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English Quiz - Poetry - Sadie and Maud (Questions)

Brooks’s ‘Sadie and Maud’ contrasts two life choices. Analyse voice, structure, and tone to see how expectations, freedom, and regret are presented.

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Fascinating Fact:

Shame appears in the parents’ reaction, “Maud and Ma and Papa nearly died of shame” shows pressure to conform.

In GCSE English, Gwendolyn Brooks’s Sadie and Maud weighs social expectation against personal freedom. You’ll explore how contrasting lives, a conversational voice, and tight stanzas present success, shame, and what it costs to “fit in.”

Key Terms

Persona: The poem’s speaking voice; here it narrates and judges the sisters’ choices.
Refrain: A repeated line or idea that reinforces a theme, such as returning to each sister’s path.
Conformity: Following social rules or expectations, even when they conflict with personal happiness.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is “Sadie and Maud” about for GCSE English?

The poem contrasts two sisters: Sadie lives freely and finds warmth; Maud follows expectations yet ends lonely. It questions what “success” really means.

How does the poem show shame and social pressure?

References to parental shame and community judgment highlight conformity. Brooks uses plain, direct diction to show how outside opinions can shape life choices.

Which techniques should I analyse in “Sadie and Maud”?

Comment on contrast, tone, repetition, and stanza structure. Explain how these choices develop themes of independence, reputation, and the cost of fitting in.

Try These Related Quizzes

Sadie and Maud

Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed home.
Sadie scraped life
With a fine toothed comb.

She didn't leave a tangle in
Her comb found every strand.
Sadie was one of the livingest chicks
In all the land.

Sadie bore two babies
Under her maiden name.
Maud and Ma and Papa
Nearly died of shame.

When Sadie said her last so-long
Her girls struck out from home.
(Sadie left as heritage
Her fine-toothed comb.)

Maud, who went to college,
Is a thin brown mouse.
She is living all alone
In this old house.

Gwendolyn Brooks

1.

Sadie and Maud are most likely to be...

[ ]	Best friends
[ ]	A mother and daughter
[ ]	Two sisters
[ ]	Unknown to each other

2.

The first two lines of the poem mimic a ...

[ ]	Hymn
[ ]	Nursery rhyme
[ ]	Advertising jingle
[ ]	Ballad

3.

Considering the answer to question two, what effect does this allusion have?

[ ]	It leads the reader to believe that the poem will be solemn
[ ]	It sets up an expectation that the poem will be heavily philosophical
[ ]	It is intended to make the reader think the poem is childish
[ ]	It leads the reader to expect a simple moral

4.

Which word does NOT describe Maud at the beginning of the poem?

[ ]	Lonely
[ ]	Sensible
[ ]	Ambitious
[ ]	Clever

5.

'Sadie scraped life / With a fine toothed comb. / She didn't leave a tangle in / Her comb found every strand.' - What do these lines mean?

[ ]	Sadie is jealous of Maud because Maud has gone to college
[ ]	Sadie is very proud of her heirloom comb
[ ]	Sadie enjoys life to the full
[ ]	Sadie takes pride in her appearance

6.

The poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, uses the comb as ...

[ ]	A simile
[ ]	A metaphor
[ ]	An example of personification
[ ]	A method of foreshadowing

7.

'Sadie bore two babies / Under her maiden name.' - Which of the following is true?

[ ]	Sadie became a single mother
[ ]	Sadie adopted two children
[ ]	Sadie married and left home
[ ]	Sadie married and had two children, but then divorced

8.

The beginning of the poem appears to portray Maud as the one who made wise choices in life. This view is overturned in which stanza?

[ ]	Second stanza
[ ]	Third stanza
[ ]	Fourth stanza
[ ]	Fifth stanza

9.

What has Sadie left as a heritage for her daughters?

[ ]	Her favourite comb
[ ]	Her house
[ ]	Her thirst for life
[ ]	Her regrets

10.

The rhythmic patterns in this poem are not entirely regular, but are predictable. These patterns are sharply disturbed in which stanza?

[ ]	First
[ ]	Third
[ ]	Fourth
[ ]	Fifth

English Quiz - Poetry - Sadie and Maud (Answers)

1.

Sadie and Maud are most likely to be...

[ ]	Best friends
[ ]	A mother and daughter
[x]	Two sisters
[ ]	Unknown to each other

2.

The first two lines of the poem mimic a ...

[ ]	Hymn
[x]	Nursery rhyme
[ ]	Advertising jingle
[ ]	Ballad

The pattern of syllables (5/4/4/5) in the first stanza has a distinctly nursery-rhyme feel, an effect reinforced by its words. Rhyming pairs such as 'mouse / house' create the same impression

3.

Considering the answer to question two, what effect does this allusion have?

[ ]	It leads the reader to believe that the poem will be solemn
[ ]	It sets up an expectation that the poem will be heavily philosophical
[ ]	It is intended to make the reader think the poem is childish
[x]	It leads the reader to expect a simple moral

4.

Which word does NOT describe Maud at the beginning of the poem?

[x]	Lonely
[ ]	Sensible
[ ]	Ambitious
[ ]	Clever

Maud goes to college, as her parents most likely expect of her. This action implies that she is clever and ambitious, while the contrast with Sadie implies that Maud is also more sensible

5.

'Sadie scraped life / With a fine toothed comb. / She didn't leave a tangle in / Her comb found every strand.' - What do these lines mean?

[ ]	Sadie is jealous of Maud because Maud has gone to college
[ ]	Sadie is very proud of her heirloom comb
[x]	Sadie enjoys life to the full
[ ]	Sadie takes pride in her appearance

The words 'fine toothed', 'scraped', 'didn't leave a tangle' and 'found every strand' emphasise Sadie's thoroughness in enjoying everything life has to offer

6.

The poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, uses the comb as ...

[ ]	A simile
[x]	A metaphor
[ ]	An example of personification
[ ]	A method of foreshadowing

7.

'Sadie bore two babies / Under her maiden name.' - Which of the following is true?

[x]	Sadie became a single mother
[ ]	Sadie adopted two children
[ ]	Sadie married and left home
[ ]	Sadie married and had two children, but then divorced

Ma, Papa and Maud don't respond well to Sadie's single motherhood

8.

The beginning of the poem appears to portray Maud as the one who made wise choices in life. This view is overturned in which stanza?

[ ]	Second stanza
[ ]	Third stanza
[ ]	Fourth stanza
[x]	Fifth stanza

Maud is left alone, 'a thin brown mouse'

9.

What has Sadie left as a heritage for her daughters?

[ ]	Her favourite comb
[ ]	Her house
[x]	Her thirst for life
[ ]	Her regrets

10.

The rhythmic patterns in this poem are not entirely regular, but are predictable. These patterns are sharply disturbed in which stanza?

[ ]	First
[x]	Third
[ ]	Fourth
[ ]	Fifth

'Under her maiden name' fits especially awkwardly in the pattern, reminding the reader what a shock the situation was for Sadie's parents