Study Guide: Quintrain, Beginning Speech, and
Teenagers
By Sa’id Aql, Adonis, and Pat Mora
Summaries • Vocabulary • Close Reading • Critical Reading • Compare & Contrast • Discuss • Exam
Practice
Detailed Summaries
• Quintrain (Sa’id Aql): A parent bird, described as “ecstatic,” urges its child to “fly away, soar high,”
teaching it that while crumbs may suffice for survival, the sky is what it truly needs. The poem
symbolizes parents preparing children for independence.
• Beginning Speech (Adonis): The speaker meets his younger self, “an unfamiliar face.” They walk
together in silence, connected by their “origins” yet separated by time. The poem reflects on memory,
identity, and change.
• Teenagers (Pat Mora): A parent describes teenagers becoming distant: “Doors and lips shut and we
become strangers in our own home.” The parent recalls closeness in childhood but now sees growth:
“faces I once held… glowing almost like pearls.” The poem captures both sadness and pride in
adolescence.
Vocabulary (from the margins)
• ecstatic: full of intense joy; very happy
• eloquently: with ease of speech
• suffice: to be or give enough
• origins: the places people or things come from
• advance: to bring or move forward
Close Reading Questions & Answers
Q: Quintrain: What does the parent bird tell its child to do?
A: The parent bird tells its child to embrace independence: “Fly away, soar high; a few bread crumbs
will suffice you, but the sky you need… the whole sky” (ll.5–10). The crumbs represent survival, while
the sky symbolizes opportunity and freedom.
Q: Beginning Speech: What inference can you make about the speaker and his younger self?
A: The speaker feels both recognition and distance: “That child I was came to me once an unfamiliar
face… each glancing in silence at the other” (ll.1–4). The phrase “unfamiliar face” shows how different
he feels from his past self, though “origins” (l.9) remind him of their connection.
Q: Teenagers: Who are ‘they’ in line 1 of the poem? Who is the speaker?
A: “They” refers to the speaker’s children: “One day they disappear into their rooms. Doors and lips
shut” (ll.1–2). The speaker is a parent, noting the emotional distance that develops as children grow.
Q: Teenagers: What is the ‘code I knew but can’t remember’?
A: It refers to the shared closeness of childhood: “I pace the hall, hear whispers, a code I knew but
can’t remember, mouthed by mouths I taught to speak” (ll.6–8). The speaker feels excluded from the
teenagers’ world despite once teaching them everything.
Critical Reading Questions & Answers
Q: Why is the bird in the poem Quintrain ecstatic?
A: The bird is ecstatic because it is joyful in guiding its child toward freedom: “an absorbed, ecstatic
bird, eloquently telling its child: ‘Fly away, soar high’” (ll.1–5). The bird finds happiness in helping its
child embrace independence.
Q: Why is the poem called Beginning Speech even though the speaker and the child do not speak?
A: The title shows that the silent encounter is its own form of dialogue: “He said nothing—we walked,
each glancing in silence at the other” (ll.4–5). The meeting represents the beginning of
self-understanding between past and present.
Q: How does the speaker in the poem Teenagers feel? Cite evidence.
A: The speaker feels sorrow and pride. Sadness: “Doors and lips shut and we become strangers in our
own home” (ll.2–3). Pride: “faces I once held, open as sunflowers… glowing almost like pearls”
(ll.11–13). This mix shows grief over lost closeness but joy in seeing growth.
Comparing Texts: Critical Reading & Compare/Contrast
1. Analyze (Quintrain): The bird is “ecstatic” because it finds joy in giving its child freedom: “the sky you
need… the whole sky” (l.10). Parents feel pride when their children fly on their own.
2. Summarize (Beginning Speech): The speaker meets his past self, “an unfamiliar face” (l.1), walks in
silence, and reflects on their shared “origins” (l.9).
3. Interpret (Beginning Speech): The title suggests that reflection is a silent speech between past and
present selves. Even without words, the encounter communicates meaning.
4. Infer (Teenagers): The speaker feels distance and sadness: “we become strangers” (l.3), but also
admiration: “glowing almost like pearls” (l.13).
Compare & Contrast:
5. Synthesize: All three poems show growing up means change: Quintrain (independence), Beginning
Speech (reflection), Teenagers (distance in family).
6. Connect: Students may connect most with Teenagers if they feel distance from parents, or Quintrain
if they seek freedom.
7. Compare: Quintrain and Teenagers describe family bonds, while Beginning Speech is an inner
dialogue. All show that growth requires separation.
Discuss Question
These poems show different aspects of growing up. In my life, I relate most to Teenagers. The line
“Doors and lips shut and we become strangers in our own home” (ll.2–3) reminds me of how
communication changes during adolescence. Like Quintrain, I also see the importance of freedom, and
like Beginning Speech, I reflect on my past. Together, they show that growth is challenging but
necessary.
Exam Practice
Multiple Choice
1. In Quintrain, what does the sky symbolize?
a) Danger b) Freedom c) Comfort d) Control
Answer: b) Freedom
2. In Teenagers, what does the “code I knew but can’t remember” represent?
a) A secret password b) A lost bond of closeness c) A book d) A dream
Answer: b) A lost bond of closeness
3. In Beginning Speech, what unites the speaker and the child he once was?
a) Shared origins and seasons b) Words spoken c) A forest path d) Their silence
Answer: a) Shared origins and seasons
Short Answer
4. How does Quintrain use imagery of the sky to show independence?
5. How does Pat Mora use the metaphor of “doors and lips shut” in Teenagers to show emotional
distance?
Essay Prompts
6. Compare Quintrain and Teenagers. How do both describe separation in growing up?
7. Explain how Beginning Speech uses silence and nature to show identity and memory.
8. Which poem’s message about growing up speaks most to you? Use quotes in your answer.
