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Worksheet: On the Grasshopper and the Cricket

Keats vas born in England in 1795 and died of tuberculosis when he was just 25, by which time he had composed an astonishing amount of powerful poetry.

1-Vocabulary :

a) match words or phrases and definition

To be faint / A grassy field
hedge / High-pitched sound
New-mown (to mow) / Made delicatly and elaboratly
To take the lead / Great pleasure
delights / A state produced by sleepiness
To be done with / To take the directing part
To be tired out / Recently cut down
weed / Exhausted
Wrought (old fashioned form of ‘worked’) / A row of closely planted vegetation
shrills / Small plant
drowsiness / Feeling weak for a moment
mead / finished

b)Can you identify 2 or 3 vocabulary fields that might help you define some of the themes of this poem ?

c)A grasshopper and a cricket : what do they have in common ?

what is different ?

2-Structure :

A)Recognising form :

a)How many lines are there in the poem ?

b)What is the rhyming scheme ? a c

b

c)How many parts can you distinguish ?

d)Can you give 2 -3 alternative titles to each part ?

e)How many lines are there in each part ?

Conclusion : This poem is a ______

(and more specifically Petrarchan.)

How does that help you understand the meaning of the poem ?

B)Punctuation and lay-out :

a)How many sentences are there in the poem ?

b)What is the use of the columns ?

c)What is the uses of the dashes ?

d)What is the effect of the enjambments ?

Conclusion : How does punctuation contribute to the meaning of the poem ?

C)Word order : Do any words or phrases stand out ?

3-Sound : recognising literary devices

a)Pattern of stress

From hedge to hedge : which words are stressed ? How is this relevant ?

Is this beat the same in all the poem ?

b)Repeated sounds : give at least 5 examples

4-Reaching meaning :

A- Literary background :

a)Animals in poetry : Can you give other examples ?

b)Seasons in poetry : What are the usual metaphors associated with seasons ?

c) Nature and the Poet : What links can be established ?

B- What mood did Keats want to convey ?

a) Give 3 adjectives that describe the atmosphere of the octave

b) Give 3 adjectives that describe the atmosphere of the sestet

C- Metaphorical meaning :

How do you understand the poem ? What did the poet say about poetry itself ?

5- Follow-up : Look at the following poem

Green little vaulter in the sunny grass,

Catching your heart up at the feel of June,

Sole voice that's heard amidst the lazy noon,

When even the bees lag at the summoning brass,

And you, warm little housekeeper, who class

With those who think the candles come too soon,

Loving the fire, and with your tricksome tune

Nick the glad silent moments as they pass;

Oh sweet and tiny cousins, that belong,

One to the fields, the other to the hearth,

Both have your sunshine; both, though small, are strong

At your clear hearts; and both seem given to earth

To ring in thoughtful ears this natural song --

In doors and out, summer and winter, mirth.

Can you see any link to Keat’s poem ? (That is no coincidence !)