The questions are a combination of NewsELA, Common Lit and me, myself.
Editor's Note: The poet Claude McKay was born in Jamaica in 1889 and attended college in the United States. He published his first sonnets in 1917 and continued to work with the poetic form. The poem below is also a sonnet. In addition to poetry, McKay also wrote novels and essays about Black lives. He was an inspiration to the younger Black poets of the Harlem Renaissance like Langston Hughes. McKay died in 1948.
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9
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate.
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
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Question 2
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Question 3
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Question 4
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Question 5
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Question 6
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Question 7
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Question 8
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Question 9
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Question 10
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Question 11
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Question 12
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Identify a major theme of the poem. What word or phrase do you think is the most important in building that theme in the poem? Explain your choice using evidence from the poem.
Place the letters in order of the poems rhyme scheme.
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Read the following lines from the poem.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, / Giving me strength erect against her hate.
How does the poet’s use of a simile contribute to the meaning of the lines?
A It describes the country as having a powerful force that energizes the speaker.
B It describes the country as naturally hostile, wearing down the speaker’s resolve.
C It compares the country to a gravitational force that puts the speaker in a bad position.
D It compares the country to an ocean’s movement, rising and falling against the speaker.
In line 11, the word "darkly" is most likely used to convey which of the following?
A the speaker's fear of time passing too quickly
B the speaker's lack of knowledge about America
C the speaker's sense of shame about America's past
D the speaker's sense of concern about America's future
"bread of bitterness" and "tiger's tooth" are examples of what device?
A Rhyme
B Rhythm
C Alliteration
D Analogy
A
B
C
D
Read the following lines from the poem.
I stand within her walls with not a shred / Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Which answer choice is the BEST definition of the word “jeer” as used in the lines?
A denial
B neglect
C sarcasm
D insult
What are the female pronouns referring to?
A The speaker's mother
B America
C The tiger
D The speaker
Part A: Which of the following BEST describes the speaker of the poem?
A Someone who has an easy life.
B Someone in a position of power.
C A person who wants to overcome adversity.
D A person who wants to destroy America.
Part B: Which lines best support the answer to number 4?
A Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
B Giving me strength erect against her hate.
C Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
D I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!
How would the meaning of the poem change if it were written as a story?
A The tiger would become a character who stalks and threatens the speaker throughout the narrative.
B The language would become more detailed, with descriptive images to convey ideas about the country.
C The events of the poem would be expanded over generations to show the reader how the country has changed.
D The character of the speaker would be more fully developed with explanations for the feelings expressed in the poem.
What is the MOST LIKELY reason the author chose to use a rhyming couplet in the last two lines of the poem?
A to introduce a metaphor for the vitality of the country
B to show the poet’s resignation to a state of bitterness
C to mark a shift in the speaker’s description of the country
D to connect the last two lines to the poem’s beginning lines