NAVIGATION:

Index of Introduction to Poetry Materials

Index of Dr. Weller's Class Materials

What is the Situation in this Poem?

Pick one of the following poems and answer the questions which follow it:

"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne: Who is speaking?; Who is the speaker speaking to?; Who is dying? [Beware: This is a kind of a trick question.]; What is the occasion?; What is this poem about?

"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning: Who is speaking?; Who is the speaker speaking to?; What is the occasion?; How long does the person spoken to remain seated?; Who is in the "company" mentioned in line 48?; What happened to make the speaker say "Nay" (line 53)?; What is this poem about?

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold: Where is Dover beach?; Where is the speaker?; Who is it that is supposed to "come to the window" (line 6)? Does that person come to the window?; What is the significance of the word "Only" (line 7)?; What is this poem about?

"Naming of Parts" by Henry Reed: How many people do we hear talking?; Who is "me" (line 14)?; Who is the person identified as part of "we" (line 28)?; What time of year is it?; What is this poem about?

"Church Going" by Philip Larkin: What happens just before the poem begins?; What physical events are recounted in the first two stanzas?; Where is the speaker when this poem ends?; What is this poem about?

"Is My Team Ploughing" by A. E. Housman: Who is speaking?; Who is the speaker speaking to?; What is the occasion?; What is this poem about?