Directions: After reading the poem “Your World” by Georgia Douglas Johnson,
classify the questions according to the dimensions of reading.
Your World Georgia Douglas Johnson
Your world is as big as you make it.
I know, for I used to abide In the narrowest nest in a corner, My wings pressing close to my side.
But I sighted the distant horizon
Where the skyline encircles the sea And I throbbed with a burning desire To travel this immensity.
I battered the cordons around me
And cradled my wings on the breeze Then soared to the uttermost reaches With rapture, with power, with ease!
____________1. What does the speaker say about a person’s world?
____________2. To what does the speaker in the poem compare herself? ____________3. At the beginning of the poem where are the bird’s wings? ____________4. At the end of the poem where are the bird’s wings? ____________5. Make a sketch of the speaker at the beginning of the poem. ____________6. Why did the speaker liken herself to a bird whose wings are pressed close to its sides? ____________7. What did the speaker want to do? ____________8. Where did the speaker find courage to change her life? ____________9. What did the speaker do to change her life? ____________10. What feelings were shared by the speaker at the end of the poem? ____________11. Why did the speaker feel jubilant? ____________12. What is the idea of the speaker about self-actualization? ____________13. Do you agree about the speaker’s idea about self-actualization? Why? ____________14. What metaphor is used in the poem? ____________15. What does the bird stand for? ____________16. Tell in your own words the main idea of each stanza. ____________17. The speaker has chosen the image of a bird to describe herself. Reread the example of the imagery. How well does this image fit with the idea of fear and freedom? ____________18. Give an example of how you experienced something similar to what is described in this poem. ____________19. Write the rhyme scheme of “Your World” ____________20. Is there any other animal that could have been used in this poem to get across the same feeling? ____________21. How does the metaphor used in the poem help you feel the theme as well as understand it? ____________22. What changes in your world do you like to happen? ____________23. What do you plan to do to change your world? ____________24. Read the part you like best.