A Minor Bird Worksheet
A Minor Bird Worksheet
A Minor Bird Worksheet
7_First Term
A Minor Bird
By Robert Frost ( 1874 – 1963 )
1- Write brief notes on Robert Frost.
Robert Frost is an American modern poet, who was born in San Francisco,
California in March, 1874. His mother was a poetess and wanted to see her son as
a poet. Robert Frost has been recognized as a pastoral poet, whose love of nature
creates poetry dealing with rural, simple life. Pastoral poetry is a very ancient genre
of poetry, which deals with the loves of shepherds and country folk. In this work,
Frost writes about realistic new England life, through language and situations
familiar to the common man. He won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry four times.
2- How did the poet react to the singing of the little bird? Why?
The poet reveals a small incident and his reaction towards it. The reaction is not
unnatural and unusual. According to that, the poet is not ready to be pleased with a
song of a minor bird instead of being pleased, the poet becomes displeased and
annoyed. He decides to clap his hand to scare the bird and make it fly away. The poet
understands that the bird's tone and song are not the reason, he realizes something is
wrong with him. The busy and modern life humans are leading make it difficult for them
to enjoy nature and appreciate its beauty, by distracting people and disturbing their
concentration. However, people should always find some time to enjoy nature and
celebrate its beauty.
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American Language Schools English Department Literature _ Poetry G.7_First Term
5- What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it affect the
music in it?
The poem is a lyrical one because it reflects the poet's feelings. It has a rhyme and a
rhyme scheme. The poem comprises 4 stanzas. Each is made up of 2 lines, giving a total
8 lines and making each stanza a couplet. The stanzas are short and to the point to show
how practical the speaker is, since he is overwhelmed with the modern world. This poem
The use of alliteration contributes strongly to the rhyme and directs the
attention to particular words.
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American Language Schools English Department Literature _ Poetry G.7_First Term
Allegory
The poem is a social allegory. It has two levels of meaning. The first is about a man who is
annoyed by the sound of a bird. In the second level, the speaker represents the average
person in the modern world and the bird and its chirping represent nature.
Pun: a humorous use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sounds
like another word
This is a well-known joke based on a pun: "What's black and white and red (= read) all
over?" "A newspaper."
The poet uses the word ' play ' in the title of the poem 'A Minor Bird'.
The word 'minor' describes the bird in different ways. It is minor because it is small in size
and because it has a minor significance to the speaker. In addition to this, ' Minor Bird '
sounds like ' Mynbird ' which is a bird known for its capability of imitating human speech.