Poetry Questions and Answers

Countee Cullen
“For A Lady I Know”
1. What is Cullen’s message?
She is remarking that the friend is so biased in her view of the lower classes that even in heaven
the black’s are cherubs that serve her privileged class.
2. How would you characterize the tone of this poem? Wrathful? Amused?
The author portrays a critical tone in this poem. She directs her criticism toward the upper class and the way they view the rest of society.

Whitman/Dickinson
“To a Locomotive in Winter”/”I like to see it lap the miles”
1. What differences in tone do you find between Whitman’s and Dickinson’s poems? Point out whatever in each poem contributes to these differences.
The tone in Whitman’s poem is dark. He speaks of the locomotive as a powerful thing, using dark adjectives to describe the train. Dickinson’s poem has a lighthearted tone. She speaks of the train as a meandering machine playfully describing its movements.
2. Boanerges in Dickinson’s last stanza means “sons of thunder,” a name given by Jesus to the disciples John and James (see Mark 3:17). How far should the reader work out the particulars of this comparison? Does it make the tone of the poem serious?
The reference to Boanerges could change the meaning of the poem. The last paragraph references a few Christian themes: “Star”, “stable”, and “omniscient”. If the reader chooses, they can interpret the train as “Christians” and find that Dickinson has a possibly negative view of them.
3. In Whitman’s opening line, what is a recitative? What other specialized terms from the vocabulary of music and poetry does each poem contain? How do they help underscore Whitman’s theme?
A recitative is a musical declamation. Whitman uses other words, such as, beat, Muse, and metrical, relating to poetry and music. Dickinson does not seem to have any musically relative terms. The musical and poetic diction help to illustrate the tempo of the rolling train. It brings to life the movements.
4. Poets and songwriters probably have regarded the locomotive with more affection than they have shown most other machines. Why do you suppose this is so? Can you think of any other poems or songs as examples?
The train has rhythm and time. This time and rhythm relates well to music and poetry. There is an oldies song called “Locomotion” that is about a dance. There is a poem by John Pierre Roche titled “Trains” describing trains in WWII.
5. What do these two poems tell you about locomotives that you would not be likely to find in a technical book on railroading?
A technical book would give only specs and information on the trains. These poems portray feelings that the power of the locomotive gives observers.
6. Are the subjects of the two poems identical? Discuss.
The subject of each poem is the same; the locomotive. Yet, the theme is dissimilar. Whitman seems to be playing into the idea of the trains power overtaking the beauty of nature. Casting the locomotive and something dark and nearly destructive. Dickinson could be showing her perspective on the self-centeredness of Christians.
Kevin Young
“Doo Wop”
1. What is the tone of this poem – comic? Serious? Both at once?
This poem has a serious and comic tone at the same time. The author is writing jokingly about his serious feelings for someone.
2. How many instances of plays on words, and playing with the sounds of words, can you find in the poem?
5
3. Beyond the author’s exuberant delight in language, what do you think “Doo Wop” is about?
“Doo Wop” seems to be about someone’s feelings that they have for a woman.
Weldon Kees
“For My Daughter”
1. How does the last line of this sonnet affect the meaning of the poem?
The meaning changes slightly. The idea of the world being a cruel place for his daughter is changed to the world is a cruel place for everyone’s daughters; therefore, he wouldn’t subject anyone to this brutish world.
2. “For My Daughter” was first published in 1940. What considerations might a potential American parent have felt at that time? Are these historical concerns mirrored in the poem?
A parent would have been wary of the war that was going on. They would have been concerned with their child being drafted and forced to fight. The poems do show these concerns. The author talks of the type of man that his “daughter” would marry, one changed by the war he experienced, or dead because of the war.
3. Donald Justice has said that “Kees is one of the bitterest poets in history.” Is bitterness the only attitude the speaker reveals in this poem?
Bitterness is definitely not the only idea being portrayed in the poem. Concern is almost stronger than the tone of bitterness. The author is concerned for the children of the world torn by war and all those affected by the ripples of it.
Edwin Arlington Robinson
“Luke Havergal”
1. Who is the speaker of the poem? What specific details does the author reveal about the speaker?
The speaker of the poem is most likely Death, pleading for him to join his lover in hell. The author writes: “Out of a grave I come to tell you this, Out of a grave I come to quench the kiss..”.
2. What does the speaker ask Luke Havergal to do?
The speaker asks Luke to go to the “western gate” which seemingly symbolizes death.
3. What do you understand “the western gate” to be?
“The western gate” seems to be where people “cross over” from living to dead.
4. Would you advise Luke Havergal to follow the speaker’s advice? Why or why not?
I wouldn’t tell him to heed deaths petition. I would tell him that he would find another love. He doesn’t have to experience eternity in hell when he has the choice for eternity in heaven with another love.
Suji Kwock Kim
“Monologue for an Onion”
1. How would you characterize the speaker’s tone in this poem? What attitudes and judgments lie behind that tone?
The tone is violent in its descriptions of the onions dissection. The violence shows how the person cutting the onion and the onion are hostile figures. They have no common ground and cannot stop the violence between each other so the continue with their weapons; knife vs. the onions smell.
2. “I mean nothing” (line 2) might be seen as a play on two senses of mean – “intend” and “signify.” Is the statement true in both senses?
I take the authors meaning to only mean “intend.” The onion intends no harm to the human yet, still they cry.
3. Suppose someone said to you, “The whole point of the poem is that vegetables have rights and feelings too, and humanity is being rebuked for its arrogance and insensitivity toward other species.” How would you argue against that view?
The poet would not liken the chopping of onions to real life if she merely meant that onions should have rights too.
4. The speaker is obviously one tough onion, cutting humanity little or no slack. To what degree do you think the speaker represents the author’s views? Explain your response.
