AICE Lit Poetry Exam Review with
Accurate Solutions
Speaker: Clod --> Outside Voice --> Pebble
Purpose: Experiences define opinions on love.
Subject: Opposing views on love
Tone: Optimistic, naive --> Neutral --> Pessimistic, experienced - ANSWER-"The Clod
and the Pebble"
William Blake
(Love and Family)
AO3: "In the Park"
Mom connects with Pebble view, because that has been her experience. -
ANSWER-"The Clod and the Pebble" Lit Devices
Symbolism in the clod and the pebble themselves. Clod is soft, has a softer view.
Pebble is hard, has a harder view.
Paradox of love being both selfish and selfless, the juxtaposition of the two characters
and their opposing experiences provides this paradox.
The iambic tetrameter gives the poem a nursery-like feel. It makes it simple and
understandable. Form mimics content, simple poem because the characters have
simple ideas.
Speaker: Heartbroken and lonely writer --> shifts to content (speaker 1) ; The
motivational sky (speaker 2)
Purpose: Through nature, one can find peace.
Subject: Coping with heartbreak
Tone: Devastated, sad, melancholy (stanzas 1-3) --> Supportive, Godlike (stanzas 4-6)
--> Relieved, empowered, enlightened (stanza 7-8) - ANSWER-"Passion"
Kathleen Raine
(Love and Family)
AO3: "Love III"
Love and sky are anthropomorphized as a God-like figure trying to make people feel
better. Comfort in higher power is present in both poems.
,Universal Theme: Higher powers of the world accept all people, even those who are
distraught. - ANSWER-"Passion" Lit Devices
Allusion to "Homer's ghosts" by referring to a famous author, it shows how the speaker
has poetic tendencies
The sky is anthropomorphized as a full character, helps gives the girl companionship
End-stopped lines slow the poem down, shows how slow growth is.
Speaker: Very devoted partner
Purpose: Love knows no bounds
Subject: What the speaker is willing to do to prove her love
Tone: Annoyed, frustrated --> Passionate, devoted - ANSWER-"Winter Song"
Elizabeth Tollet
(Love and Family)
AO3: "She Was a Phantom of Delight"
Both are declarations of love. Both use the same rhyme scheme and rhythm that
represents their togetherness and their long term relationship.
Universal theme: Love persists no matter what. - ANSWER-"Winter Song" Lit Devices
Alliteration of the 'W' sounds is harsh, used while describing the harsh conditions. "S"
sound mimics the windy conditions.
The poem uses couplets throughout to emphasize a consistent couple.
End-stopped lines are used to slow the poem down and let her words sink in. The slow
pace also shows the slow and steady journey of love.
Speaker: Insecure unworthy guy (speaker 1), and Love/God (speaker 2)
Purpose: Everyone is worthy of God's love
Subject: Forgiveness, religious love
Tone: Insecure, guilty --> Self-accepting (speaker 1); Reassuring, merciful (speaker 2) -
ANSWER-"Love (III)"
George Herbert
(Love and Family)
AO3: "Passion"
Both have speakers who are feeling down, then some divine power intervenes.
The symbolism of the "broken lyres" representing a broken tradition is used to place
emphasis on how the industrial revolution (mainly change) is scaring people.
, Speaker: Girl who is intrigued yet disgusted by eels.
Purpose: Nature can be simultaneously fascinating and disgusting.
Subject: The paradox of nature (fascinating and gross),
Tone: Curious, excited, fascinated. - ANSWER-"Eel Tail"
Alice Oswald
(Birds, Beasts, and The Weather)
AO3: "The Storm-Wind"
"The Storm-Wind" is about a guy who is witnessing a powerful storm from the safety of
his home. He feels secure enough to be intrigued by and admire the storm. "Eel Tail" is
about a girl in nature who is fascinated by the eels.
Universal Theme: Nature is both fascinating and powerful. - ANSWER-"Eel Tail" Lit
Devices
The free verse poem is unpredictable. This emulates the unpredictability of the eels.
The speaker never knows where they are going to go.
The repetition of the line "untranslatable hissed interruptions" emphasizes how the eels
are not understood.
Enjambment is used heavily, making the poem move very fast, which mimics how the
eel is very quick to run away from the speaker's view. There are also no periods used
throughout the poem. This is because the eels never stop running away, not just now,
but always.
Speaker: Nature empathizer, person watching a deer come to its sudden death.
Purpose: Death is inevitable, yet unexpected
Subject: The paradox of death
Tone: Amazed, disbelief ---> reflective - ANSWER-"The Buck in the Snow"
Edna St. Vincent Millay
(Birds, Beasts, and The Weather)
AO3: "The Lost Woman"
Universal theme: Death is unpredictable coping afterwards is different for everyone. -
ANSWER-"The Buck in the Snow" Lit Devices
Alliteration of "s" sounds create a quiet natural scene but, by the time the speaker is
saying this, she already knows the outcome, so it becomes sinister.
The paradoxical rhyme scheme mimics the paradox of death presented throughout the
poem.
