Name: _________________________________
Figurative Language Poem 5

Sleep				
By Annie Matheson

SOFT silence of the summer night!
  Alive with wistful murmurings,
Enfold me in thy quiet might:
  Shake o’er my head thy slumb’rous wings,
    So cool and light:
  Let me forget all earthly things
    In sleep to-night!

Tired roses, passionately sweet,
  Are leaning on their cool green leaves,
The mignonette1 about my feet
  A maze of tangled fragrance weaves,
    Where dewdrops meet:
  Kind sleep the weary world bereaves
    Of noise and heat.

White lilies, pure as falling snow,
  And redolent2 of tenderness,
Are gently swaying to and fro,
  Lulled by the breath of evening less
    Than by the low
  Music of sleepy winds, that bless
    The buds that grow.

Review Questions	

The air is like a mother’s hand
  Laid softly on a throbbing brow,
And o’er the darksome, dewy land
  The peace of heaven is stealing now,
    While, hand in hand,
  Young angels tell the flowers how
    Their lives are planned.

From yon deep sky the quiet stars
  Look down with steadfast eloquence,
And God the prison-door unbars
  That held the mute world’s inmost sense
    From all the wars
  Of day’s loud hurry and turbulence;
And nothing now the silence mars
    Of love intense.

1. A plant with spikes of small fragrant flowers
2. Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something
	
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 three examples of personification: explain each example.

2.  Identify two examples of simile: explain which two things are being compared in each simile.

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

4.  What is the mood of this poem?  How does this poem make you feel?  Refer to text in your response.

5.  What is the subject of this poem?  What is it about?  Explain your response.

6.  What is the tone of this poem?  How does the speaker treat the subject of the poem?  Refer to text.