The author most likely is exaggerating their point of view so that the reader can grasp their purpose for the poem.
James Stephens
“A Glass of Beer”
1. Whom do you take to be the speaker? Is it the poet? The speaker may be angry, but what is the tone of this poem?
It seems that the speaker is the poet. The tone of the poem is violent.
2. Would you agree with a commentator who said, “To berate anyone in truly memorable language is practically a lost art in America”? How well does the speaker (an Irishwoman) succeed? Which of his epithets and curses strike you as particularly imaginative?
I would have to disagree with this quote. I feel as though it is a very sweeping statement and I have heard some pretty creative mean people in America. The most creative insult to me would be:
“May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may
The High King of Glory permit her to get the mange.”
Anne Sexton
“Her Kind”
1. Who is the speaker of this poem? What do we know about her?
It is not clear who the speaker of the poem is. The reader does know that the speaker is a woman because the poem describes types of women and after each stanza the speaker states: “I have been her kind.”
2. What does the speaker mean by ending each stanza with the statement, “I have been her kind?”
The speaker is merely saying that she has held the beliefs and lived as the women described in the previous stanza.
3. Who are the figures with whom the speaker identifies? What do these figures tell us about the speaker’s state of mind?
The speaker identifies with different attitudes and life changes of women. The speakers state of mind is in a place that she will stand up and fight for what she believes in even if death is a possible consequence.
W.H. Auden
“The Unknown Citizen”
1. Read the two-line epitaph at the beginning of the poem as carefully as you read what follows. How does the epitaph help establish the voice by which the rest of the poem is spoken?
Based on the title, the reader can already assume that the poem is going to be negative toward the government’s view of citizens. The fact that the stone of the unknown citizen wasn’t even given a clearly marked monument shows that the deceased is not shown complete respect.
2. Who is speaking?
The speaker seems to be a representative of the government. He or she says things such as: “our teachers report”, or “had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.” These statements along with the specific knowledge the speaker has points to him being a state official.
3. What ironic discrepancies do you find between the speaker’s attitude toward the subject and that of the poet himself? By what is the poet’s attitude made clear?
The poem is written in a fashion that is straightforward. The speaker gives facts of the unknown man’s life in a very positive tone; yet, the poet is playing on the idea that those societal positives are seemingly pointless aspirations.
4. In the phrase “The Unknown Soldier” (of which “The Unknown Citizen” reminds us), what does the word unknown mean? What does it mean in the title of Auden’s poem?
In reference to the monument of “The Unknown Soldier”, unknown means that the soldier was not identified. Who he was, was not known. Auden’s poem is referring more to the idea that, to the government or society, we are all unknown citizens. Us as specific individuals are irrelevant. As long as we conform and fit into our consumerist society then we are in good standing.
5. What tendencies in our civilization does Auden satirize?
Auden satirizes many different aspect of our society, mainly the consumerist tendencies and societal worth. Auden states that “For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.” Then Auden goes on to state the unknown citizen’s work record, how pleased the union was with him, he was insured, etc. This is seen as satire because the things that he is being praised for by society are all very trivial.
6. How would you expect the speaker to define a Modern Man, if a CD player, a radio, a car, and a refrigerator are “everything” a Modern Man needs?
A Modern Man has the ability to go wherever he wants at all times. He is independent and has whatever he wants at his fingertips. He can listen to whatever music he wants, whenever he wants. The Modern Man can drink a cold beer whenever he sees fit.
Sharon Olds
“Rite of Passage”
1. What is ironic about the way the speaker describes the first-grade boys at her son’s birthday party?
The speaker describes the boys as being men. She goes on, describing their interactions in a tone that implies they rationalize like adult men.
2. What other irony does the author underscore in the last two lines?
Olds is implying the same irony but in reverse. She is saying that men although grown are still playing games.
3. Does this mother sentimentalize her own son by seeing him as better than the other little boys?
Yes, she does. She speaks of the others in a barbaric tone. When she speaks of her son she has a tone of power and pride.
Rod Taylor
“Dakota: October, 1822: Hunkpapa Warrior”
1. How would you describe the speaker’s tone – confident, boastful, serene?
I think the tone is more confident than boastful or serene. There isn’t any fact that is being boasted of. It does seem overly confident when the author asks: “What bad thing can be done against us?”
2. What is ironic about this poem?
The author sates that life is good despite having to constantly be on the look out for enemies.
3. What kind of irony does the poem display?
Cosmic irony is present because there is the constant threat of attack; yet, they are happy.
Sarah N. Cleghorn
“The Golf Links”
1. Is this brief poem satiric? Does it contain any verbal irony or is the poet making a matter-of-fact statement in words that mean just what they say?
The poem is satiric in its view of child labor and the contrasting men playing and children working. There seems to be a few types of irony, one being verbal.
2. What other kind of irony is present in the poem?
There is also dramatic irony in the poem. Cleghorn means what she is saying but the situation is what is most ironic and not the words she uses.
3. Sarah N. Cleghorn’s poem dates from before the enactment of legislation against child labor. Is it still a good poem, or is it hopelessly dated?
It is still a good poem. It shows contrasting classes in history and allows us to compare those issues to todays. We still struggle with class separation and similar issues.
4. Would you call this poem lyric, narrative, or didactic?
I think it is didactic but written lyrically. It is almost like a children’s nursery rhyme but still relates a point.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
“Second Fig”
1. Do you think the author is making fun of the speaker’s attitude or agreeing with it?
She is agreeing with the speaker. She feels that safety is no way to live but living open is more interesting and possibly rewarding.


