Page 175 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit
P. 175
“Old Ironsides”
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., page 60
Vocabulary
ensign – flag or banner
1. What was the poet’s purpose in writing this poem?
2. Locate two metaphors Holmes uses for the ship in the body of the poem.
3. What drastic fate does the narrator suggest would be better for the ship than the dismantling
of it?
4. The first word of the poem is “Ay,” or “yes.” To whom is the speaker saying “Ay”?
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