so the silence hits at once.
   • A break in the rhyme: gray is the first end word in the poem that does not rhyme.
4. 3.

   Esme looks at the end words of lines 6 and 8, “clock” and “quick.” Which choice names the rhyme and its effect?

   • Slant rhyme: only the final k sound matches, which copies the sound of the teacher's tapping on the desk.
   • Slant rhyme: only the final k sound matches, so the speaker's fingers seem fast and quite certain.
   • Slant rhyme: only the final k matches, so the near-miss echoes fingers that do not quite land.
   • Full rhyme: the vowel and ending both match, which makes the practice sound smooth and quite sure.
5. 4.

   Kira compares how the lines of stanza 3 end with the lines of stanza 1. Which choice names the change and its effect?

   • Lines 10 and 11 break the rhyme scheme, so the bow seems to stutter across the strings.
   • Lines 10 and 11 stop short at their ends, so the bow seems to stick on the strings.
   • Lines 10 and 11 end without punctuation, so the sentence runs on, like the bow gliding.
   • Nothing changes: the lines of stanza 3 end with punctuation just as the lines of stanza 1 do.
6. 5.

   Luz looks at the end words of lines 14 and 16, “sleeve” and “believe.” Which choice names the rhyme and its effect?

   • Full rhyme: the clean match leaves the ending unresolved, as if the music were still wobbling.
   • Full rhyme: sleeve and believe match in vowel and ending, so the last line feels settled.
   • Full rhyme: the match imitates the sound of the bow on the string.
   • Eye rhyme: sleeve and believe look alike on the page but sound different, so the ending feels uneasy.

7. Freight (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The freight train drags across the town,
   [2] a mile of rust and rolling brown;
   [3] it groans on every bend and bridge
   [4] and rattles loose along the ledge.

   Stanza 2
   [5] We count the cars, a game we keep,
   [6] until the numbers fall asleep;
   [7] by hundred twenty I forget
   [8] the count; the cars aren't finished yet.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Then slow. Then slower. Squeal. Then stop.
   [10] The couplings clank. The brakes. The drop
   [11] of silence settles on the street,
   [12] and I can hear my own slow beat.

   Stanza 4
   [13] And in the quiet that it leaves
   [14] the crickets start. The grass believes
   [15] the world is ours again, and sighs,
   [16] and settles, small, beneath the skies.
   Annotations: mark each stressed syllable, and give each new end sound a new letter.

8. 6.

   Milo scans the lines of stanza 1. Which choice names the meter and an effect it has?

   • Iambic tetrameter: the even four-beat line rolls on like wheels, and one long sentence adds length.
   • Iambic tetrameter: the quick beat sounds like the train speeding toward a crash.
   • Trochaic tetrameter: the falling four-beat line rolls on like wheels, and one long sentence adds length.
   • Iambic tetrameter: the choppy beat shows the train stopping again and again.
9. 7.

   Pia looks at the end words of lines 13 and 14, “leaves” and “believes.” Which choice names the rhyme and its effect?

   • Full rhyme: the clean match makes the ending feel unfinished and uneasy, as the quiet returns.
   • Full rhyme: the match imitates the chirping of the crickets, which the stanza names in line 14.
   • Full rhyme: leaves and believes match completely, which settles the poem as the quiet returns.
   • Slant rhyme: just the final z sound matches, which leaves the ending uneasy and not fully closed.
10. 8.

    Ren scans the lines of stanza 4 and compares them with stanza 3. Which choice names the meter and an effect it has?

    • Iambic tetrameter: the beat stays broken into short stops, as in stanza 3, so the quiet feels uneasy.
    • Spondaic tetrameter: heavy double stresses make the crickets sound like the train's brakes.
    • Iambic tetrameter: the beat returns, and its speed shows the world rushing back to normal.
    • Iambic tetrameter: the smooth beat returns, and the run-on lines sound like evening settling.
11. 9.

    Tala looks at lines 7 and 8, where the counting game changes. Which choice names the break and its effect?

    • The speaker loses count at line 7, and line 8 admits the cars keep coming, so the game fails.
    • The rhyme breaks, because forget and yet no longer match, which is how the counting game ends.
    • The speaker finishes the count and feels pleased, so the game ends well and the train moves on.
    • The game continues unchanged, because line 8 gives the final count of the cars that have passed.
12. 10.

    Zee looks at the end words of lines 3 and 4, “bridge” and “ledge.” Which choice names the rhyme and its effect?

    • Full rhyme: bridge and ledge match completely, so the couplet sounds tightly locked together.
    • Slant rhyme: the near match makes the couplet sound tightly fitted and exact, like a locked joint.
    • Slant rhyme: bridge and ledge share the -dge ending but not the vowel, so the fit rattles loose.
    • Slant rhyme: the near match shows that the train is about to crash into the bridge ahead.