ART OF QUESTIONING

The art of questioning is one of the basic skills of good teaching. Through asking questions, we can stimulate critical thinking to the students. The art of thoughtful questioning can also help the teacher to extract not only the factual information from the learners, but also the genuine idea of them. In this article we will discuss the 5 types of questions that may help to improve your questioning technique.

There are 5 Types of Questions:

1. Factual - It is the type of question that is reasonably simple and straight forward. The answers are based on obvious facts or awareness and commonly requires one fact based answers. It is at the lowest level of cognitive or affective processes.

Example: What is the name of the little girl in the story?

2. Convergent - It is the type of question that requires inferences or conjecture. Answers to this type of question is usually within a very finite range of acceptable accuracy.

Example: What were the reason why the boy got mad? (This is not specifically stated in one directstatement in the text or story so, the reader must make simple inferences as to why the boy got mad.)

3. Divergent - It is the type of question that allows the learners to generate variety of answers. This type of question often requires students to analyze, synthesize, or evaluate a knowledge base and then project or predict different outcomes.

Example: In the story, what do you think will happen to the boy if he ran away from their home?

4. Evaluative - It is the type of question that usually requires sophisticated levels of cognitive and emotional judgment. To answer evaluative question, the students must combine multiple logical and affective thinking process or comparative frameworks. Answers in this type of question is analyzed at multiple levels and from different perspective to arrive at the newly synthesized information or conclusions.

Example: What are the similarities and differences between Erikson and Freuds theory of development?

5. Combinations - It is the combination of the types of questions above.

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning has been proven to be effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, mainstream students and English language learners (ELL) because it promotes learning and fosters respect and friendships among diverse groups of students. In fact, the more diversity in a team, the higher the benefits for each student. Peers learn to depend on each other in a positive way for a variety of learning tasks.

Students typically work in teams of four. This way, they can break into pairs for some activities, and then get back together in teams very quickly for others. It is important, however, to establish classroom norms and protocols that guide students to:

• Contribute
• Stay on task
• Help each other
• Encourage each other
• Share
• Solve problems
• Give and accept feedback from peers

Some Cooperative Learning Strategies

There are some popular strategies that can be used with all students to learn content (such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and foreign languages). However, they are particularly beneficial to ELLs for learning English and content at the same time. Most of these strategies are especially effective in teams of four:

1. Round Robin

Present a category (such as “Names of Mammals”) for discussion. Have students take turns going around the group and naming items that fit the category.

2. Roundtable

Present a category (such as words that begin with “b”). Have students take turns writing one word at a time.

3. Write around

For creative writing or summarization, give a sentence starter (for example: If you give an elephant a cookie, he’s going to ask for…). Ask all students in each team to finish that sentence. Then, they pass their paper to the right, read the one they received, and add a sentence to that one. After a few rounds, four great stories or summaries emerge. Give children time to add a conclusion and/or edit their favorite one to share with the class.

4. Numbered Heads Together

Ask students to number off in their teams from one to four. Announce a question and a time limit. Students put their heads together to come up with an answer. Call a number and ask all students with that number to stand and answer the question. Recognize correct responses and elaborate through rich discussions.

5. Team Jigsaw

Assign each student in a team one fourth of a page to read from any text (for example, a social studies text), or one fourth of a topic to investigate or memorize. Each student completes his or her assignment and then teaches the others or helps to put together a team product by contributing a piece of the puzzle.

6. Tea Party

Students form two concentric circles or two lines facing each other. You ask a question (on any content) and students discuss the answer with the student facing them. After one minute, the outside circle or one line moves to the right so that students have new partners. Then pose a second question for them to discuss. Continue with five or more questions. For a little variation, students can write questions on cards to review for a test through this “Tea Party” method.

After each Cooperative Learning activity, you will want to debrief with the children by asking questions such as: What did you learn from this activity? How did you feel working with your teammates? If we do this again, how will you improve working together?

A simple way to start Cooperative Learning is to begin with pairs instead of whole teams. Two students can learn to work effectively on activities such as the following:

1. Assign a math worksheet and ask students to work in pairs.

2. One of the students does the first problem while the second acts as a coach.

3. Then, students switch roles for the second problem.

4. When they finish the second problem, they get together with another pair and check answers.

5. When both pairs have agreed on the answers, ask them to shake hands and continue working in pairs on the next two problems.

