Selected Poems of William Blake

William Blake (1757-1827)

Reread the entire poem from beginning to end and circle the letter of the correct answer.

1. In the first stanza, the speaker was angry with

A) a friend.

B) a foe.

C) his friend and his foe.

2. In the first stanza, how did the speaker handle his anger toward his friend?

A) He told his friend about it and it went away.

B) He kept it to himself and it grew.

C) He kept it to himself and it went away.

3. In the first stanza, how did the speaker handle his anger toward his foe?

A) He told his friend about it and it went away.

B) He kept it to himself and it grew.

C) He kept it to himself and it went away.

4. In the second stanza, "It” refers to

A) tears.

B) smiles.

C) wrath.

5. In the second stanza, the speaker compares his wrath to

A) a flower.

B) a tree.

C) the sun.

6. In the third stanza, the foe

A) grows his own apple tree.

B) shines the speaker’s apple.

C) sees the speaker’s apple.

7. In the fourth stanza, the foe

A) sneaks into the speaker’s garden at night.

B) invites the speaker into his garden.

C) attacks the speaker at night.

8. At the end of the poem, the foe

A) is waiting to kill the speaker with an apple.

B) has been killed by the poisonous apple.

C) has been killed by the speaker.

9. Which sentence best summarizes the theme of “A Poison Tree”?

A) What goes around comes around.

B) A person can choose to control their emotions.

C) Everyone deserves a second chance at life.

D) Jealousy is worse than anger.

E) Strong emotions can be controlled by relaxing.

Tyger [1794]

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Questions for Discussion

1. In the context of the poem, "fearful" means

A) indecisive.

B) frightened.

C) frightening.

D) doubtful.

2. In line 10, "sinews" connotes

A) cunning.

B) complexity.

C) terror.

D) strength.

3. In the fourth stanza, the Tyger's maker is implicitly compared to

A) a carpenter.

B) a warrior.

C) a blacksmith.

D) a jeweler.

4. The poem uses all of the following rhetorical figures except

A) apostrophe.

B) alliteration.

C) simile.

D) metaphor.

5. The speaker’s attitude toward the tiger can best be described as

A) affectionate.

B) horrified.

C) reverent.

D) contemptuous.

6. The speaker regards the lamb as being the tiger’s

A) companion.

B) opposite.

C) child.

D) personality.

7. Several images in the poem compare the tiger to

A) other creatures.

B) fire, heat, and brightness.

C) the mortality of all people.

D) powerful heroes of Greek literature.

8. The speaker wonders if the tiger’s creator

A) is still at work

B) survived the process of creation

C) is good or evil

D) intended to make such a creature

9. The symmetry of the poem is enhanced by the

A) appearance of the lamb

B) narrator’s confusion

C) repetition of the first stanza

D) image of the furnace

1b, 2d, 3c, 4c

The Lamb [1789]

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb.

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Questions for Discussion

1. What is the theme of this poem?

A) The lamb and the speaker are alone in the world.

B) All creatures face uncertain futures.

C) Animals provide joy to humankind.

D) All creatures in the world are one with God.

E) God created animals to meet the needs of humanity.

2. How does the speaker identify himself in the second stanza?

A) As a child and a Christian

B) As a meek and mild individual

C) As a lamb

D) As a seeker of truth

E) As a simple unnamed person

3. One could assume from this poem that the poet was concerned with which of the following?

A) Simple everyday life

B) Social injustice

C) Animal husbandry

D) The beauty of nature

E) Faith and the heavenly realm

4. Why would Blake choose to use so many monosyllabic words in this poem?

A) Less complicated to rhyme

B) To give a quick rhythm to the poem

C) To create a childlike, innocent mood

D) To mirror the movement of the young animal and the child

E) To give an uplifting feel to the poem

5. How would Blake characterize the creator imagined in this poem?

A) Demanding and forgiving

B) Quiet and remote

C) Friendly and understanding

D) Gentle and compassionate

E) Protective and wise

6. What two things does the lamb symbolize?

A) Creation and rebirth

B) Innocence and longing

C) Shyness and inquisitiveness

D) Spring and rebirth

E) Innocence and Christ

7. What is the best way to characterize this poem?

A) A childlike fantasy

B) A summary of a religious belief (creed)

C) Complex

D) Unsentimental

E) Didactic

8. What device does Blake use to create the poem’s mood?

A) Simile

B) Repetition

C) Alliteration

D) Conceit

E) Onomatopoeia

9. What are the dominant literary devices in the poem?

A) Allusion and simile

B) Personification and caricature

C) Apostrophe and metaphor

D) Allegory and apostrophe

E) Pastoral and metaphor

10. The speaker’s questions refer to the lamb’s

A) meekness.

B) diet.

C) creator.

D) name.

11. One image the speaker uses to describe Christ is a

A) green meadow.

B) powerful man.

C) voice.

D) child.

12. The speaker seems to be impressed by the lamb’s qualities, which provide

A) joy and mildness.

