15. In her poem “A bird came down the walk” (or “In the Garden”), Emily Dickinson uses the word plashless to mean the same thing as splashless, though it has one letter missing.
A bird came down the walk :
He did not know I saw ;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.
He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad, —
They looked like frightened beads, I thought ;
He stirred his velvet head
Like one in danger ; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home
Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, plashless, as they swim.
Can you think of a word that you can shorten to make another word—one that either has the same meaning or means something completely different?
16. Eddie doesn’t care for poems by Robert Frost. One of Frost’s most well-known poems is “The Road Not Taken.” How does this poem compare to some of Emily Dickinson’s poems about nature?
17. When Eddie takes over the poetry club, they read the poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes. Compare and contrast this poem with “Hope is the thing with feathers.” What do you think is the difference between hopes and dreams?
18. Eddie’s favorite poem used to be “The Bagpipe Who Didn’t Say No,” by Shel Silverstein. He never explains why it was his favorite. Why do you think he chose to memorize it? Do you think the poem is humorous, or do you think it’s sad?
19. Suggested Activity: Star writes a poem inspired by Emily Dickinson, which makes use of the poet’s signature style. Try writing your own poem—using dashes, capitalization, and exclamation points—on one of Dickinson’s favorite topics: nature!
20. Suggested Activity: Create your own vocabulary list, modeled after Star’s homework, with ten words that mean something to you. Write one or two sentences that demonstrate the meaning of the word and that also communicate something about your life.
This book was designed by Maria T. Middleton.
Hope Is a Ferris Wheel Page 15