Literature circles in groups of four or six are also a great way to get students working in teams. You can follow these steps:

1. Have sets of four books available.

2. Let students choose their own book.

3. Form teams based on students’ choices of books.

4. Encourage readers to use notes, post-its, and discussion questions to analyze their books.

5. Have teams conduct discussions about the book.

6. Facilitate further discussion with the whole class on each of the books.

7. Have teams share what they read with the whole class.

8. For the next literature circles, students select new books.

Benefits of Collaborative Learning:

1. Develops higher level thinking skills

2. Promotes student-faculty interaction and familiarity

3. Increases student retention

4. Builds self-esteem in students

5. Enhances student satisfaction with the learning experience

6. Promotes a positive attitude toward the subject matter

7. Develops oral communication skills

8. Develops social interaction skills

9. Promotes positive race relations

10. Creates an environment of active, involved, exploratory learning

11. Uses a team approach to problem solving while maintaining individual accountability

12. Encourages diversity understanding

13. Encourages student responsibility for learning

14. Involves students in developing curriculum and class procedures

15. Students explore alternate problem solutions in a safe environment

16. Stimulates critical thinking and helps students clarify ideas through discussion and debate

17. Enhances self-management skills

18. Fits in well with the constructivist approach

19. Establish an atmosphere of cooperation and helping school wide

20. Students develop responsibility for each other

21. Builds more positive heterogeneous relationships

22. Encourages alternate student assessment techniques

23. Fosters and develops interpersonal relationships

The Five 5 Pedagogical Approaches in Teaching

The Five 5 Pedagogical Approaches in Teaching are:

1. Contructivism or the Constructivist Approach

2. Collaborative Approach

3. Inquiry-Based Approach

4. Integrative Approach

5. Reflective Approach

Constructivism or Constructivist Approach

Constructivist teaching is based on constructivist learning theory. It based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledgeconstruction as opposed to passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge.

Collaborative Approach

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another's resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another's ideas, monitoring one another's work, etc.).More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetry roles.

Inquiry-Based Approach

Inquiry-based learning (also enquiry-based learning in British English) is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking skills.

Integrative Approach

Integrative learning is a learning theory describing a movement toward integrated lessons helping students make connections across curricula. This higher education concept is distinct from the elementary and high school "integrated curriculum" movement. Integrated studies involve bringing together traditionally separate subjects so that students can grasp a more authentic understanding.Interdisciplinary curricula has been shown by several studies to support students’ engagement and learning. Specifically integrating science with reading comprehension and writing lessons has been shown to improve students’ understanding in both science and English language arts.

Reflective Approach

Reflective teaching is a process where teachers think over their teaching practices, analyzing how something was taught and how the practice might be improved or changed for better learning outcomes. Some points of consideration in the reflection process might be what is currently being done, why it's being done and how well students are learning. You can use reflection as a way to simply learn more about your own practice, improve a certain practice (small groups and cooperative learning, for example) or to focus on a problem students are having. Let's discuss some methods of reflective teaching now.

FLASH FICTION

What is Flash Fiction?

To put it simply, flash fiction, are stories that are extremely brief and small. They are also known as micro-fiction, short shorts, postcard fiction etc.

Ernest Hemingway once famously bets that one could write a story in just six words. Consider the following ‘story’ which won a flash fiction contest; the word count limit for this story was set at just 6 words!

John meets Sarah’s father. Prefers him.

In 2008, CNN asked their readers to submit to their 6-word flash fiction compilation and you can read the entries here.

Here's the list in full, many thanks to all those who took part:

Boy meets girl, girl eats boy. (Clem)

Radio Heaven, The brimestone of wine. (Hans Kristian Hansen)

He withdrew, she gasped, he left. (Chris Luff)

Mistaken Identity: Death Row. DNA: Freedom. (Shaun)

Genius at work! Company is welcome. (Dan L)

Shakespeare had bad days too, right? (Dan L)

Do not disturb, writing in progress. (James)

Worthless life, endless waiting, last breath; reminded. (Anupama Aliyar)

Womb for rent. Any offer accepted. (Barbara Fuehrer)

Accepting the Oscar, she thanked me. (Justin)

Arlington: Funeral's Daily. Press not welcome. (1 Soldier)

The dodo deserved to die. (Sani Ahmed)

World peace is non-negotiable. (Sani Ahmed)

Wanted: 1 wife for 3 weeks. (Hannah)

Why can't you ask why? (Danryan)

Week 23. Baby's face in ultrasound. (William Möller)

The dead man woke in darkness. (David Irving)

ID? Here. My only son. (William Möller)

Disgraced former boxing champion found dead. (Andy)

She loved me, I loved not. (Mike D)

E.J. Ross. Born 1979. Died 1942. (Megan)

Father hits, mother lost, child found. (Alina)

Your oil is mine. (Pedro Faria Lopes)

Day27: First ray of sunlight. Hope. (Ram)

One list, 7 names, 6 bullets. (KB)

Sweating guilt, he closed the door. (Douglas Green)

Thinking of a story: undeniable failure. (Lisa-Marie)

Called to serve; willing to die. (NyxKordel)

Three exhausted architects watch returning homeowners. (Kate)

Love dies, passion wanes, marriage over. (Suzanne)

Help us, help you, cure hunger. (Renee Fontana)

Word count for flash fiction stories

Although Wikipedia indicates that the starting word count for flash fiction stories is around three hundred words, there have been many flash fiction contests around the world with maximum word count limits set to 15 words or lower.

