“Fear”
“The Street”
“Spring and All”
Study Guide

1. Who is the speaker in “Fear”?

2. Describe three fears the speaker has?

3. What happens in the first stanza of “ The Street”?

4. Find three details that give “Fear” the quality of a fairy tale.

5. In “Fear” what is the common element in each of the fears the speaker expresses?

6. Show how there are two speakers in “The Street” and explain who they are?

7. In what way does “The Street” resemble a nightmare?

8. What does the speaker see in the sky and the earth?

9. Why do you think the poet sets a spring scene near a hospital?

Self-Test
"Spring and All," William Carlos Williams
"Fear," Gabriela Mistral
"The street," Octavio Paz
1. In "Spring and All," why does the poet set a spring scene near a hospital?
The scene is set near a hospital to suggest that spring is a season of illness.
The scene is set near a hospital to suggest that survival is a struggle.
The scene is set near a hospital to indicate that spring is a bitter season.

2. What does the coming of spring mean to Williams?
Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal.
Spring is a time of dull, rainy days.
Spring is a beginning of unseasonable weather.



3. In "Fear," what is the common element in each of the fears the speaker expresses?
The common element is that the daughter will grow old.
The common element is that the daughter will disappear.
The common element is that the daughter will become independent.

4. What aspects of "Fear" give the poem the quality of a fairy tale?
The princess, the golden slippers, and the throne give it the quality of being a fairy tale.
The birds, the sky, and the meadow give it the quality of being a fairy tale.
The mother, the daughter, and the others give it the quality of being a fairy tale.

5. In what way does "The street" resemble a nightmare?
It reveals the cruelty of strangers.
It describes a situation that keeps going around in circles.
It depicts the dangers of driving.