That Old Straw Sojourner
David Matherne
An old patched hat, which was almond with trim-red,
Watched as it sat on an old, thin head.
And what it saw, and what it knew,
Was more than more of you
Might even ever construe 5
From just a patched, old hat.
It’d seen a child die—Depression--a war,
Bowed at the bedside of the lady once adored,
Watched while its owner did weep when his store
Burned down to the ground, nothing left but the floor10
And that brand-new hat on his head.
It saw with lucid eyes inhuman, divine
The tired man grew older, while his boy grew wise.
Some said, ‘So tragic,’ the son said, ‘Fate’
When the lightning left a char on the elder’s pate 15
And they both did loving before too late.
That hat...his special bequest.
So he wore his farming father’s dingy hat every day,
Hoping it would make him like his only hero in that way.
So the hat went to school, 20
Then it kept him somewhat cool
As he worked the plow and mule
Like his fallen father had.
It had been there when the midwife had announced, ‘You’ve a boy.’
The hat was there when his wife had their second little joy.25
So the family worked the farm
Until the boy took arm-in-arm
A girl from town with mighty charm
Who had a fancy for shoes and hats.
The married lad watched his dad lose his crops, then his wealth,30
While the hat witnessed worse, constant fleeting of his health.
On the porch until the end, father son simply sat.
Being heir, he got the farm, and the house, and the cat.
But what he really wanted most was that one thing that
Was truly him...his old hat. 35
He got it and he wore it and he tore it and he patched it,
But the hat didn’t mind since the man truly matched it.
He grew thin and he grew old,
Of all the things he’d ever sold,
No value like what he’d unfold 40
To his own son one day...his patched old hat.
It’d seen a child die—Depression--a war,
Which stylistic or literary device is demonstrated in line 7?
A) satire
B) allusion ***
C) repetition
D) internal rhyme
‘Farming father’s dingy hat,’
‘like his fallen father had,’ and
‘While the hat witnessed worse’
Which kind of figurative language do the selected phrases have?
A) satire
B) simile
C) alliteration ***
D) internal rhyme
It’d seen a child die—Depression--a war,
Bowed at the bedside of the lady once adored,
Watched while its owner did weep when his store
Burned down to the ground, nothing left but the floor
Which stylistic devices are used in lines 7-10?
A) satire and irony ***
B) rhyme and rhythm
C) sarcasm and humor
D) contrast and repetition
It had been there when the midwife had announced, ‘You’ve a boy.’
The hat was there when his wife had their second little joy.
Why does the author MOST likely choose the words, ‘their second little joy’?
A) They had twin boys.
B) It expresses that their second child was a joyous addition to their family. ***
C) The little hat was considered a joy for the father at the birth of his only son.
D) Next to their first little joy, their son, the hat was considered their second little joy.
What is being personified in the first three stanzas of the poem?
A) a burned store
B) a tired old man
C) an old patched hat *** If not b
D) a child dying in war
Correct answers:
1) B) allusion
2) C) alliteration
3) A) satire and irony
4) B) It expresses that their second child was a joyous addition to their family.
5) C) an old patched hat
To answer the questions about the poem "That Old Straw Sojourner" by David Matherne, we will need to analyze the given lines and understand the different literary devices used.
In line 7, the phrase "And what it saw, and what it knew" demonstrates the literary device of allusion. Allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work. In this case, the hat is being personified as if it has the ability to see and know things.
The selected phrases "Farming father's dingy hat," "like his fallen father had," and "While the hat witnessed worse" demonstrate the figurative language of alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of nearby words. It adds a musical quality to the language and emphasizes certain words or ideas.
In lines 7-10, the stylistic devices used are satire and irony. Satire is a literary technique that uses humor, irony, or ridicule to criticize or expose human vices, follies, or shortcomings. Irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of its literal meaning or a situation that is opposite to what is expected. In this context, the hat's experiences of witnessing tragic events and then being left with nothing but the store's floor demonstrate the ironic and satirical nature of life's challenges.
In the lines "It had been there when the midwife had announced, ‘You’ve a boy.’ / The hat was there when his wife had their second little joy," the author most likely chooses the words "their second little joy" to convey that their second child was a joyous addition to their family. It emphasizes the happiness and pride the family felt at the birth of their second child.
In the first three stanzas of the poem, the object being personified is the old patched hat. Personification is a figure of speech in which non-human objects or ideas are given human characteristics. In this case, the hat is described as having the ability to see, know, and witness events.
1 - yes
2 - no
3 - no
4 - yes
5 - yes, C