Name: Date:

A Simple Love Poem

Your gran'ma, in her youth, was quite

As blithe a little maid as you.
And, though her hair is snowy white,
Her eyes still have their maiden blue,
And on her checks, as fair as thine,
Methinks a girlish blush would glow
If she recalled the valentine
She got, ah! many years ago.

A valorous youth loved gran'ma then,

And wooed her in that auld lang syne;
And first he told his secret when
He sent the maid that valentine,
No perfumed page nor sheet of gold
Was that first hint of love he sent,
But with the secret gran'pa told---
"I love you"---gran'ma was content.

Go, ask your gran'ma if you will,

If---though her head be bowed and gray---
If---though her feeble pulse be chill---
True love abideth not for aye;
By that quaint portrait on the wall,
That smiles upon her from above,
Methinks your gran'ma can recall
The sweet divinity of love.

Dear Elsie, here 's no page of gold---

No sheet embossed with cunning art---
But here 's a solemn pledge of old:
"I love you, love, with all my heart."
And if in what I send you here
You read not all of love expressed,
Go---go to gran'ma, Elsie dear,
And she will tell you all the rest!

1. Which sentence summarizes the speaker's thoughts in A Valentine?

a. Love requires fancy notes and gifts.
b. A simple "I love you" is good enough.
c. Grandma looks the same as when she was young.
d. Grandma has started to look a lot older and has white hair.

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2. Which lines from the poem show evidence of the answer to Part A?
a. And, though her hair is snowy white,/Her eyes still have their maiden blue,
b. No perfumed page nor sheet of gold/Was that first hint of love he sent,
c. But with the secret gran'pa told---/"I love you"---gran'ma was content.
d. If---though her head be bowed and gray---/If---though her feeble pulse be chill---

3. What is the meaning of the word wooed from line 10 of the poem?
a. complimented
b. tried to get their attention
c. sought the love of
d. angered

4. Which lines from the poem best demonstrate the answer to Part A?
a. And first he told his secret when/He sent the maid that valentine,
b. By that quaint portrait on the wall,/That smiles upon her from above,
c. Dear Elsie, here 's no page of gold---/No sheet embossed with cunning art---
d. Go---go to gran'ma, Elsie dear,/And she will tell you all the rest!

5. How do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise,
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints -I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Think about how poem 1 (A Valentine) and poem 2 (How Do I Love Thee) communicate
ideas by using different structures.

For each structural element listed below, determine whether it fits poem 1, poem 2, or both.

Dialogue
Rhyme scheme
First person
Multiple stanzas

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