Year 6: Poem Analysis

Poem (1): “The Rainbow” by Christina Rossetti

Boats sail on the rivers,

And ships sail on the seas;

But clouds that sail across the sky

Are prettier far than these.

There are bridges on the rivers,

As pretty as you please;

But the bow that bridges heaven,

And overtops the trees,

And builds a road from earth to sky,

Is prettier far than these.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What do you think is the main message of this poem?

a) Boats and ships are useful.

b) Clouds and rainbows are more beautiful than anything made by humans.

c) Rivers and seas are big.

d) Trees are tall.

2. What tone does the poem convey? (How does the poem make you feel?)

a) Happy and light

b) Sad and gloomy

c) Angry
 d) Serious

3. Who do you think is speaking in the poem?

a) A sailor

b) A child

c) The poet

d) A teacher

4. Can you identify any words in the poem that rhyme? Write two pairs of rhyming words.

Seas-these

Please-trees
5. Look at the first stanza of the poem. What is the rhyme scheme? (Use letters like A, B, C
to show the pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines).
ABCB
6. Find one example of a simile or metaphor in the poem.
Boats and ships with clouds (metaphor)
7. How many stanzas does this poem have?

a) One

b) Two

c) Three

d) Four

8. What is the theme of the poem?

a) Nature is more beautiful than man-made things.

b) Bridges are very important.

c) Boats are pretty.

d) Seas are powerful.

Poem (2): “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What is the poem mainly about?

a) The fun of playing on a swing.

b) Looking at a garden.

c) Flying in an airplane.

d) Building a swing.

2. What is the tone of this poem? (How does the poem make you feel?)

a) Joyful and exciting

 b) Angry and serious

c) Sad and lonely

d) Nervous and scared

3. Who do you think is speaking in the poem?

a) A child who loves to swing

b) A teacher

c) A parent

d) An animal

4. Can you find two pairs of words that rhyme in the poem? Write them down.

Swing-thing

Blue-do
5. Look at the first stanza of the poem. What is the rhyme scheme? (Use letters like A, B, C
to show the pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines).
ABAB
6. What poetic device is used when the poet says, “Up in the air so blue”?

a) Simile

b) Metaphor

c) Imagery

d) Personification

7. How many stanzas does the poem have?

a) One

b) Two

c) Three

d) Four

8. What is the main theme of the poem?

a) The beauty of nature

 b) The joy and freedom of swinging

c) The importance of playing outside

d) How fast swings go

Poem (3): “The Sea” by James Reeves

The sea is a hungry dog,

Giant and grey.

He rolls on the beach all day.

With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws

Hour upon hour he gnaws

The rumbling, tumbling stones,

And ‘Bones, bones, bones!’

The giant sea-dog moans,

Licking his greasy paws.

And when the night wind roars

And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,

He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,

Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,

And howls and hollos long and loud.

But on quiet days in May or June,

When even the grasses on the dune

Play no more their reedy tune,

With his head between his paws

He lies on the sandy shores,

So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.

Reading Comprehension Questions on Extended Metaphor

1. The poet compares the sea to something throughout the whole poem. What is the sea
compared to?

a) A dog

b) A cat

c) A lion

d) A horse

2. How does the poet describe the sea to make it seem like the thing you identified in
question 1? (List two descriptions the poet uses to show this comparison).

It compares the sea with dog by saying that it has clashing teeth and shaggy jaws.

It says that the sea howls and hollos.

3. In the second stanza, how does the sea behave when the wind roars and the moon is in
the clouds?

a) It stays still.

b) It becomes wild and loud.

c) It disappears.

d) It calms down.

4. What is the tone of the poem when the sea is described as “shaking his wet sides over
the cliffs”?

a) Peaceful

b) Playful

c) Angry and wild

d) Joyful
 5. What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza? (Use letters like A, B, C to show the
pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines).

abbccdddc
6. Why do you think the poet chose to compare the sea to a dog instead of just describing
the sea?

a) It makes the poem more fun.

b) It helps us imagine the sea’s personality.

c) The sea and dogs are the same thing.

d) The poet loves dogs.

7. How does the sea change in the third stanza? What does the dog (sea) do on quiet days
in May or June?

It stays quiets the whole time in May or June and sleeps.

8. What is the theme of the poem?

a) The sea is a powerful force, sometimes calm and sometimes wild.

b) Dogs are fun to play with.

c) The sea is dangerous and should be avoided.

d) Animals and nature are similar.

Poem (4): “The Little Stream” By Anonymous

Down from the mountains, swift and bright,

The little stream takes its flight.

Through woods so deep, and meadows wide,

It flows and flows with quiet pride.

It hums a tune both soft and clear,

To all who pass, it brings good cheer.

It helps the flowers and trees grow tall,

With water fresh for one and all.

Through sunny days and stormy nights,

The little stream stays in its might.

And when it meets the mighty sea,

It knows it has fulfilled its plea.