While the minimum word count is debatable there seems to be a consensus on the maximum word count. Many writers believe that the maximum word count is around 1000 to 1500 words. If you are thinking 500 words is a lot of difference (hell, you can fit another flash in that range), the fact remains that while 1000 words seems like an ideal cutoff, there are contests online that keep it at 1500 words and still call it flash fiction; having said that you might encounter more stories with a 1000 words as a cutoff limit than with 1500 words as a cutoff.

Most Popular Contests for Flash Fiction Stories

Over the years the genre has struck a note with contest organizers. Owing to brevity and the relatively lesser judging time involved the format has become very popular. There are plenty of online contests both in India and abroad that encourage participants to write flash fiction.

Please read this very (very, very) exhaustive listing of flash markets; some of these are contests while some others are call for submissions. Here’s the link.

Where can you read flash fiction stories?

Aesop’s Fables are considered the oldest stories in the flash fiction genre (yes, it is a genre in itself) and with dwindling attention spans and in-your-hand technology you can read a lot of quick fiction online. It is more popular online than in print form, especially in markets like India. (Honestly, I haven’t read any Indian flash fiction anthologies or collections in print. So, I’d be happy to have some recommendations, if any!).

So, google away! Or if you prefer it there are mobile phone applications like Fivers:  Flash Fiction for the Phone retailing on the iPhone App Store. There are other apps in the Android markets too.

How does one write Flash Fiction stories?!

So, now we get to the interesting part. Here are some tips to consider while writing flash fiction; as always, these aren’t sacrosanct. Make them up along the way. Also, if you are submitting to contests make sure you read ALL the guidelines, especially word count limits, else your work will not be considered.

1. It should have a beginning, a middle and an end

Like all stories there has to be some meat. Even if it is 6 words, remember that it is not just a sentence but a story.

2. Pick one point and End it (or close)

There is really no space (literally) for multiple storylines and conflict points. Ideally, dwell on one conflict and try to resolve it or at least take the story to a point of an implied conflict resolution.

Consider the example mentioned above; the first four words are used only to provide information, i.e, boy meets girl’s father. There is no story there for it remains just a sentence until the conflict is introduced. And, the beauty of the next two words is that it sort of both creates the conflict and brings the story to a conclusion.  Is there scope for more “story”? Yes, but not within those 6 words.

3. It has to be funny or witty or spooky or puzzling or all of it

Well, this is my personal rule, of sorts. It has to be entertaining throughout! That remains non-negotiable. While entertainment is necessary in whatever format one is writing in, it holds most true for flash. In the longer formats, like the novel for instance, some readers are known to persist simply for loyalty to the author or for curiosity sake, skipping through descriptions and going straight to dialogue if narrative gets too boring and at the end of the reading experience, the reader might still say, “overall, good book”. One does not have that luxury in flash fiction for if a reader abandons a 100-word story mid-way (horror of horrors), it is plain bad writing.

4. It is okay to imply and not say the whole thing (because of paucity of space)

Readers might have to play a participatory role in the story. So, it is okay to imply character traits and history using just a few words like “always unkempt” or “perennially infamous.” In longer formats you would spend more time building character value using back-story.

5. Start with something happening rather than setting or character traits

Basically, get straight to the action point.

