Appreciation of Poetry
17 Grade 10 Literature in English questions on Appreciation of Poetry, with worked marking schemes. 17 questions are available on this topic in full.
Question 1
6 marksWrite a poem of at least two stanzas, each of four lines, on the theme of climate change in Kenya. Give your poem a suitable title. (6 marks)
(6 marks)
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5 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. Nairobi, six in the morning: hawkers spreading sukuma wiki on sacks, a mkokoteni groaning up Haile Selassie Avenue, office shoes clicking, a preacher shouting hope into a loudspeaker — and above it all, the sun, late again, shouldering its way through the smog.
(a) Identify the type of poem above and give two of its characteristics shown in the poem. (3 marks)
(b) Explain how the structure of the poem suits its subject matter. (2 marks)
(5 marks)
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1 markKiprono has chosen climate change as the topic of his poem and has brainstormed ideas, images and phrases related to it. According to the process of writing a poem, what should he do next?
A. Revise the finished draft for coherence
B. Publish the poem in the school magazine
C. Edit the draft for spelling and punctuation
D. Decide on the form and style of the poem
(1 mark)
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6 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. Drip, drop, drip — the mabati roof begins to sing; then thunder rumbles, boom, across the hills of Kisii. The fig tree by the gate falls — pu! — across the path, and the goats come home chepechepe, soaked to the bone. By morning the valley lies still, kimya tuli, and only the frogs keep croaking in the reeds.
(a) Identify two examples of onomatopoeia in the poem. (2 marks)
(b) Identify one idiophone (ideophone) in the poem and explain the idea it conveys. (2 marks)
(c) Explain how the sound patterns in the poem relate to its subject matter. (2 marks)
(6 marks)
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1 markAfter clashes between two neighbouring communities in Marsabit, a poet recites a poem at a county peace meeting urging the communities to forgive one another and live together. Which role of poetry in society does this mainly show?
A. Lulling restless young children to sleep
B. Recording a clan's history of migration
C. Encouraging unity among rival communities
D. Criticising leaders who misuse public power
(1 mark)
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5 marksRead the extract below and answer the questions that follow. The rains have come at last upon the hills, And every gully hums with running streams; My mother lifts her hoe and greets the sky, Her eyes still holding all the dry months' fear. She bends to plant the seeds she kept since June.
(a) Identify three features of blank verse shown in the extract, giving evidence for each. (3 marks)
(b) Explain how the poet's choice of blank verse suits the subject matter of the extract. (2 marks)
(5 marks)
Marking scheme
(a) Any three of the following, 1 mark each (feature with evidence) (3 marks): - The lines do not rhyme: 'hills', 'streams', 'sky', 'fear' and 'June' have different end sounds. - The lines are in iambic pentameter: each line has ten syllables in five pairs of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, e.g. 'my MOTH / er LIFTS / her HOE / and GREETS / the SKY'. - The lines run on as one continuous verse paragraph rather than being divided into rhyming stanzas. - The language is close to natural, serious speech, giving a calm, dignified tone, e.g. 'She bends to plant the seeds she kept since June.' Accept a correct demonstration of the syllable count or stress pattern from any line as evidence for iambic pentameter; do not award separate marks for 'ten syllables' and 'iambic pattern'. (b) 2 marks, any one point well explained: - The steady, regular beat of iambic pentameter echoes the steady, rhythmic strokes of the mother's hoe as she plants (1 mark), linking the form to the work being described (1 mark). - Blank verse is close to the rhythm of natural, serious speech (1 mark), giving a calm, dignified tone that suits the mother's quiet relief and lingering fear after a long drought (1 mark). - The absence of rhyme avoids a sing-song effect (1 mark), keeping the focus on the thoughtful, serious mood of the farming family (1 mark).
Question 7
4 marksRead the work song below and answer the questions that follow. Soloist: We plant the seed in the morning dew, All: Harambee! Let us pull together! Soloist: We weed the rows when the sun is high, All: Harambee! Let us pull together! Soloist: We bring the maize home when the day is done, All: Harambee! Let us pull together!
(a) Identify the refrain in the song. (1 mark)
(b) Apart from the refrain, identify one other example of repetition in the song. (1 mark)
(c) Explain one function of the refrain in this song. (2 marks)
(4 marks)
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6 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. I wake before the matatus, climb the ladder to the ninth floor, lay brick upon brick under a burning sky. By evening my palms are maps of cement, and I count my coins in a Kibera room too small for my children's dreams. Yet every tower in this city holds a little of my sweat. When you ride the lift to your office, remember me.
(a) Identify the persona in the poem and give one piece of evidence. (2 marks)
(b) Describe the subject matter of the poem. (2 marks)
(c) Explain one theme in the poem, giving evidence from it. (2 marks)
(6 marks)
Marking scheme
(a) 2 marks: - The persona is a construction (building site) worker in Nairobi who lives in Kibera (1 mark). - Any one piece of evidence (1 mark): 'climb the ladder to the ninth floor'; 'lay brick upon brick'; 'my palms are maps of cement'; 'every tower in this city / holds a little of my sweat'; 'I count my coins in a Kibera room'. (b) 2 marks, any two points, 1 mark each: - The poem describes the long, hard working day of a construction worker, from before dawn to evening. - It shows his low pay and poor living conditions in a small room in Kibera. - It points out that the city's tall buildings are built by workers like him. - It ends with a request that office workers remember the labourers who built their offices. (c) 2 marks (1 mark for the theme, 1 mark for evidence), any one: - Dignity of labour / hard work: he works from before the matatus start until evening and his sweat is in every tower. - Poverty and inequality: he counts coins in a tiny Kibera room while others ride lifts to offices in the towers he built. - Lack of recognition / social injustice: the plea 'remember me' shows that his contribution goes unnoticed. - Hope and sacrifice for family: he works for his children, whose dreams are too big for the room they live in. - Urban life: the matatus, towers, offices and Kibera show the contrasts of life in the city.
