Off with Her Head!

Read the following poem by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends:

ALICE

She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin’ at all

The rhyme scheme of the poem is AB AB CB. Why does the author change the rhyme scheme in line 5?

a. He couldn't find another rhyme for ME.

b. To draw attention to the poem's meaning.

c. Because it is an allusion to Alice in Wonderland.

d. To change the pace of the poem.











Scroll down for the answer.







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a. is completely incorrect. Poets are very resourceful and can find a rhyme for almost any word.

b. is correct. The poem is about not being afraid to try new things.

c. is incorrect. While it is an allusion, the change in rhyme has nothing to do with it.

d. is incorrect. While changing the rhyme scheme may change the pace in some poems, it does not in this one.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever a Spider Can!

Look at this Spider-Man cover:

No multiple choice today, just the simple question:

What month of the year was this comic published?









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The correct answer is October.  How are you supposed to know that?  Well, the vampire on the front cover is our only hint, which should lead to a prediction of October, which, of course, is when Halloween occurs.

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For Sweden!

Read the following quote:

“Hatred is a leech: The thing that sticks to a person's skin; that feeds off them and drains the sap out of one's spirit. It changes a person, and does not leave until it has sucked the last drop of peace from them.”

― Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen

What literary device is used in this quote?

A) Metaphor

B) Irony 

C) Hyperbole

D) Personification

Scroll down for the answer.

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There a few literary terms that will fit this answer, but of the one listed above that matches best, it would be: A

Thanks to Dorian for the question!  Don't understand the For Sweden title?  Neither do I!  Somebody ask Dorian for me!

Well, He Is Following the Directions...

What is the picture below an example of? 

a. archetypes

b. soliloquy

c. hyperbole

d. irony

Scroll down for the answer.

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d. is the correct answer.  Irony comes in different forms, but mostly it is the unexpected in some way.

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Haiku - Bless You!

 Read this haiku from Basho:

Sick on my journey, 
only my dreams will wander 
these desolate moors 


This poem is about:

a. traveling

b. death

c. birth

d. being sick on vacation

See comments for answer.

I Hate Scary Movies

Read the following passage:

We were watching this horror movie and saw the killer climb into the house through an open window, pick up a huge knife laying on the kitchen counter, and go into the closet of the little kids' room.  Later, the babysitter and her boyfriend (who is NOT supposed to be over) send the kids to bed.  Right as they are about to do things that should not be done by unwed teenagers, the little kids start crying that there is a monster in the closet.  The babysitter is frustrated and goes up to their room to make them go to sleep.  She says, there is no such thing as monsters.  To prove it, she went to the closet and opened the door.  Of course the killer leaped out and stabbed her to death.  It was very scary.

What is the purpose of showing the killer enter the closet before the killings?

a. to provide specific details
b. to create enriching imagery
c. to create suspense
d. to develop the rising action





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c. is the correct answer.  This is called dramatic irony (we know something the characters do not know).  Since we know he is there, the suspense builds up waiting for the killer to attack.

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Much like Medusa

Read the following quote from Anthem:

"Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it."

What does the quote show?

a. simile
b. hyperbole
c. metaphor
d. symbol









Scroll down for the answer.

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The correct answer is a. simile because it uses "as" to compare their hair with the golden sun.

Thanks to Jordan, Courtney, Katie, and Tykavia from Ms. Brooks class for this question.  Jordan said that Courtney also has hair golden as the sun that defies men to restrain it, but Katie and Tykavia told me that it is only because she is having a bad hair day.