Grade 10B – Poetry Comprehension Page 1 of 4

Read the following poems carefully and choose the BEST answers using a scantron.
Make sure your name and the date are on the scantron.

Did I Ever Stop?

Did I ever stop to make you smile

When your day was hard or your road was long?
When your light stopped shining for a while,
Did I sing for you a happy song?

Did I ever try to make you laugh

When your eyes held tears and you couldn’t speak?
When your world seemed almost torn in half,
Did I hold your hand or kiss your cheek?

Did I ever pause to hear your voice

When you needed just a moment’s ear?
When you’d lost your way or missed a choice,
Did I let you know that I was near?

Did I ever stop to say I care

When I didn’t seek to hear it too?
When you weren’t so sure that I’d be there,
Did I ever show my love for you?

1. The speaker is probably addressing a/an:

a.) enemy b.) friend c.) stranger d.) teacher

2. “Your road was long” is an example of:

a.) metaphor b.) simile c.) hyperbole d.) irony

3. “Your world seemed torn in half” is an example of:

a.) irony b.) oxymoron c.) simile d.) hyperbole

4. The tone of the poem is:

a.) regretful b.) happy c.) excited d.) all of these

5. The poem’s rhyme scheme is:

a.) AABB b.) ABCD c.) ABAB d.) AABA

TURN THE PAGE

 Page 2 of 4
As I Awake

All of my senses are met by the morning

As I awake breathing in a new day,
Here by the window I opened last evening,
How the world changed while I drifted away.

Darkness is gone, though it seemed it would never;

Sunlight is smiling and nature survives.
I can believe that we all live forever
When I observe how the morning arrives.

Birds sing their concert and children are playing;

Flowers have scented the air and it’s free;
Life is renewed and it seems to be saying
There is a place in its promise for me.

There are some times in our lives when we savor

Being a part of a much larger plan.
Life is a feast and we each add a flavor;
I’ll make it better, believing I can.

6. This poem is best described as:

a.) rhyming b.) free verse c.) rhyming couplets d.) none of the
these

7. “Sunlight is smiling” is an example of:

a.) simile b.) metaphor c.) personification d.) irony

8. The speaker views life as:

a.) horrible b.) boring c.) worth living d.) silly

9. “Birds sing their concert and children are playing” appeals to the senses of:
a.) smell/sight b.) sight/touch c.) sound/smell d.) sound/sight

10. The tone of the poem is:

a.) hopeful b.) sad c.) depressing d.) humorous

TURN THE PAGE

 Page 3 of 4
Memories

Memories from childhood stay with us forever,

Taking us where we have been and will go,
Pieces of life that live on and will never
Let us forget we were young long ago.

Sometimes I wander back into those shadows,

Quietly being who I used to be,
Bringing to life all the joys and the sorrows,
Days that can’t die while they still live in me.

Holidays linger and happy times glisten;

I can see everyone active and well.
I can still hear them if only I listen,
Feeling each motion and breathing each smell.

Life has such treasures that time’s always stealing;

Nothing can ever entirely stay.
While you are young, you can capture each feeling;
Make all the memories you can every day.

11. The speaker takes the point of view of someone who…

a.) is very young b.) has had a hard life c.) can’t remember much d.) is elderly

12. According to the poem, our memories are…

a.) lost as we age c.) less accurate over time
b.) are an important part of who we are d.) not worth recalling

13. The speaker says that …

a.) some memories are happy / some unhappy c.) you should forget the past
b.) all memories should be happy d.) we change the past by forgetting

14. The speaker suggests that young people should …

a.) ignore their friends and relatives if possible
b.) only think about the future
c.) appreciate the present to preserve it in their minds
d.) try to help others stay active and healthy as they get older

15. The rhyme scheme of this poem is:

a.) AABB b.) AAAB c.) ABAB d.) ABCA
TURN THE PAGE
 Page 4 of 4
Charity

I can hear them

And they’re no longer there,
Crying for a hand
That I couldn’t spare.

I can see them,

Though I will not look,
Reaching for the time
That I never took.

I can feel them

Pulling at my sleeve,
Asking me to stay,
Knowing that I’d leave.

And there’s no way

That I could help them all.
But can I even say,
When all is said and done,
That when I had a way
I stopped to help just one?

16. The “them” referred to in the first stanza are most likely:
a.) children b.) friends c.) the poor d.) family

17. The poem has:

a.) 4 stanzas b.) 3 stanzas c.) 5 stanzas d.) 2 stanzas

18. The rhyme scheme is:

a.) ABCB b.) AABB c.) ABBB d.) ABAB

19. The speaker sounds:

a.) happy b.) excited c.) angry d.) regretful

20. “Crying for a hand” means they were looking for:

a.) advice b.) help c.) trouble d.) none of these