CENTRAL IDEAS AND DETAILS

Poetry
(Summarize and predict)

EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example 1

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s 1597 play Romeo and Juliet. In this soliloquy, Juliet
wonders about her love interest, Romeo.

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot
Nor arm nor face nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Juliet wishes Romeo would abandon his family name so they can be together.
B. Juliet is angry with Romeo for being a Montague and wants him to leave.
C. Juliet believes names are meaningless and do not define a person.
D. Juliet wants to know the location of Romeo in the moment.
 Example 2

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. In this soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates
existential questions.

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Finally motivated to find peace, Hamlet looks back on his life of difficulties.
B. Contemplating the meaning of life, Hamlet is bothered by the uncertainties of death.
C. Suffering in life, Hamlet now realizes that rest is the solution to his obstacles.
D. Usually religious, Hamlet wishes his devotion will lead to a long and prosperous life.
 Question 1

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. In this scene, Lady Macbeth reflects on her
ambition and guilt.

Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why,

then, 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?—Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Lady Macbeth is angry at Macbeth for his cowardice.

B. Lady Macbeth is lamenting her inability to clean a bloodstain.
C. Lady Macbeth regrets her role in a violent crime.
D. Lady Macbeth is encouraging herself to remain strong and fearless.

Question 2

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play Othello. In this scene, Iago reveals his true nature.

Thus do I ever make my fool my purse:

For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane,
If I would time expend with such a snipe
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
Yet I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Iago admits he is deceiving others for personal gain.

B. Iago is contemplating whether Othello has wronged him.
C. Iago regrets spending time with foolish people.
D. Iago confesses his love for Desdemona.
 Question 3

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. In this scene, The speaker addresses
his daughter Miranda.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Acting is a profession best left to professionals.

B. Life and its achievements are fleeting.
C. There is a magical nature to this particular island.
D. Dreams are but a temporary feature of sleep.

Question 4

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play King Lear. In this scene, King Lear, alone, speaks
during a powerful storm.

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!

You cataracts and hurricanes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, all germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man!

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Desperate to avoid the storm, Lear seeks shelter as he appreciates the violence of nature.
B. Enraged by the thanklessness of his former acquaintances, Lear now expresses uncontrollable fury towards the
storm.
C. The power of the storm shocks Lear and helps him better appreciate the peace of normality.
D. Internal suffering comes to an end but the despair of the outside world continues.
 Question 5

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. In this scene, Brutus speaks to the
crowd following Caesar's assassination.

If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than
his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but
that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all
free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him:
but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honor for his valor; and death
for his ambition.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Brutus mourns Caesar’s death but justifies it as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of Rome.
B. Brutus regrets his actions and seeks forgiveness from the people for assassinating Caesar.
C. Brutus attempts to balance his respect for Caesar with the necessity of ending his perceived tyranny.
D. Brutus explains that his decision to kill Caesar was driven by a greater love for Rome and its freedom than for
Caesar himself.

Question 6

The following text is adapted from Langston Hughes's poem, reprinted in 2002, "Dreams".

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Dreams provide essential motivation and purpose in life.

B. Dreams often lead to disappointment and despair.
C. Dreams can be achieved easily if one sets realistic goals.
D. Dreams should be abandoned in favor of practical pursuits.
 Question 7

The following text is adapted from Emily Dickinson's 1891 poem "Hope is the thing with feathers".

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Hope is a deceptive emotion that leads to disappointment.

B. Hope is a burden that weighs heavily on the soul.
C. Hope is a fragile force that sustains people through difficult times.
D. Hope is an unrealistic expectation that people should avoid.

Question 8

The following text is adapted from Maya Angelou's 1978 poem "Still I Rise".

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. The speaker is angered by the unjust treatment she has received.

B. The speaker is proud of her accomplishments and refuses to be modest about them.
C. The speaker is indifferent to the opinions of others and lives her life without concern for their feelings.
D. The speaker remains resilient in the face of adversity and refuses to be defeated.
 Question 9

From T.S. Eliot's 1915 poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Romance only occurs at night-time.

B. Nature is often in competition with happiness.
C. Life’s similarities with stillness are notable.
D. Fear and uncertainty grow with age.

Question 10

The following text is adapted from Pablo Neruda's 1995 poem "If You Forget Me":

I want you to know

one thing.

You know how this is:

if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,

if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,

everything carries me to you,

as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. The speaker reflects on the beauty of nature and its connection to memories of a loved one.
B. The speaker describes the passage of time and the changes that come with each season.
C. The speaker expresses regret over past actions and seeks forgiveness.
D. The speaker is confused about his feelings for someone and struggles to understand them.
 Question 11

The following text is adapted from E.E. Cummings' 1952 poem "i carry your heart with me".

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

Which choice best describes the main idea of this excerpt?

A. The speaker describes a physical journey with a loved one.

B. The speaker expresses a deep emotional connection and unity with a loved one.
C. The speaker reflects on the passage of time and the changes it brings.
D. The speaker is nostalgic about a past relationship and the memories associated with it.