Read and Understand Poetry: 'From a Railway Carriage'

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish author who was born in 1850 and died in 1894. He is famous for writing books such as 'Treasure Island' but he also wrote a lot of poetry.

 

One of his best-known poems is called 'From a Railway Carriage'. Read it through several times to make sure you understand it.

 

From a Railway Carriage

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

And charging along like troops in a battle,

All through the meadows the horses and cattle:

All of the sights of the hill and the plain

Fly as thick as driving rain;

And ever again, in the wink of an eye,

Painted stations whistle by.

 

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles;

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;

And there is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is the cart run away in the road

Lumping along with man and load;

And here is a mill, and there is a river:

Each a glimpse and gone for ever!

 

 

In this activity, we will answer questions about the poem.

Remember that you can look back at it as often as you like by clicking the red help button on the screen.