Accurate Solutions
Speaker: Clod --> Outside Voice --> Pebble
Purpose: Experiences define opinions on love.
Subject: Opposing views on love
Tone: Optimistic, naive --> Neutral --> Pessimistic, experienced - ANSWER-"The Clod
and the Pebble"
William Blake
(Love and Family)
AO3: "In the Park"
Mom connects with Pebble view, because that has been her experience. -
ANSWER-"The Clod and the Pebble" Lit Devices
Symbolism in the clod and the pebble themselves. Clod is soft, has a softer view.
Pebble is hard, has a harder view.
Paradox of love being both selfish and selfless, the juxtaposition of the two characters
and their opposing experiences provides this paradox.
The iambic tetrameter gives the poem a nursery-like feel. It makes it simple and
understandable. Form mimics content, simple poem because the characters have
simple ideas.
Speaker: Heartbroken and lonely writer --> shifts to content (speaker 1) ; The
motivational sky (speaker 2)
Purpose: Through nature, one can find peace.
Subject: Coping with heartbreak
Tone: Devastated, sad, melancholy (stanzas 1-3) --> Supportive, Godlike (stanzas 4-6)
--> Relieved, empowered, enlightened (stanza 7-8) - ANSWER-"Passion"
Kathleen Raine
(Love and Family)
AO3: "Love III"
Love and sky are anthropomorphized as a God-like figure trying to make people feel
better. Comfort in higher power is present in both poems.
,Universal Theme: Higher powers of the world accept all people, even those who are
distraught. - ANSWER-"Passion" Lit Devices
Allusion to "Homer's ghosts" by referring to a famous author, it shows how the speaker
has poetic tendencies
The sky is anthropomorphized as a full character, helps gives the girl companionship
End-stopped lines slow the poem down, shows how slow growth is.
Speaker: Very devoted partner
Purpose: Love knows no bounds
Subject: What the speaker is willing to do to prove her love
Tone: Annoyed, frustrated --> Passionate, devoted - ANSWER-"Winter Song"
Elizabeth Tollet
(Love and Family)
AO3: "She Was a Phantom of Delight"
Both are declarations of love. Both use the same rhyme scheme and rhythm that
represents their togetherness and their long term relationship.
Universal theme: Love persists no matter what. - ANSWER-"Winter Song" Lit Devices
Alliteration of the 'W' sounds is harsh, used while describing the harsh conditions. "S"
sound mimics the windy conditions.
The poem uses couplets throughout to emphasize a consistent couple.
End-stopped lines are used to slow the poem down and let her words sink in. The slow
pace also shows the slow and steady journey of love.
Speaker: Insecure unworthy guy (speaker 1), and Love/God (speaker 2)
Purpose: Everyone is worthy of God's love
Subject: Forgiveness, religious love
Tone: Insecure, guilty --> Self-accepting (speaker 1); Reassuring, merciful (speaker 2) -
ANSWER-"Love (III)"
George Herbert
(Love and Family)
AO3: "Passion"
Both have speakers who are feeling down, then some divine power intervenes.
The symbolism of the "broken lyres" representing a broken tradition is used to place
emphasis on how the industrial revolution (mainly change) is scaring people.
, Speaker: Girl who is intrigued yet disgusted by eels.
Purpose: Nature can be simultaneously fascinating and disgusting.
Subject: The paradox of nature (fascinating and gross),
Tone: Curious, excited, fascinated. - ANSWER-"Eel Tail"
Alice Oswald
(Birds, Beasts, and The Weather)
AO3: "The Storm-Wind"
"The Storm-Wind" is about a guy who is witnessing a powerful storm from the safety of
his home. He feels secure enough to be intrigued by and admire the storm. "Eel Tail" is
about a girl in nature who is fascinated by the eels.
Universal Theme: Nature is both fascinating and powerful. - ANSWER-"Eel Tail" Lit
Devices
The free verse poem is unpredictable. This emulates the unpredictability of the eels.
The speaker never knows where they are going to go.
The repetition of the line "untranslatable hissed interruptions" emphasizes how the eels
are not understood.
Enjambment is used heavily, making the poem move very fast, which mimics how the
eel is very quick to run away from the speaker's view. There are also no periods used
throughout the poem. This is because the eels never stop running away, not just now,
but always.
Speaker: Nature empathizer, person watching a deer come to its sudden death.
Purpose: Death is inevitable, yet unexpected
Subject: The paradox of death
Tone: Amazed, disbelief ---> reflective - ANSWER-"The Buck in the Snow"
Edna St. Vincent Millay
(Birds, Beasts, and The Weather)
AO3: "The Lost Woman"
Universal theme: Death is unpredictable coping afterwards is different for everyone. -
ANSWER-"The Buck in the Snow" Lit Devices
Alliteration of "s" sounds create a quiet natural scene but, by the time the speaker is
saying this, she already knows the outcome, so it becomes sinister.
The paradoxical rhyme scheme mimics the paradox of death presented throughout the
poem.
