Mother, any distance greater than a single span Quizzes

Mother, any distance greater than a single span Quiz

1 What is the official title of this poem?
The poem is untitled and so the first line is used to refer to the poem

"Mother"

"Mother, May I"

"Distance"
2 What collection does this poem come from?
The Owl and the Nightingale

Zoom!

Book of Matches

Seeing Stars
3 When was the collection published?
2003

1986

1993

2002
4 Finish this line: "Mother, any distance greater___"
than five acres

longer than my hand

than a single span

than a certain span
5 In the poem, the word "hands" is a ___?
Metonym

Simile

Metaphor

Synecdoche
6 What is a metaphor?
A figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself

When the subject of the poem is described by comparing it to another object or subject, using 'as' or 'like'

The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

Poetic device where an object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object
7 Define synecdoche.
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Poetic device where an object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object

A literary device where a word for a small component of something can stand in rhetorically for the larger whole

A figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself
8 What does the speaker's mother help him do?
Write a poem.

Build a house.

Save his grade.

Measure the floors, walls, and fixtures in a house.
9 Fill in the missing words: "the ___ of the walls, the ___ of the floors."
miles...desert

smoothness...wetness

acres...prairies

prairies...acres
10 Where is the mother situated as they measure?
The mother wanders upstairs after the speaker takes too long to report back measurements.

The mother accompanies the speaker through the house.

The mother stands at the "zero-end," or the base of the measuring tape on the third floor of the house.

The mother stands at the "zero-end," or the base of the measuring tape on the first floor of the house.
11 What does the line "[unreel]" between the speaker and his mother?
Years

Love

Anger

Measurements
12 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Blank verse

Common meter

Free verse
13 What two objects are used to describe the speaker's relationship with his mother?
An anchor and a kite

A measuring tape and a rope

A safety tether and a chain

An umbilical cord and a string
14 Which is an example of alliteration?
feeding out, unreeling

reporting metres

single span

space-walk
15 What is alliteration?
A figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself

Poetic device where an object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object

When two or more words in a line or verse of a poem start with the same letter or sound

The repetition of the vowel sound across words within the lines of the poem creating internal rhymes
16 What poetic form is this poem in conversation with?
Sonnet

Ode

Sestina

Villanelle
17 Which of the following adds a layer of complexity to the speaker's relationship with his mother?
Describing the way the mother pinches the last one-hundredth of an inch of tape

The way the speaker measures windows

The way the floors are described as prairies

The way the mother stands at the zero-end
18 Describe the syllabic classification of the word "mother."
Trochee: stressed syllable followed by unstressed

Dactyl: stressed syllable followed by two unstressed

Iamb: stressed syllable followed by unstressed

Iamb: unstressed syllable followed by stressed
19 What is a pelmet?
A measuring device

A hard or padded protective hat

A narrow border of cloth or wood, fitted across the top of a door or window to conceal the curtain fittings.

A weapon
20 What do anchors, kites, and astronauts have in common?
One must have a lot of experience to use them

They all are toys

They all are dangerous

They involve a connection via a string, rope, tether, or chain
21 When the speaker climbs the ladder to the loft, what happens?
He finishes all his measurements

He reaches the breaking point in his relationship with his mother

He decides to walk back downstairs

He expresses gratitude to his mother
22 Which is an example of alliteration?
towards a hatch

I reach

to fall or fly.

Anchor. Kite.
23 Which is not a theme in this poem?
Taking Care of the Elderly

Love and Distance

Coming of Age

Relationship to Mother
24 What does the speaker do when he gets to the loft of the house?
He smokes a cigarette

He reaches towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky

He climbs onto the roof

He flies a kite
25 What does the sky represent?
The known and comfortable

The endless possibilities for success and failure that come with being an adult

The speaker's relationship with his mother

A childhood sense of adventure

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