35 pages 1 hour read

Wisława Szymborska

The End and the Beginning

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2001

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Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What can the reader infer about the “someone” in the poem?

A) They are everyday people.

B) They are government officials.

C) They are children.

D) They are the victors of the war.

2. What terms best describe the imagery used?

A) royal and expensive

B) domestic and commonplace

C) official and stately

D) natural and pure

3. Narratively, where does the poem begin?

A) in the middle of the war

B) before the war has begun

C) decades after the war

D) in the direct aftermath of the war

4. What does the final image suggest?

A) Young or future generations will not know the toll of the war.

B) The war was pointless and not worth remembering.

C) The work of reconstruction will get done eventually.

D) Peace is better than fighting.

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