Question 9
1 markA poem describes a girl in Turkana who walks ten kilometres every day to fetch water, yet still finishes her homework by lantern light. Which of the following is a THEME of the poem rather than its subject matter?
A. The long walk across the Turkana plains
B. A girl's daily journey to fetch water
C. Studying by lantern light in the evening
D. Determination in the face of hardship
(1 mark)
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1 markIn which of the following lines is assonance the main sound pattern?
A. The kettle hissed and the door went bang
B. Old Moses rode home slowly from Kisii
C. Big black buffaloes block the bridge
D. The dark cloak hung on a hook
(1 mark)
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6 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. The sun is a blacksmith over Lodwar, hammering the earth until it cracks. The wind tastes of salt and dust; goats bleat like rusty hinges at the dry mouth of the well. Then, at dusk, the first drops fall — cool as a mother's palm on a fevered brow — and the sand drinks deeply, sighing.
(a) Identify one simile and one metaphor from the poem. (2 marks)
(b) Identify two types of imagery used in the poem, giving an example of each. (2 marks)
(c) Explain how the imagery in the poem helps the reader understand the hardship caused by drought. (2 marks)
(6 marks)
Marking scheme
(a) 2 marks: - Simile, any one (1 mark): 'goats bleat like rusty hinges'; 'cool as a mother's palm on a fevered brow'. - Metaphor (1 mark): 'The sun is a blacksmith' (accept 'the dry mouth of the well'). (b) Any two, 1 mark each (type and example must both be correct) (2 marks): - Visual (sight): the earth cracking under the heat; 'the first drops fall'. - Auditory (sound): 'goats bleat like rusty hinges'; 'sighing'. - Gustatory (taste): 'The wind tastes of salt and dust'. - Tactile (touch): 'cool as a mother's palm on a fevered brow'. (c) 2 marks, any one point well explained: - The image of the sun as a blacksmith hammering the earth until it cracks shows the extreme, relentless heat (1 mark) that destroys the land and makes life hard (1 mark). - The goats' harsh bleating at the dry well appeals to sound and suggests thirst and suffering of animals (1 mark), showing the loss that drought brings to herders (1 mark). - The taste of salt and dust lets the reader feel the dryness of the air (1 mark), so the hardship is experienced through the senses rather than just stated (1 mark). - The comforting image of rain like a mother's palm on a fevered brow contrasts with the earlier harshness (1 mark), showing how desperately the land and people needed relief (1 mark).
Question 12
5 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. Akinyi and the River Akinyi left at break of day, Her books held tight against her chest; The Nyando river barred her way, Swollen by rains from the hills to the west. 'Turn back, my child!' old Baba Ouma cried, 'The water's mad, the bridge is gone!' But her exams were waiting on the other side, And Akinyi's heart said, 'Carry on.' She did not swim; she did not wade; She ran a long way down the bank To where the county workers made A footbridge from a long steel plank. She reached the hall as the bell rang nine, Her uniform torn, her sandals worn; She wrote her name on the answer line — A brighter future had been born.
(a) Identify two features that show this is a narrative poem. (2 marks)
(b) Explain how the poet uses the four stanzas to develop the story. (2 marks)
(c) State one lesson that the poem teaches. (1 mark)
(5 marks)
Marking scheme
(a) Any two of the following, 1 mark each (2 marks): - It tells a story with a clear beginning, middle and end (plot). - It has characters, e.g. Akinyi and Baba Ouma. - It has a setting, e.g. the flooded Nyando river and the examination hall. - It contains dialogue / direct speech, e.g. 'Turn back, my child!' - It has a conflict (the flooded river blocking her way) and a resolution (she finds a footbridge and sits her exam). - It is told by a narrator in the past tense. (b) 2 marks, for showing that each stanza is a stage of the story (award 2 for at least three stages correctly linked, 1 for one or two): - Stanza 1 introduces the character, setting and problem: Akinyi sets out and finds the river flooded. - Stanza 2 raises the conflict: Baba Ouma warns her to turn back, but she is determined to go on. - Stanza 3 gives the solution: she avoids the dangerous water and finds the footbridge. - Stanza 4 gives the resolution: she arrives in time and sits her exam. (c) Any one, 1 mark: - Determination and perseverance help one overcome obstacles. - One should pursue goals wisely, without taking dangerous risks (she did not swim or wade across the flood). - Education is worth sacrificing for.
Question 13
1 markA fourteen-line poem is divided into an eight-line section that presents a problem and a six-line section that responds to it. This poem is
A. a free verse lyric
B. a narrative ballad
C. a Petrarchan sonnet
D. a Shakespearean sonnet
(1 mark)
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1 markWhich of the following lines contains internal rhyme?
A. The rain came down on the dusty town
B. My grandmother hums an ancient tune
C. Slowly the sun sinks behind Mount Kenya
D. The children ran across the field
(1 mark)
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4 marksDescribe four characteristics of a Shakespearean (English) sonnet. (4 marks)
(4 marks)
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5 marksRead the poem below and answer the questions that follow. When sorrow sits silently on your shoulder and dark thoughts strike and break your sleep, speak, my friend — to a teacher, a parent, a peer; heavy hearts heal when they are heard. No one should go down this road alone.
(a) Identify one example each of alliteration, assonance and consonance from the poem. (3 marks)
(b) Explain how any one of these sound patterns relates to the subject matter of the poem. (2 marks)
(5 marks)
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4 marksYou have been chosen to recite a poem on environmental conservation at a school assembly. Explain two techniques you would use to make the performance enjoyable to the audience. (4 marks)
(4 marks)
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