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Poetry Imagery Identification

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Poetry Imagery Identification

Read the original poem below. Then investigate how its sensory details and figurative language shape what you picture, hear and feel. Use evidence from the poem in your explanations.

The Harbour Before Dawn

Before dawn, the harbour held its breath. A silver path unrolled across the bay, while gulls stitched thin cries into the sky. Cold ropes rasped beneath my hands; fish-salt clung to the air. The boats, dark horses at their moorings, shifted and sighed against the tide. Then sunlight spilled like warm honey, and the sleeping water opened one bright eye.

1.Which phrase most clearly appeals to sight by describing a shape or colour? Select one.
  • “fish-salt clung to the air”
  • “A silver path unrolled across the bay”
  • “Cold ropes rasped beneath my hands”
  • “gulls stitched thin cries into the sky”
2.Find one phrase that appeals to hearing and one that appeals to touch. Copy each phrase and name the sense it uses.
3.“The harbour held its breath” gives the harbour a human action. What technique is this, and what does it suggest about the harbour before dawn?
4.In “The boats, dark horses at their moorings,” what two things are compared, and what feature do they share?
5.“Then sunlight spilled like warm honey” is a simile. Which effect does the comparison create?
  • It makes the sunrise seem bright, golden and warm.
  • It suggests the sunlight is noisy and sharp.
  • It makes the harbour seem cold and colourless.
  • It suggests the boats are moving quickly.
6.The poet writes that “gulls stitched thin cries into the sky.” Explain how the verb “stitched” changes the image compared with simply saying the gulls “made” cries.
7.Which detail appeals most directly to smell?
  • “fish-salt clung to the air”
  • “one bright eye”
  • “dark horses”
  • “silver path”
8.The poem does not directly say what the water looks like before sunrise. What can you infer from “the sleeping water opened one bright eye”?
9.Choose two images from the poem that help create its changing mood. Describe the mood before sunrise and how it changes when sunlight appears.
10.Create one new sensory image for the harbour using sound, smell, taste or touch. Then name the sense it appeals to.

3 printable pages

  • Poetry Imagery Identification, page 1 of 3: The Harbour Before Dawn

    Page 1

  • Poetry Imagery Identification, page 2 of 3: 4. In “The boats, dark horses at their moorings,” what two things are compared, and what…

    Page 2

  • Poetry Imagery Identification, page 3 of 3: 9. Choose two images from the poem that help create its changing mood. Describe the mood…

    Page 3

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