Dorothy Parker
“Comment”
1. Is Marie of Roumania the speaker of the poem?
No, the speaker is using Marie as a figure who is so loved and admired. She feels that her life is so good that how she feels now must be what it feels like to be Marie of Roumania.
2. How serious is the poem’s tone? Consider the rhythm and the rimes in lines 2 and 4.
The tone is serious yet jovial about love and what she feels. She rhymes to make the poem more exciting and cheery.
3. In actuality, Queen Marie of Roumania had an unhappy life. Does this fact add another level of irony to the poem?
If the author knew that Marie had an unhappy life then yes it could ad irony. It could mean that on the surface she is happy but in reality not.
Bob Hicok
“Making it in poetry”
1. Is the title of this poem ironic or not? Explain your answer.
Yes, the title is ironic because it is stating that he has “made” it in poetry; yet, he is unheard of.
2. Both of the teller’s questions are answered the same way. Is there irony in that fact?
Yes, there is irony in this because the questions asked are sort of opposites. They are of money and then of fame.
3. Do you find any significance in the description of the teller as “young”?
Yes, it shows that the author does not see young people as understanding.
William Blake
“The Chimney Sweeper”
1. What does Blake’s poem reveal about conditions of life in the London of his day?
It shows how physically and emotionally demanding life was. Children were forced to work, especially when one of their parents had died.
2. What does this poem have in common with “The Golf Links”?
Both of the poems are talking against child labor.
3. Sum up your impressions of the speaker’s character. What does he say and do that displays it to us?
The speaker seems to be an emotionally strong person and expects the same of others. He has dealt with his mother dying at a very young age. He didn’t pay Tom any attention when Tom started crying about his hair cut; which most likely seemed very trivial to a person like the speaker.
4. What pun do you find in line 3? Is its effect comic or serious?
The pun is Blake saying that he could barely “cry ‘weep!”. He is saying he was so young when he started working that is tongue couldn’t even form the who word sweep. He is also playing off the fact that losing his mother was sad and made him weep. The pun is making comedy out of a serious situation.
5. In Tom Dare’s dream, what wishes come true? Do you understand them to be wishes of the chimneysweepers, of the poet, or of both?
It seems like the dream would be a dream relative to the chimneysweepers. It is of the sweepers being freed from a childhood of chimney sweeping and being children: running and playing in grassy fields.
6. In the last line, what is ironic in the speaker’s assurance that the dutiful need not fear harm? What irony is there in his urging all to do their duty? (Who have failed in their duty to him?)
It’s ironic because Tom, who had the dream, was complaining of pain earlier in the poem despite being dutiful. To the speaker, it seems, children who are not working and making money have failed their duty.
7. What is the tone of Blake’s poem? Angry? Hopeful? Sorrowful? Compassionate? (Don’t feel obliged to sum it up in a single word)
The tone is sad. When the speaker is talking of Tom’s dream the tone seems hopeful and maybe happy but then when you compare the dream to the reality of what is happening then it is sad.
Erich Fried
“The Measures Taken”
1. Can you relate this poem to a particular historical context? Explain.
By using the word “slaughter” Fried makes the reader think of a war or battle occurring. The most obvious application would be to relate this to WWII when the Jews were slaughtered because they didn’t fit exactly into what Hitler’s idea of an ideal person was.
2. Does it also have a more general application?
Yes. This poem gives off the idea for people to be more open to people not fitting into our exact expectation of what they should be.
3. Do you think that the author shares the speaker’s views? Why or why not?
The poet does not share the speakers same ideas. It seems like the poet is slightly sarcastic in his tone.
4. What is especially ironic about the concluding couplet?
It states that the wicked are slaughtered and the world grows good. This seems like it can only be a good thing. Without wicked people, there would only be good.
William Stafford
“At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border”
1. What nonevent does this poem celebrate? What is the speaker’s attitude toward it?
This poem celebrates a battle. The speaker is doesn’t really agree that a battle makes a beautiful terrain special. The place is special for its beauty.
2. The speaker describes an empty field. What is odd about the way in which he describes it?
He describes the field for what did not happen on it. Making the field just a field and not known for an event that occurred on it.
3. What words does the speaker appear to use ironically?
“People celebrate it by forgetting its name.” There is irony in this statement because it doesn’t seem possible to celebrate something by not remembering it.

