4 poems to discuss. 5-6 sentances each is fine. use these poems only, no other sources. 1 poem is attachted , the other 3 i will send links or copy and paste them.
1. dulce et decorum
Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a powerfully moving poem–as it gives its readers an immediate and close-up view of war. The Latin quotation from Horace at the end of the poem is translated as follows: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” The notes also tell us that Wilfred Owen served in WWI and died during the war. (The poem was published posthumously.)
Owen calls Horace’s statement “the old lie.” What do you think he means by this?
I’d also like us to consider the powerful use of imagery (language that appeals to the senses). Be sure to refer specifically to the poem (citing/referring to particular lines).
2. dover beach
Matthew Arnold’s poem has, for me, a relevancy that I sometimes find startling. Written in 1867–with allusions to the French revolution and to Sophocles’ comments regarding the Aegean–it seems possible that the poem is, perhaps, not relevant to our everyday lives. I would be willing to assert, however, that this poem does touch deeply on what it means to be human and how our connections to one another can be the only thing that sustains us in a chaotic world.
Arnold’s poem is a dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologues have a single speaker (typically with another person in the poem who does not speak–a silent listener). The speaker of the monologue typically reveals things about him or herself that s/he did not intend to reveal or did not even know until it was spoken. I’d like you to examine what it is that Arnold’s speaker comes to realize. You should look at the way the tone of the poem changes from the opening through the end of the first stanza.
Be sure to refer specifically to the poem (citing/referring to particular lines).
3. to make a prairie
I’d just like to hear a discussion about what you all think. What does Dickinson mean when she says that to make a prairie it takes a clover, bee, and revery?
4. introduction to poetry
In this poem, Billy Collins seems to present some concerns he has with the student/poem relationship. I wonder in what ways teachers exacerbate the problem. I often worry that I’m asking students to beat the poems with a hose to find out what they “really mean.” What are your thoughts? What is Collins saying here? Be sure to refer specifically to the poem (citing/referring to particular lines).
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