B) energy and enthusiasm.

C) wisdom and intelligence.

D) innocence and humor.

13. The lamb is a symbol of

A) light.

B) corruption.

C) brevity.

D) innocence.

14. The poem builds to a

A) blessing of the lamb.

B) question.

C) description of the lamb’s enthusiasm.

D) detailed summary of the lamb’s behavior.

1d, 2a, 3e, 4c, 5d, 6e, 7e, 8b, 9c

London [1794]

I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,

And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,

In every Infant's cry of fear,

In every voice, in every ban,

The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry

Every black'ning Church appalls;

And the hapless Soldier's sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro' midnight streets I hear

How the youthful Harlot's curse

Blasts the new born Infant's tear,

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

Questions for Discussion

1. The rhyme scheme of this poem is

A) AABB.

B) ABCB.

C) ABAB.

D) ABBA.

2. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of "London"?

A) personification

B) repetition

C) alliteration

D) meter

3. Manacles are

A) fences.

B) shackles.

C) weapons.

D) ladders.

4. A harlot is

A) a pickpocket.

B) a street merchant.

C) a child laborer.

D) a prostitute.

5. Blake presents the city as a place of

A) architectural splendor.

B) exploitation and oppression.

C) variety and mystery.

D) culture and sophistication.

A Cradle Song [1789]

Sweet dreams form a shade,

O'er my lovely infants head.

Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,

By happy silent moony beams

Sweet sleep with soft down.

Weave thy brows an infant crown.

Sweet sleep Angel mild,

Hover o'er my happy child.

Sweet smiles in the night,

Hover over my delight.

Sweet smiles Mother's smiles,

All the livelong night beguiles.

Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,

Chase not slumber from thy eyes,

Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,

All the dovelike moans beguiles.

Sleep sleep happy child,

All creation slept and smil'd.

Sleep sleep, happy sleep.

While o'er thee thy mother weep

Sweet babe in thy face,

Holy image I can trace.

Sweet babe once like thee.

Thy maker lay and wept for me

Wept for me for thee for all,

When he was an infant small.

Thou his image ever see.

Heavenly face that smiles on thee,

Smiles on thee on me on all,

Who became an infant small,

Infant smiles are His own smiles,

Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.

Questions for Discussion

1. In "A Cradle Song," the speaker is?

A) A father

B) A mother

C) God

D) A child

2. In "A Cradle Song," the speaker is sitting?

A) On a riverside

B) In a bedroom

C) Under a tree

D) In church

3. In "A Cradle Song," the time of day is?

A) Noon

B) Evening

C) Morning

D) There is no way to tell

4. In "A Cradle Song," the speaker fears?

A) That her child may have nightmares

B) The loss of innocence for her child

C) The demons who come in the night

D) That her child will die in its sleep

Hear the Voice [1794]

Hear the voice of the Bard,

Who present, past, and future, sees;

Whose ears have heard

The Holy Word

That walk'd among the ancient trees;

Calling the lapsed soul,

And weeping in the evening dew;

That might control

The starry pole,

And fallen, fallen light renew!

"O Earth, O Earth, return!

Arise from out the dewy grass!

Night is worn,

And the morn

Rises from the slumbrous mass.

"Turn away no more;

Why wilt thou turn away?

The starry floor,

The watery shore,

Is given thee till the break of day."

Questions for Discussion

1. In "Hear thy voice," the speaker is?

A) The bard

B) Earth

C) A lapsed soul

D) God

2. In "Hear thy voice," the "ancient trees" is a reference to?

A) Jerusalem

B) Hell

C) Sherwood Forest

D) The Garden of Eden

3. In "Hear thy voice," the "Holy Word" is a reference to?

A) The American Revolution

B) The King

C) The French Revolution

D) Religion

4. In "Hear thy voice," the Earth is returning from?

A) The starry floor

B) The morning

C) The wat'ry shore

D) The night

Mad Song [1783]

The wild winds weep,

And the night is a-cold;

Come hither, Sleep,

And my griefs enfold! . . .

But lo! the morning peeps

Over the eastern steeps,

And the rustling beds of dawn

The earth do scorn.

Lo! to the vault

Of pavèd heaven,

With sorrow fraught,

My notes are driven:

They strike the ear of Night,

Make weak the eyes of Day;

They make mad the roaring winds,

And with the tempests play,

Like a fiend in a cloud,

With howling woe

After night I do crowd

And with night will go;

I turn my back to the east

From whence comforts have increased;

For light doth seize my brain

With frantic pain.

Questions for Discussion

1. In "Mad Song," the speaker compares his imagination to?

A) Roaring winds

B) Morning peeps

C) Eastern steeps

D) Rustling birds

2. An example of personification in "Mad Song" is?

A) Like a fiend in a cloud

B) The morning peeps

C) The rustling birds

D) Light doth seize

3. One of the overall moods of the speaker in "Mad Song" is?

A) Dejection

B) Fear

C) Determination

D) Resignation

Return to the bookshelf