The Elements of Fiction #4

"A Clean. Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway

Tone and Style

This picture depicts Hemingway's use of a dispassionate tone. Hemingway simply reports what the waiters do and say in staccato dialogue. He is reporting what is happening. Likewise, the individual in the photo appears nonchalant and apathetic; avoiding eye contact with the camera. The young waiter in the story has no regard for the old alcoholic man that frequents the cafe every night. This young waiter is constantly putting himself before the old patron. In one instance he states that an hour means more to him than it does to the old man. He even goes as far to say that the old man should have killed himself just so the young waiter could go home a little earlier every night. The style that Hemingway writes in is very reserved yet still descriptive. Like the picture it seems that Hemingway has a lot to say but it is muted and opinions are left to the viewer/reader.

The Elements of Fiction #3

"The Storm"

Symbolism

"The Storm" examines the sexual desires of a young married woman. While she is home alone, she allows an old lover to find shelter from a raging storm in her house. The storm is likened to the adulterous passion that occurs. This picture is showing the implied calm. The approaching waves show a tumultuous period approaching, when sexual desires are increased. The storm symbolizes the main character, Calixta's, sexual desire. She is caught up in "the storm" of her ex lover's arms. Chopin writes in a tone that is approving of her actions. If not approving, the tone is certainly portraying the situation as a plea of insanity; something uncontrollable and unavoidable like a ravenous storm.

The Elements of Fiction #2

"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield

Point of View

By using the third person omniscient, Mansfield is able to inform the reader of Miss Brill's thoughts and feelings. Miss Brill's desire to avoid loneliness by regularly spending time in crowds and conversing with new people is seen because of the point of view. The separation between her imagination and the reality of the situation is depicted clearly because there is a narrator. Had it been told in the first person, the reader would only see Miss Brill's skewed view of reality. Like this picture, the point of view explicitly shows Brill's loneliness. The picture exhibits the smallness of one individual; how one person can feel so insignificant; and life would progress without them. This idea of the world being fine without "me" is one that Miss Brill is very much aware of.

The Elements of Fiction

"A Rose For Emily" by William Falkner

Theme

A bud and a rose that died before it could ever fully bloom sit in the shadow of a number of beautifully blooming pink roses. This photo captures the theme of "A Rose for Emily" by depicting the expectations that the beautiful roses create and those that were never fulfilled by the dead rose and could be achieved by the bud. The rose bud shows promise and an idea of what it potentially could be. The dead rose never blossomed into its full beauty because it wasnt able to fully grow, similar to Emily. She had a dream of marrying Home, which was never fulfilled. Emily clung to that dream and died with it, unable to show her full potential and beauty. She murdered her love and locked him in the house with her, unwilling to allow her dream to die. The theme of Falkner's story is clearly death. Its also a figurative death of hopes and dreams.