Page 132 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“Song”
by Edmund Waller, page 14

Vocabulary
resemble – appear similar
spied – observed
abide – stand
uncommended – not recommended, not praised

1. According to the speaker, how should young, beautiful women behave?

2. In your own words, describe what Waller means by his statement in the last stanza, “How
small a part of time they share/ That are so wondrous sweet and fair!”

3. How would you characterize the speaker of this poem? Explain your answer using evidence
from the poem.

4. Why do you think the speaker says that “she” is wasting both his and her own time?

5. What does the third stanza imply about her feelings of being pursued?

6. In the final stanza, why does the speaker tell Rose to die?

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