Meter & Rhythm
The meter of “The Drought” is most like this.
A calm heartbeat.
A sonnet has this many lines.
Fourteen
What does calling the field a “grave” (line 10) suggest
The field/crop seems dead.
This emphasizes loss and how severe the drought is.
What is the farmer’s problem in lines 1–6?
He lost his crops to a drought.
Based on lines 11–14, the farmer would most likely agree with: __________.
Look for the silver lining
The glass is half full
Find the bright side
Which of these elements are not present in the sonnet.
Meter
Rhyme
Dialogue
Stanzas
Dialogue
Stanzas
All Shakespearean sonnets follow this rhyme scheme
abab cdcd efef gg
What is one effect of commas in lines 11–12?
They slow the rhythm / create pauses.
This make the thought feel more reflective.
Based on lines 11–12, what can you infer about the farmer’s attitude toward the drought?
He’s hopeful / persistent (he hasn’t given up).
“trust that rain can make a friend”
Which two ideas are explored in the poem?
Persistence
Change
Labor
Anger
Rebellion
Persistence
Labor
Name the pattern a lot of sonnets use: da-DUM repeated five times.
Iambic Pentameter
What do we call the final two lines of a Shakespearean sonnet?
A couplet
Almost every line begins with a lowercase letter.
What effect can that have?
It can make the poem feel continuous/flowing, like one ongoing thought.
The word “breath” in the last line represents _______.
Life
What is the theme?
There is hope even in the worst situations.
Meter mostly affects the poem's _____________.
Rhythm or Pace
The rhyme plains/veins mostly does what?
It bonds the farmer to the plains.
The first eight lines are one sentence.
Why did the poet do that?
To present the issue connecting the farmer to the plain/land.
What can we infer about the farmer?
Which line best support this inference?
He is an old man
Line 11: "in years he's learned"
How does the couplet shift the poem’s feeling (Mood)?
Earlier the lines feel hopeless or sad. The couplet shifts the mood to hopeful.
When a poet changes the meter or rhythm, it can impact the poem's __________.
Meaning
What is the rhyme scheme for lines 9-14?
ababcc
In lines 6–8, the poem uses personification ("bitterness," “starved,” “make a friend”).
What’s a reasonable effect?
It shows the crop suffered because of no rain.
Also, suggests hope the rain will return and help.
What can you infer about the farmer’s relationship to the land (not just his job)?
The land's condition affects him as if it’s part of his own life.
What does the farmer do at the end that shows hope?
He sifts the dusty earth and looks for “breath” (life) in the broken land.