05.02 Shall I Compare Thee? Worksheet
In this assignment, you will read two poems and respond to the prompt below. Please complete each part of the worksheet to deepen your understanding of comparing and contrasting poetry.
Prompt: Compare and contrast the poems “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket” and “The Call of the Wild.” In a paragraph of 5-7 sentences, identify and discuss each poem’s structure, style, tone, purpose, and meaning. Why did each poet make the choices they did? How did their choices impact you as a reader?
Part 1: PReP the poems. Preview, read, and paraphrase for understanding.
Poem 1
Poem 2
“On the Grasshopper and the Cricket”
by John Keats
The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
“The Call of the Wild”
by Alexander Posey
I’m tired of the gloom
In a four-walled room;
Heart-weary, I sigh
For the open sky,
And the solitude
Of the greening wood;
Where the bluebirds call,
And the sunbeams fall,
And the daisies lure
The soul to be pure.
I’m tired of the life
In the ways of strife;
Heart-weary, I long
For the river’s song,
And the murmur of rills
In the breezy hills;
Where the pipe of Pan—
The hairy half-man—
The bright silence breaks
By the sleeping lakes.
Part 2: Organize Your Thoughts
Prompt
Poem 1: “On the Grasshopper
and the Cricket”
Poem 2: “The Call of the Wild”
Structure
Stanzas?
Rhyme scheme?
Villanelle or sonnet?
Style
Point of view?
Examples of diction?
Figurative language?
Tone
Choose one or two words that define the author’s attitude towards the topic
Purpose
Why did the poet write this poem?
Meaning
What is the theme, or message, of the poem?
Part 3: Write Your Compare and Contrast Paragraph
Your paragraph will compare and contrast:
structure
style (point of view, diction, and figurative language)
tone
purpose
meaning
poet’s reasons for choices
impact on the reader
Type your compare and contrast paragraph here