Name: _________________________________
Figurative Language Poem 4

The Dawn’s Awake				
By Otto Leland Bohanan 

The Dawn's awake!
  A flash of smoldering flame and fire
Ignites the East. Then, higher, higher,
  O'er all the sky so gray, forlorn1,
  The torch of gold is borne.

The Dawn's awake!
  The dawn of a thousand dreams and thrills.
And music singing in the hills
  A paean2 of eternal spring
  Voices the new awakening.

The Dawn's awake!
  Whispers of pent-up harmonies,
With the mingled fragrance of the trees;
    Faint snatches of half-forgotten song--
  Fathers! torn and numb,--
    The boon of light we craved, awaited long,
  Has come, has come!	

1. Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely:
2.  A song of praise or triumph.	

Review Questions 

Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your ability.  Answer the questions completely.  If you need more space, use the back or a separate sheet.

1.  Identify two examples of personification: explain what is being personified & how in each example.

2.  Identify an example of hyperbole: explain how it is exaggerated.

3.  Identify an example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.

4.  Find three examples of imagery in the poem that access three different senses.  Explain which senses are called on by the speaker for each example. 

5.  Contrast the tone of this line “Fathers! torn and numb,--” with the tone of the rest of the poem.  How is this line different and why do you think that it is?

6.  This poem was written by an African American poet during the Harlem Renaissance.  Knowing this, how might one interpret the “Dawn” beyond its literal meaning?  What might the “Dawn” represent?