October 10-14

Keats

1. St. Agnes is the patron saint of virgins. How does learning this change your interpretation of the poem "The Eve of St. Agnes"?

2. Keats based his poem on the superstition that if a young girl performed a certain ritual on the eve of St. Agnes, she would see her future husband. If you could see into your future, would you? Explain.

3. Keats based "Ode to a Nightingale" upon the tranquility and joy he felt in a nightingale's song. If you could write an ode to an element of nature, what would you choose to honor? Animal? Plant? Place? Describe and explain.

4. Keats knew he was dying of tuberculosis when he wrote "Bright Star." Does this change your interpretation of the poem? Why or why not?

October 3-7

1. In "Those Winter Sundays," analyze the repetition of "What did I know?"

2. The most arresting feature of "The Fish" is its imagery. Which image stands out the most to you? Explain/discuss.

3. In Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric" Whitman lists a number of body parts: do any of them tend to stand out or to form any sort of unexpected patterns?

4. Find a poem that speaks to you in the Bedford. Recommend it to the other bloggers on this site and explain why we should read it.

September 26-30

1. Discuss your all-time favorite book. Explain why it is your favorite. Persuade others to read it.

2. Discuss what you look for in an author's style.

3. When was the last time you read poetry for pleasure? Why do you think people don't read poetry like they used to? Should this be a concern? Discuss.

4. Which character was your favorite in Watership Down? Explain.

September 19-23

"The Hand" by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

1. Why do you think the wife kisses her husband's hand in the final paragraph? Explain how the kiss might symbolize the nature of their relationship.

2. In "The Birthmark" Nathaniel Hawthorne also uses a hand for symbolic purposes. Compare the meanings he associates with the hand in his story with Colette's. How does each writer invest meanings in a central symbol? Which one do you find more effective? Explain.

"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver

1. Though there is little description of the setting in this story, how do the few details that are provided help to establish tone?

2. If you are familiar with the story of Solomon in the Bible, how might "Popular Mechanics" be read as a retelling of this story?

3. Discuss how the ending of "Popular Mechanics" is similar to the ending of Hawthorne's "The Birthmark."

September 12-16

Chekov & Oates

1. Which version did you like better? What's the point of retelling the story?

2. "What triumph, to love like this in any room, anywhere, risking even the craziest of accidents!" Explain this reflection of Anna's and relate it to her character. (Oates)

3. Describe your response to Gurov in Parts I and II, and discuss how your judgment of him changes in the last two parts of the story. (Chekov)

September 5-9

1. "Killings" by Dubus

a. Discuss the significance of the title. Why is "Killings" a more appropriate title than "Killers"?

b. How might "Killings" be considered a love story as well as a murder story?

2. "Young Goodman Brown" by Hawthorne

a. Discuss the symbolic value of the forest in the story. How are the descriptions of the forest contrasted with those of Salem village?

b. Near the end of the story, the narrator asks, "Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?" Was it a dream or did it actually happen? How does the answer to this question affect your reading of the story?

August 29--September 2

Watership Down

1. Discuss the qualities of a good leader. Give real-life examples. What are some qualities of "bad" leaders? Examples?

2. If you could create your own form of government, how would you do it? What laws would you make? Customs? Holidays? Be creative!