Comprehension Questions

1. Where does the little stream begin its journey?

It begins its journey down from the mountains and the woods.
2. What does the stream do as it flows through the woods and meadows?
It flows with quiet pride.
3. Who does the stream help as it travels?
The stream helps the flowers and trees grow tall.
4. Where does the little stream end its journey?
The little stream ends its journey in the mighty sea.
5. What is the meaning of the word swift in the first line?
It means quick.
6. Find a word from the poem that means prideful or dignified.
Pride
7. What do you think hum means in the second stanza?
I think it means singing a beautiful song or a rhythm.
8. Why do you think the poem describes the stream as bringing “good cheer” to all who
pass?
I think it is because the stream cheers to the trees and flowers to grow taller.
9. How do you think the little stream helps the flowers and trees grow tall?
I think the little stream helps the flowers and trees grow tall by giving them water to grow.
10. What do you think is meant by the phrase “the little stream stays in its might”?
I think it means that the little stream stays strongly and bravely.
11. Why does the poem describe the stream’s journey as a “plea” in the final stanza?
I think it is because the little stream has fulfilled its dream to enter the mighty sea.
12. What lesson can we learn from the little stream’s journey to the sea?
I think it is that staying in a positive way, helping other living beings is a way to get
rewarded.
13. What emotions do you think the poet is trying to evoke with this poem?
Happy, exciting
14. Imagine you are a little stream traveling through different places. Write a short paragraph
about your journey. What do you see, hear, and feel?
I might see the beautiful sceneries with the lively animals and plants. I might hear the
peaceful and calming sounds of the voices of the birds. I might feel pleased, happy and
helpful to be a supporter in life.
15. How many stanzas does the poem have, and how many lines are in each stanza?
The poem has 3 stanzas, each having four lines.
16. What rhyme scheme does the poem follow? Identify the rhyming words in each stanza.
Done Checking
17. What effect does the poem’s consistent rhyme scheme have on its tone and meaning?
Done Checking
18. Identify an example of personification in the poem. What effect does this personification
have on how we understand the stream?
It hums a tune both soft and clear. This personification makes us feel that the stream is
in a positive mood and encouraging other living things in the surroundings to feel the
same. As it hums, its beautiful sound makes other plants, flowers and other animals feel
happy and in a positive mood.
19. What is the impact of the imagery in the second stanza? How do the words “soft” and
“clear” influence the mood?
As the readers read the second stanza, they will feel as if they are in the place with
beautiful, peaceful and calming melodies and the greenery of the plants. The words
“soft” and “clear” make our mind to imagine a better picture.
20. Why do you think the poet chose to use alliteration in the phrase “swift and bright” in the
first stanza? What effect does it create?
It makes the poem get a smooth flow starting from the first stanza.
21. What do you think is the main theme or message of the poem? Explain your answer with
reference to the text.
I think the main theme or message of the poem is that it wants to describe the
importance or the stream. The phrases like it helps that flowers and trees grow tall and
to all who pass, it brings good cheer are good examples that show the importance of the
stream. The message is that we have to try the best to reach our goal.
22. The poem describes the stream’s journey through both sunny days and stormy nights.
How do these contrasting conditions reflect life’s challenges?
In real life, there are the peak times and unfortunate times like the stream’s journey. Like
the stream goes through sunny days where it is calm like the peak time of our life and
when stream goes through stormy nights where it is the unfortunate in our life.
23. How does the final stanza reflect the stream’s ultimate purpose? What deeper meaning
might the poet be conveying about goals or destiny?
The final stanza makes us feel that the stream tries and withstands through the difficult
times (the time when it passes the stormy nights) to get to its goal although it is
challenging to pass all those difficulties. This final stanza builds up the main message of
the poem – we have to try the best to achieve our goal although we may have
challenges and difficulties.
24. How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is it more optimistic, melancholic, or
neutral? Provide examples from the poem to support your answer.
Optimistic because the stream is confident that it will arrive to its goal even though if it
has to pass through the challenging places. The little stream stays in its might. This
clause or sentence tells us that the little stream is brave.

25. What mood does the poem create for the reader? How do words like “hums,” “quiet
pride,” and “mighty sea” contribute to this mood?
These words tell that the stream is brave. The words like quiet pride tells that the stream
is proud of it self.
26. How is the little stream characterized throughout the poem? What qualities are
associated with the stream?
The stream is characterized throughout the poem by saying that it is brave, it is proud of
itself and it is helpful. These words tell the qualities of the stream.
27. In what way can the little stream be seen as a symbol for something bigger? What might
the stream represent in our lives or in nature?
-
28. Compare the stream’s journey to a person’s journey through life. What are the
similarities and differences?
The similarities are that both stream and a human’s life have difficulties and peak times
in our life. Differences are that stream is non-living thing but human is the living thing
which means the stream flows by itself while a human works with the brain.
29. How is the stream’s movement through different landscapes (woods, meadows, sea)
similar to a person facing different stages of life? How do these landscapes reflect
growth and change?

It describes that the stream has to through different landscapes like a human going through
different stage of life. A human has to go through stages of life such as childhood, teenager,
adolescent and adult which is similar to the stream going through different landscapes.