How do you SEE the world?

Before Reading
Windshield Wiper
Poem by Eve Merriam
Night Journey
Poem by Theodore Roethke
How do you
SEE the world?
READING 4 Understand, make
inferences, and draw conclusions
about the structure and elements
of poetry. 8 Explain how authors
create meaning through stylistic
elements emphasizing the use of
refrains. RC-6(D) Make inferences
and use textual evidence to
support understanding.
When you stand on your head, the world looks very different, even
unfamiliar. Turning upside down is one way of changing your
perspective, or your way of seeing something. Perspective can also
be a mental outlook, or a way of responding to things that happen.
The poems you are about to read involve both physical and mental
perspective. Both poems are written from the perspective of looking
out a window, but they capture two very different responses.
LIST IT To get a sense of perspective, try looking a little differently at
something you see every day. Roll a piece of paper to form a tube,
and look through it at what’s around you. Make a list of everything
you see. Did you notice anything that you hadn’t noticed before?
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Meet the Authors
literary analysis: sound devices
You may have heard or read poems that sound almost
like songs. Poetry gets many of its musical qualities from
sound devices. Sound devices can reinforce meaning or add
emphasis. Three commonly used sound devices are
• refrain, the repetition of a word, phrase, or line (Example: It
was a good song, a sad song, a sweet song.)
• onomatopoeia (JnQE-mBtQE-pCPE), the use of words that
sound like their meanings (Examples: buzz, zap)
• alliteration, the repetition of the same consonant sound,
usually at the beginning of words (Example: magical
mountain mist)
A poet might use these devices to draw attention to a
particular line or idea. As you read “Windshield Wiper” and
“Night Journey,” record examples of these devices.
Repetition and
Refrain
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration
fog smog /
fog smog
Eve Merriam
1916–1992
Lover of Language
Eve Merriam’s advice on how to
appreciate poetry was “Eat it, drink it,
enjoy it, and share it.” Merriam began
writing poetry at age seven. She loved
rhythm and rhyme and the way poems
came to life when read aloud. After
college, she continued
to write poetry while
working as a writer
in advertising and
radio. Merriam
particularly enjoyed
sharing her love of
poetry with young
readers.
Theodore Roethke
1908–1963
reading skill: make inferences
You have to make inferences when you read almost any text.
An inference is an educated guess about some detail in a
text that is not clear, or that seems to suggest a meaning
well beyond its surface meaning.
Poetry usually uses fewer words than a short story or a
novel, so making inferences is one of the skills essential to
understanding a poem. When you read a poem, ask yourself:
• Why has the poet chosen to structure the poem this way?
How does the structure of the poem support its meaning?
• What do the images suggest about the way the writer feels
about the subject?
• What do the metaphors mean? What is the significance of
the comparisons the poet is making?
Reluctant Poet
Theodore Roethke spent his childhood
reading and longed to write beautifully,
but he struggled with the idea of
becoming a poet. Worried about
fitting in, he went to law school—
but quickly decided to
become a poet after all.
Roethke eventually
won a Pulitzer Prize
for his poetry. Much
of his work explores
the natural world and
memories of his
childhood.
• How does the rhythm or meter of the poem support its
meaning?
Authors Online
Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML6-615
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Windshield
Wiper
Play Audio
Eve Merriam
fog smog
tissue paper
clear the blear
5
fog more
splat splat
rubber scraper
overshoes
bumbershoot2
slosh through
10
fog smog
tissue paper
clear the smear
a
a
MAKE INFERENCES
Why do you think the
poet chooses to set the
poem up in this way—
with this unusual
spacing?
fog more
downpour
rubber scraper
macintosh1
muddle on
slosh through
drying up
drying up
sky lighter
sky lighter
nearly clear
nearly clear
clearing clearing veer b
clear here clear
b
SOUND DEVICES
How does the repetition
in these lines reflect the
subject of the poem?
1. macintosh: raincoat.
2. bumbershoot: umbrella.
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Night Journey
Play Audio
Theodore Roethke
5
10
15
20
25
Now as the train bears west, c
Its rhythm rocks the earth,
And from my Pullman berth1
I stare into the night
While others take their rest.
Bridges of iron lace, d
A suddenness of trees,
A lap of mountain mist
All cross my line of sight,
Then a bleak wasted place,
And a lake below my knees.
Full on my neck I feel
The straining at a curve;
My muscles move with steel,
I wake in every nerve.
I watch a beacon swing
From dark to blazing bright;
We thunder through ravines
And gullies washed with light.
