TERM 2.

2 Year 9 Poetry Assessment

NAME:

Section A: Read the Text below and then answer questions 1–5.

The skin cracks like a pod.

There never is enough water.

Imagine the drip of it,

the small splash, echo
Sss in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.

Sometimes, the sudden rush

of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation : every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminum,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,

and naked children

screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.

1. Find two words or phrases that describes water. [2 marks]

2. Find two words that show the poverty of the community. [2 marks]

3. Find 2 words or phrases that link to the idea that water is extremely important. [2 marks]
4. List 2 examples of onomatopoeia used to emphasise the daily shortage of water in Stanza 2. [2
marks]

5. What is the effect of the metaphor ‘liquid sun’? [2 marks]

6. Explain in your own words how the poet describes the contrast between the adults response and
the children’s response to the burst pipe. [5 marks]

7. Using your own words, explain what the poet means by each of the words/phrases below [5
marks]:

Cracks-

Congregation-

Frantic hands-

Roar of tongues-

Huts-

Total Marks: /20

Section B: Writing

Choose a character from the poem (either the adults or children). Write your diary entry detailing
the events of the poem.

You should consider:

 Their reactions to the burst pipes

 The character’s deepest thoughts and feelings
 Their plans and hopes

Base your diary entry on what you have read in the poem but be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the three bullets.

Write about 200 to 250 words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer and up
to 15 marks for the quality of your writing.

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[30 marks]