Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Tears, Idle Tears.
List three adjectives that the speaker uses to describe the past and explain how the adjectives are different or similar.
Fresh, Sad, Dear; What all these three adjectives have in common is the fact that they are all there to talk about the past, they are talking about how great the past was, the only thing that is different is “Sad” because it is speaking about something grim whereas the other too are speaking about something great.
Briefly state the tone of the poem.
This poem has a grim feeling; it is depressing and longing for something that is no more.
What does the speaker believe is precious about the past?
That the past is unique and that you will never be able to get it back even if you really want it, the past is now past.
Do you think the speaker had a joyous or miserable past? Why?
I think that it is very probable that the speaker had a very joyous past because he desires it so, and he hates the present. He wishes that he could return to the time that he has now lost.
The Power of Nature
Both “The Eagle: A Fragment” and “Flower in the Crannied Wall” contain lessons or messages. Explain how each quotation reveals the message of the poem.
“Close to the sun in lonely lands”: This poem is about a strong eagle, the sun is one the greatest thing ins the world and this is like a balance between something strong as the sun and something that is lonely and that will not have company (the lands).
“(If) I could understand what you are… I should know what God and man is”: In this quotation we can infer that the poet is trying to get the meaning of life, he is trying to realize what life is just by seeing these flowers.
What is the speaker’s attitude toward nature in each poem?
The speaker loves nature and sees it as divine and as something great that has no comparison in life.
In what ways are the two poems different?
One is about loneliness in this beautiful place, and the other one is about the greatness and vastness of the universe in something so small as the flowers.
”The Lady of Shalott”
What associations do you have with the following words from the poem? Use words, symbols or images to communicate the ideas or emotions you associate with each of the following poem.
Cracked: Broken and shattered, something that can’t be fixed.
Mirror: A view of yourself, a self-image.
Curse: Something evil, strange and cruel something wicked.
Shadows: Dark and lonely something that is not nice but grim.
Explain the meaning of the above words in the context of the poem.
Cracked: Stopped, paused.
Mirror: Reflection
Curse: Spell of evil.
Shadows: Spirits of the dark.
Why do you think the Lady of Shalott becomes “half sick” of the shadows she sees in the mirror?
Because she is not sick, but she is scared and se is trying to overcomes this horrible feeling that she has because she saw something as horrible and as grim as a shadow is.
