Following is “Pragmatist” by Edmund Conti.
What kind of poem is this (3 points)?
Define this term (4 points).
As you remember from our “Death” unit, we examined how different readings portray different approaches to death. What approach does this poem portray (4 points)?
How does knowing that this poem is an epigram contribute to our understanding of what Conti is telling us about death (4 points)?
“Apocalypse soon
Coming our way
Ground zero at noon
Halve a nice day.”
2.Use “When I consider how my light is spent” by John Milton to define a Petrarchan sonnet.
There are 2 kinds of stanzas. What are they called (4 points)? How many lines are in each stanza? (2 points)
What meter (NOT rhyme scheme) does Milton use? Break the meter down and define each part so that I know you understand (8 points).
How is the first stanza different from the second stanza? In other words, every Petrarchan sonnet has the same type of content in the 2 stanzas: what is that same content? (4 points)
How does knowing the difference help us read and understand the sonnet more fully? (2 points).
3.In the death unit, we found many methods for approaching death.
For example, Robert Frost’s “Out, Out—” potentially demonstrates 3 ways to explain the last 2 lines of the poem: “And they—since they were not the one dead—turned to their own affairs.” How can these lines be read literally, with a literary interpretation? (5 points)
Those same lines can also be interpreted with a psychological interpretation, applying the stages of grief. How do the stages of grief provide a second interpretation of these lines? (5 points)
Robert Frost himself provides a biographical interpretation after experiencing all of the early deaths and other traumatic events involving his family members. Using this information, what is a third interpretation of these lines? (5 points)
4.Consider the works we read about faith listed below.
How do “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” give different perspectives on God? (8 points)
How is “stand and wait” service to God, as Milton states in “When I consider how my light is spent”? (8 points)
What can you learn about your own spiritual walk (defined however you wish) from “God’s Goodness”? (8 points)