Question

Tone Worksheet 1
Directions: Read each poem and then answer the following questions
Ellis Park
By Helen Hoyt
Little park that I pass through, I carry off a piece of you Every morning hurrying down To my work-day in the town;
Carry you for country there
To make the city ways more fair.
Your fountains take and sweet bird calls
To sing me from my office walls
All that I can see
I carry off with me.
So much treasure you have left.
I take your trees, And your breeze, Your greenness, Your cleanness,
Some of your shade, some of your sky, Some of your calm as I go by;
Your flowers to trim The pavements grim;
Your space for room in the jostled street
For me to borrow On the morrow.
Do you hear this praise of you ittle park that I pass through'
And grass for carpet to my feet.
1. What is this poem about?
2. What is the speaker's tone?
Explain your answer using textual evidence.

Answer 1

1. What is this poem about?
The poem describes a speaker who passes through a small city park every morning and mentally "carries" pieces of it — sights, sounds, and feelings — back into the busy town and her workday. It celebrates how the park’s nature refreshes and beautifies her urban life.

2. What is the speaker's tone? Explain using textual evidence.
The tone is appreciative and affectionate, even reverent. The speaker repeatedly says “I carry off a piece of you” and lists what she takes — “your trees, / And your breeze, / Your greenness, / Your cleanness” — which shows gratitude and valuing of the park. Phrases like “So much treasure you have left,” “Some of your calm,” and “sweet bird calls” emphasize a peaceful, admiring feeling. The contrast “Your flowers to trim / The pavements grim” also shows how she cherishes the park’s ability to brighten the otherwise unpleasant city, and the direct address (“Do you hear this praise of you, little park…”) gives the poem an intimate, praising tone.