Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Based on the word's connotation, what does the speaker's use of the word "straining" suggest?
answer
that the father is working very hard in the flowerbeds
question
Which of these words has a negative connotation?
answer
jealousy
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
Which statement best describes the effect of the alliteration in this excerpt?
answer
The alliteration creates pleasing and interesting sounds.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
Which statement best explains the effect of the word "firmly" in this excerpt?
answer
It shows that the father works with skill and control.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
Early fall—
the sea and the rice fields
all one green.
Which sentence best explains the similarities between the excerpt from "Digging" and the haiku?
answer
Both are concerned with the topic of farming.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging"
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
When the winter chrysanthemums go,
there's nothing to write about
but radishes.
What common concern do these poems share?
answer
Both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing.
question
Which lines from the poem "Digging" use assonance? Check all that apply.
answer
-The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
-Bends low, comes up twenty years away
-By God, the old man could handle a spade.
-Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests...
Which statement best describes the effect of the assonance in this excerpt?
answer
The assonance creates a pleasing and interesting sound.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
A crow
has settled on a bare branch—
autumn evening.
How does the structure of these poems differ?
answer
"Digging" has multiple stanzas of varying length, while Bashō's haiku has only one stanza of three lines.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Which words in the excerpt are linked by alliteration?
answer
cold, curt, cuts
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