Beyond the mountain pass
Mist deepens on the pane;
We rush into a rain
That rattles double glass. e
Wheels shake the roadbed stone,
The pistons jerk and shove,
I stay up half the night
To see the land I love.
c
SOUND DEVICES
One sound device poets
use is rhythm, the
repetition of stressed
and unstressed syllables.
Read this poem aloud
to feel its rhythm. How
do the short rhythmic
lines remind you of the
motion of the train?
d
MAKE INFERENCES
A metaphor is a
comparison between
two unlike things, which
helps you see something
in a new way. What is
the metaphor in line 6?
How does it help you
visualize the bridge?
e
SOUND DEVICES
What sound device
appears in lines 18, 23,
and 25? Record your
answer in your chart.
1. Pullman berth: A Pullman is a type of railroad
car invented by George Pullman (1831–1897). The
sleeping car featured private beds called berths.
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After Reading
Comprehension
1. Clarify What kinds of weather are described in “Windshield Wiper”?
2. Recall Name three things that the speaker sees in “Night Journey.”
READING 4 Understand, make
inferences, and draw conclusions
about the structure and elements
of poetry. 8 Explain how authors
create meaning through stylistic
elements emphasizing the use of
refrains. RC-6(D) Make inferences
and use textual evidence to
support understanding.
Literary Analysis
3. Understand Structure Take another look at the unusual way in which
“Windshield Wiper” is arranged on the page. What does it mean when
that space in the center disappears in lines 13 and 14?
4. Make Inferences Why does the poet arrange “Windshield Wiper” in an
unusual way? How does the structure of the poem support its meaning?
5. Examine Word Choice Skim “Night Journey” and list all the words you can
find that convey movement. Compare lists with a partner.
6. Analyze Sound Devices What sound devices did you find in each poem?
Review your chart to see where each poet uses refrain, onomatopoeia, and
alliteration. Which sound device is used most often in each poem?
7. Analyze Rhyme Create a
chart like the one shown,
and list the rhyming words
or phrases in each poem.
In which poem does rhyme
have a more important role?
Explain.
“Windshield Wiper”
Rhyming Words
and Phrases
“Night Journey”
blear / smear
Extension and Challenge
8.
SOCIAL STUDIES CONNECTION Read the excerpt from A Long
Hard Journey that begins on page 623. What further information
does the excerpt provide about the speaker’s trip in “Night Journey”?
How do you SEE the world?
Reread the list of observations you made for the activity on page 614.
Now look at the same scene again, without the paper tube. Did your
observations change when you changed your perspective?
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Conventions in Writing
grammar in context: Maintain Subject-Verb Agreement
You have already learned that a verb must agree with its subject in
number. A compound subject is made up of two or more subjects joined
by a conjunction, such as and or or. This conjunction is the clue that tells
you whether to use a singular or plural verb in the sentence. A compound
subject joined by and usually takes a plural verb. If a compound subject is
joined by or, the verb should agree with the part of the subject closer to it.
Original:
Bells or the train whistle mean the train is arriving.
Revised:
Bells or the train whistle means the train is arriving.
ORAL AND WRITTEN
CONVENTIONS 19C Use complete
sentences with correct subject-verb
agreement.
PRACTICE Choose the verb form that agrees with each compound subject.
1.
2.
3.
4.
A dining car or comfortable seats (makes, make) the trip more enjoyable.
My mother and I (plays, play) board games to pass the time.
My uncle and my grandparents (was, were) there to meet the train.
The conductor or the engineer (rings, ring) the whistle as the train leaves.
For more help with subject-verb agreement with compound subjects, see
page R65 in the Grammar Handbook.
reading-writing connection
YOUR
TURN
Broaden your understanding of “The Windshield Wiper” and “Night
Journey” by responding to the prompt. Then use the revising tip to
improve your writing.
writing prompt
revising tip
Extended Response: Analyze Two Poems
“Windshield Wiper” and “Night Journey”
differ greatly in their structure—even in the
way they look on the page. The poems also
differ in their messages—in what they say
to you. In a three-paragraph essay analyze
each poem, paying particular attention
to the structure of each poem and to the
message the poet is sending you. Use one
paragraph to talk about “Windshield Wiper,”
use another paragraph to talk about “Night
Journey,” and use the final paragraph to tell
how you responded to each poem and why.
Review your essay. Make
sure each sentence has
correct subject-verb
agreement. If you find
an error, correct it when
you revise your essay.
Interactive
Revision
Go to thinkcentral.com.
KEYWORD: HML6-621
windshield wiper / night journey
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