10A and 10B, you must study for a quiz that I will be giving you over Robert Browning's The Pied Piper. I will give this quiz on the day that we return from Chusok Vacation. The answers to the comprehension questions are posted below. It is your responsibility to study these questions and answers. Happy Chusok!!
I have posted the questions and answers in the comments section of this post.
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3 comments:
1. What is the only thing that the mayor cares about?
The only thing that the mayor cares about is food. His eyes only shine when it is close to lunch time. (ll.46-52)
2. What is the Pied Piper’s talent?
He has the ability to charm all kinds of pests, vermin, or anything that bothers people so that those things follow after him. (ll.71-78)
3. What is the Pied Piper’s behavior?
When he is not playing his pipe, his hands twitch as if they long to be playing the pipe. (ll.84-87)
4. What does the Pied Piper ask for in exchange for his services?
He asks for a 1000 Guilders. (ll.95)
5. Who the speaker from lines 125-145—what do you learn about the Pied Piper’s song from this speaker?
The speaker from lines 125-145 is the one rat that survived the Pied Piper’s hypnotizing song. The song sounded like the moments when people left food out for the rats to devour—like when a cupboard full of delicious food was left open, or apples were put into a cider press, or butter casks were broken. The song told the rats to rejoice because the world had turned into a big store full of food for their taking. (ll. 127-138)
6. Why does the mayor think that it’s okay to not pay the Pied Piper?
The Mayor thinks that now that the rats have been killed, there is no way that the Piper can bring the rats back to life, so he doesn’t think there will be any negative consequences for not keeping his word. (ll.166)
7. What does the Pied Piper say he will do when the mayor refuses to pay the Pied Piper?
The Piper says that when people make him angry, they will see him play his pipe in a different way than he normally does. (ll. 183-184)
8. What is the mayor’s response to this threat?
The mayor taunts the Piper saying “Do your worst! Blow until your pipe bursts!” (ll. 189-190)
9. What happens when the Pied Piper blows his flute for the second time?
When he blows his flute for the second time, all of the children in the town come running and follow him. (ll. 202-208)
10. Where does the Pied Piper lead the children?
He first leads them to the river, but then turns and leads them into the mountains. Once they reach the mountain, a magical door opens revealing a cave— when all of the children are in the cave, it shuts and they are locked inside. (ll. 216-231)
11. Who is the speaker in lines 234-255? What do you learn about the Pied-Piper’s song to the children through this account?
The speaker in lines 234-255 is one lame child that could not keep up with the other children as they followed the piper. We learn that the children follow the Piper because of the wonderful things that his song promises to them. (ll.239-250)
12. Describe the place that the Pied Piper promises to take the children.
He promised he would take them to a joyous land full of trees and flowers, where animals and birds were brighter, where all deformities were healed, and threatening animals no longer were dangerous. (ll. 239-250)
13. In part XIV, there is a reference to a text—what text is this? How does Luke 18:25 relate to the story?
This text is the Bible. Luke 18:25 says “Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” This text relates to the story because Hamelin was punished when the mayor and the council did not want to pay him the money they owed him. The government officials were rich and enjoyed their rich lifestyle—their money was an idol and it kept them from keeping their word. (ll.256-260)
14. After all the children were taken away, how did Hamelin try to change its laws?
The lawyers of Hamelin set apart the street where the children were last and named it the Pied Piper’s Street. It was against the law to play any musical instruments on this street, and any person who did something like that would be shunned and refused business in the town. Across from the cavern where the children had been taken to they put a large column that told the story, and on the church windows, they portray the story in the stained glass. (ll.276-286)
15. What is the lesson that the poet tries to teach through this story?
The poet says that we should learn to pay our debts too all that we owe—especially to pipers! He also says that it’s important to keep any promise that we make. (ll. 300-303)
16. Using letters to indicate the rhyming lines, write out the rhyme scheme of the first stanza. Look at the second stanza; is the same rhyme pattern used? Check the third.
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is ABCCCBDDC. The second stanza’s rhyme pattern is AABABAAACCA, so it is significantly different. The third stanza also has a different rhyme pattern- its pattern is ABABCCCDDEEEFF.
17. List several examples of onomatopoeia.
“Makes my heart go pit-a-pat.” (ll.54)
“There was a rustling” (l.196)
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering” (l.199)
18. What purpose does repetition serve in lines 42 and 111-112?
The repetition of the word trap emphasizes how many rats there are and how many traps are needed to catch them. It also emphasizes the dire need for a solution to their problem. The list of the variety of rats also emphasizes the myriad number of rats that have taken over the city.
19. Although most of the story in the poem is told in the third person objectively, who are the two speakers who add their experience in lines 127-145 and lines 236-255? What is the advantage of having these additional speakers tell part of the story?
The two speakers are the two beings that escaped from the Pied Piper’s call. The first, the only rat to survive, told how the song sounded like many different kinds of food containers being opened or spilled and his story helps the reader understand why the rats followed the Pied Piper until the point of death. It also serves to add a bit of humor to the situation since the rat is personified and has a role that is the rat equivalent to the poem’s narrator—it lightens the tone of the poem. The second narrator, the lame child who was left behind because he could not keep up with the other children, also helps the reader understand why the children followed the Pied Piper into the mountain cavern. However, this narrator, unlike the rat, darkens the tone of the poem, since this child is said to tell his story with great sorrow since he was without playmates (ll.234-239) and since he was not able to enter the lovely land that the Pied Piper promised to him. (ll.239-247)
Thank you Ms. Jones!!
Have nice Chusok and see you on Wednesday!
Dear Hannah,
I hope that your Chuseok has been wonderful. Please say hello to your very kind family for me. :)
Love,
Miss Jones
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