EXTEND – Tears, Idle Tears #639533 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 4 Recognise the key themes

Read the sentences and select the ones that accurately reflect the themes of the poem.

A:

Nostalgia for the past, with the speaker reflecting on times that cannot return.

B:

The inevitability of death and the impermanence of life.

C:

The beauty of nature as a joyful and comforting force.

D:

The paradoxical nature of memories.

E:

Regret over opportunities that might have been.

F:

Changes in society or historical events shaping the speaker's feelings of nostalgia.

Extend

Scelta multipla

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: past vs present

Read the text which reflects on Tennyson's perception of the past and the present and decide if the statements are true or false. Then, look at the prompts and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

- Refer to STEP 2 and STEP 4 to explain Tennyson's deliberate mixing of opposites in his poetry.
- Refer to section 7.8 in your textbook and, in particular, the paragraph 'A poet of the age', to elaborate on Tennyson's involvement with his time and his desire to look beyond it.
- Refer to the line 'So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more' of the poem and explain how it might relate to Tennyson's belief that the past could be as tangible as the present.

A:

According to the text, Tennyson's poetry and his experience of reality often blurred conventional opposites, such as proximity and distance or past and present.

B:

For Tennyson, the present was always more real than the past.

C:

The text indicates that Tennyson fully separated himself from his contemporary world, living almost entirely in the past and myth.

D:

The author states that Tennyson's imagination went beyond the boundaries of his time.

Extend

Vero o falso

STEP 1 Skim for gist and find out more about memory

Match each stanza to its main message. Write the correct letters (A-D) in the gaps.

1 First stanza      ________
2 Second stanza      ________
3 Third stanza      ________
4 Fourth stanza      ________

A Memories of love are precious and painful at the same time.
B The speaker reflects on how memories can suddenly produce deep sadness.
C Memories are compared to the painful awareness of death and the final moments of life.
D Memories are described through images of reunion and departure from friends.

Extend

Completamento aperto

STEP 2 Scan the poem and focus on details

Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences about some important details of the poem.

1 The word 'idle' mainly refers to the fact that the speaker's tears ________.
2 The poem suggests that remembering the past mainly ________.
3 The repeated reference 'days that are no more' emphasises ________.
4 In the final stanza, memories of love are portrayed as ________.

Extend

Completamento chiuso

STEP 3 Figures of speech

Complete the text on the figures of speech used in the poem with the words given.

The poem often relies on repetition to emphasise the ________ of the speaker's feelings. The lines 'Tears, idle tears' and 'the days that are no more' are examples of ________.
Another key aspect of this poem is its powerful ________, allowing readers to ________ scenes of nature, life, and death.
Tennyson also builds ________ through contrast, presenting memories as both beautiful and painful at the same time. For instance, the expression 'Death in Life' is a striking ________, combining two apparently opposite ideas to highlight the emotional power of memory.

Extend

Posizionamento