| Study
Guide: August 29, 2001 |
"The
Chimney Sweeper"
The footnote to the last line of the poem suggests that the moral
of the story here is "a typical conduct homily." Does
the poem as a whole endorse this homily as an accurate summary of
the poem's meaning? As an accurate description of how one should
live in the world?
"The
Little Black Boy"
Compare the poem to the illustration. Do the black boy and the white
boy have different relationships with God? How would you characterize
(using the words of the poem as evidence) their relationship with
each other?
"The
Cod and the Pebble"
Is either "right" about the nature of love? Does the poem
endorse either point of view. Think about what a "clod"
and a "pebble" are. Why would the poem use these things
to speak their ideas?
"The
Tyger"
Is there an answer to the question posed in the first stanza? Why
does the poem use "could" in the first stanza and "dare"
in the final stanza? What does the poem think of the tiger?
"The
Sick Rose"
In line 7, why does the poem use the word "love"? What
kind of "love" does the "invisible worm" bear
to the rose? What is the effect of the poem addressing itself to
the "sick rose" rather than to the worm?
"The
Garden of Love"
What is the poem's attitude towards human nature? Are the speaker
(and his joys and desires) innately good, or are social institutions
necessary to clamp down the evil of human beings?
"London"
What are the "mind forg'd manacles"? Is this a "hopeless"
poem" ? Does it trump a poem like "The Ecchoing Green"
or are they equally powerful?
"A
Poison Tree"
Do we condemn the speaker of the poem for being "glad" about
exacting revenge upon his "foe"? Or can we condemn him for
not "turning the other cheek"?
"A
Divine Image"
Why this particular title? After all, it's mostly about "human
characteristics?
Content copyright
©2001 George Justice
Site copyright© 2001 Joan Bahamonde, George Justice, and Susan
Soto
