Figurative Language Poems with Questions - Free Printable

Here are the answers to the review questions based on the poem "Operating Room" by John Reed.

1. Identify one example of simile: explain which two things are being compared.
* Example: "Orderlies with cropped heads swagger like murderers"
* Explanation: This compares the orderlies (hospital attendants) to murderers. The word "like" tells us it is a simile. It suggests the orderlies look tough, dangerous, or aggressive because of how they walk ("swagger") and their short haircuts ("cropped heads").

2. Identify one example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.
* Example: "Born again half a man"
* Explanation: This compares the patient after surgery to someone who has been reborn but is incomplete. It isn't a literal birth; it means the surgery changed him so much that he feels like a different, lesser person.
* *(Alternative Example: "Sunlight floods..." compares the amount of sunlight to a large volume of water filling a room.)*

3. Case 4001 has likely come to what realization? Support your answer with textual evidence.
* Realization: The patient realizes that his life has been permanently ruined or drastically changed for the worse. He is no longer the same person he was before.
* Evidence: The text says he is "Born again half a man, to spend his life in bed." This shows he has lost part of himself (perhaps physically or mentally) and will never be fully active or independent again.

4. Identify one example of hyperbole: explain what is being exaggerated.
* Example: "Sunlight floods the shiny many-windowed place"
* Explanation: This exaggerates the amount of sunlight. Sunlight cannot literally "flood" a room like water does. The poet uses this to show just how bright, intense, and overwhelming the light is in the operating room.
* *(Alternative Example: "Screaming mounts crescendo" exaggerates the loudness of the screams, comparing them to a loud musical climax.)*

5. What is the subject of this poem? What is this poem about? Explain your response.
* Subject: A hospital operating room and the people inside it.
* About: The poem is about the cold, harsh, and unemotional reality of modern medicine. It contrasts the shiny, clean environment and the casual attitude of the doctors with the pain and suffering of the patient ("Case 4001"). It shows how routine and mechanical surgery can feel, even though it changes a person's life forever.

6. What is the tone of this poem? How does the speaker treat the subject of the poem? Refer to text.
* Tone: The tone is cold, detached, and cynical.
* Explanation: The speaker treats the subject without much sympathy. For example, the surgeons are described as "gossiping of guts" and wishing it were lunchtime, which makes them seem careless or bored. The patient is referred to as "Case 4001" rather than by name, which makes him seem like just a number or an object rather than a human being.

7. What is the mood of this poem? How does this poem make you feel? Refer to text in your response.
* Mood: The mood is unsettling, tense, and grim.
* Explanation: The poem makes the reader feel uneasy because of the contrast between the "shiny" clean room and the "spattered gules" (blood). Words like "startled eyes," "swagger like murderers," and "screaming" create a feeling of danger and anxiety. The ending leaves the reader feeling sad for the patient who is now "half a man."

8. What does this line “Lounge gossiping of guts, and wish it were lunch-time” reveal about the surgeons? Explain your answer.
* Revelation: This reveals that the surgeons are desensitized (used to it) and perhaps arrogant or uncaring.
* Explanation: Talking casually about "guts" (internal organs) while waiting shows they view the human body as just meat or machinery. Wishing it were lunchtime shows they are bored and eager to leave, treating a serious life-saving procedure as just a regular job shift that is dragging on too long.