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ENGLISH WORKSHOP – Solutions
1. From each line in the poem, pick out the word that is a homograph. Write its meaning in the context of the phrase used in the poem. Then write the other meaning implied in the question.
| Stanza | Word | One meaning (in poem) | Other meaning (implied) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | (1) bed | piece of furniture | bottom of river, sea, etc. |
| First | (2) head | part of a hammer | top part of a human body |
| First | (3) foot | base of a mountain | part of a human body |
| First | (4) hose | garden watering tube | a pair of stockings or tights |
| Second | (1) eye | part of a needle | organ of sight |
| Second | (2) wing | part of a building | part of a bird for flying |
| Second | (3) ribs | parts of a parasol (umbrella) | bones in a human chest |
| Second | (4) trunk | part of a tree | storage part of a car or an elephant’s nose |
| Third | (1) teeth | parts of a rake | parts in a mouth for biting |
| Third | (2) hands | parts of a clock | human body parts for holding |
| Third | (3) plot | garden land | an evil or wicked plan |
| Third | (4) bark | sound a birch tree makes | outer covering of a tree |
2. Write 2 lines from this poem which you find most humorous. Justify your choice.
Lines: “Does the needle ever wink its eye? / Why doesn’t the wing of a building fly?”
Justification: These lines are funny because they ask silly questions about things that can’t happen. A needle winking its eye is absurd since it’s not alive, and a building’s wing flying is hilarious because wings are for birds, not structures. The unexpected twist makes me laugh!
3. Find from the poem, three examples of each:
(a) Interrogation
(1) “Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed?”
– Asks a question to make us think, not for an answer.
(2) “Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol?”
– Emphasizes the silliness of tickling an umbrella.
(3) “Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite?”
– Highlights that rakes don’t have real teeth.
(b) Pun
(1) “Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed?”
– “Sheet” plays on bed linen and a flat layer.
(2) “Does the needle ever wink its eye?”
– “Eye” means the needle’s hole and a human eye.
(3) “Can the garden plot be deep and dark?”
– “Plot” means land and a secret plan.
(c) Personification
(1) “Does the needle ever wink its eye?”
– Needle is given the human action of winking.
(2) “Have the hands of a clock any left or right?”
– Clock hands are treated like human hands.
(3) “Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite?”
– Rake’s teeth are given the ability to bite.
(d) Alliteration
(1) “Has the foot of a mountain any toes?”
– “Foot” and “mountain” repeat the ‘m’ sound.
(2) “Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol?”
– “Ribs” and “parasol” repeat the ‘r’ sound softly.
(3) “And what is the sound of the birch’s bark?”
– “Birch’s” and “bark” repeat the ‘b’ sound.
4. Form groups of four or five. Think, discuss and add at least one more stanza, using the same style and devices as the poet has used. It should include homographs, interrogation and the same rhythm and rhyme-scheme (Have /Does/Are).
Example Stanza: Have you ever heard a book tell a tale? Does the face of a coin ever turn pale? Are the legs of a table set to run? And can the light of a bulb feel the sun?
- Explanation: Uses homographs (“tale” as story vs. tail, “face” as coin side vs. human face), interrogation (questions for effect), and rhyme (tale/pale, run/sun).
5. Read the following sentences carefully. Then fill in the blanks using appropriate words from the brackets, to make puns.
(struck, numbered, too tired, developed, put down, homeless, old fashioned, reaction)
(1) She had a photographic memory but never developed it.
(2) He was struggling to figure out how lightning works when it struck him.
(3) Every calendar’s days are numbered.
(4) A bicycle cannot stand on its own because it is too tired.
(5) I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down the book.
(6) I’d tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn’t get a reaction.
(7) What do you call Watson when Sherlock isn’t around? Homeless.
(8) I would tell a history joke, but it’s too old fashioned.
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