POETRY WORKSHEET: GRADE 10

Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:

SILVER by Walter de la Mare

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch 5
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From the shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver-feathered sleep; 10
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.

1. Identify and explain the figure of speech used in the first three lines. (3)

2. How does the use of the word “peers” in line 3 differ from the use of the word
“looks”? (2)

3. Identify and explain the figure of speech used in lines 7-8. (3)

4. Write down the rhyme scheme of this poem. (1)

5. What does the word “scampering” imply about the movements of the mouse
in line 11? (2)

6. Discuss why the things that are “seen” by the moon are described as being
silver in colour. (2)

7. How does the poet try to create a “dreamlike mood” in the poem? (2)

TOTAL OF WORKSHEET: 15