6. Write the full version in your head and then edit, edit, edit and finish with a punch line.

http://www.booksoarus.com/flash-fiction/

Travelogue as a Literary Genre

Travelogue as a Literary Genre
by Dr. Rama Rao Vadapalli V.B.
Travel Book, Travel Guide, Travel account and Travel Record all these can all be called travel writing. Some of these have relation more to history than to literature, since history in the past is sometimes culled from the explorer’s and traveler’s records. They are extremely valuable in spite of their not having high literary values. There is an encyclopedia of Literature of Travel and Exploration. Though these are called books and so literature, what makes a literary work is the unfolding or the revelation of the writer’s feelings, personality, imaginativeness and fine turns of expression, to describe some qualities essential for literary compositions. Travelogue, the dictionary says is after monologue, which is narrative with the aid of slides and pictures before an audience. But nowadays all travel writing is included in the term Travelogue. KM George the compiler and editor of the Encyclopedia of Indian Literature included several entries from different languages under the head Travelogue. Broadly speaking Travel Essays may be just occasional pieces of writing of a comparatively transitory or ephemeral nature with no just claim to literary value. For example a Travel Guide, which is essential for a tourist has no literary merit in as such. Much of travel-writing is not primarily intended as a literary artifact. Travel Accounts or Travel Literature needs to be looked at from the point of view of its purport, the manner of writing and the involvement of the writer’s personality to be accorded the status of literature. .Literary historians did not seem to be inclined to include travel writing as a genre or form of literature, both in our country and in the West. It is, however, not very easy to draw a clear line of distinction literary travel writing and non-literary writing. But some travelogues easily stand out as remarkable literary achievement. We can generally agree that travelogue has a high degree of literary merit in conveying personally and informally the information relating to the journey, travel or peregrination involving spatial displacement. Travelogues, then, are primarily written in prose. It is helpful to agree that a travelogue, for our purpose here, is beyond recording observations without feeling or observations that do not arouse any feeling. Travel Writing and its various Linkages Travel essays could be primarily informative, offering worthwhile information to readers who wish to be travelers or tourists just as a hobby. As travel guides they are purely intended to give information regarding availability of food, facilities for accommodation, food etc indicating distances from various points to destinations, modes available for travel, places not be missed for sight seeing and such basic information. Journey is a metaphor widely used in all literatures. It is used as a literary device in scriptures, epics and widely read literary artifacts. Travel is used in satire as in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels or a means of conveying information in an interesting manner or Joseph Addison’s creation of a Citizen of the World, are cases in point. There is a whole genre in English Fiction well received as the Picaresque Novel. Writers who produced travel accounts and travel-writing are from a variety of professions, temperaments, ages and climes. They have been adventurers, explorers, diplomats, scholars, missionaries, professionals like doctors and clergymen or just travel enthusiasts. Travel writings have linkages with History, Exploration and Adventure in its non-literary exposition and in its literary exposition with Autobiography and experience-related personality revelation. In both the categories, travel, movement, journey and peregrination are involved in different degrees. Travel literature meaning travel writing can be classified in several ways according to its linkage. The travelogue – meaning literary exposition of travel experience – may conveniently be classified again as (a) fantasy described or given as exposition of fact, (b) literature of recorded fact and (c) literature of artistic presentation of recorded impressions and feeling during travel. The examples that readily come up to our minds are R.L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island of the 19th century of foreign travelers to India like Megasthanese’s Indica (of ancient times) and (c) Scinde or the Unhappy Valley of Richard Burton of the 18th century. Fantasy is a very popular literary genre and Treasure Island is still a great favorite with school children. The adventure and the suspense elements take the reader forward with ease as well as urgency to know what happens next. The place is imaginary but the adventures portrayed are fantastic. The introduction of characters, the conflict and the denouement are dramatized before the reader with élan. This novel has a high literary quality. Journalism and travel together yielded travel journalism, a special category wherein journalists travel and produce works with their intrinsic journalistic flair – from the point of a journalist. Sometimes as in Graham Greenes’ Lawless Roads or his Journey without Maps, the writer’s personality and the journalistic presentation of facts are brilliantly presented. These have high literary value again. Sometimes a tourist group consisting several individuals go on a long travel, fore example on a pilgrimage to Kailash Manasarovar, the most important destination for Hindu religious enthusiasts next only Kashi (Varanasi, (Banaras) or Rameshwaram. Travel as a literary mode and an adjunct in literary writing is evidenced in literatures of almost all languages. Homer’s Odyssey is an account of the travels of the hero Odysseus. Dante’s Divine Comedy is an account of a travel through the different regions of hell. This device is used in our epics and kavyas (imaginative literary poetic compositions), in Sanskrit and other Bhasha literatures in our country. In the title Ramayana yana refers to journey or travel of Rama. Mahabharata describes Arjun’s pilgrimages, again travels. In Bhagavatpuran Balaram Vidur takes to travels for self-purification. Kavyas too exploit travel motif as in Kalidasa’s Meghsandesh. In Hindi Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), the culture icon, wrote several travel books of great literary value. In Malayalam KeshavMenon’s Bilayati vishesham published in 1930 belongs to the same category. In Gujarati Kaka Saheb Kalelkar wrote Jeevanleela, considered a classic and widely translated. Autobiographies record experiences, impressions revealing feelings, relating to certain incidents in one’s own life. Such a work may also contain travel experiences and travel-related information but these may either just be incidental or not of much importance. Travelogue – The Fully Emerged Literary Genre Not very long ago, it has been the trend to consider travel writing as peripheral to literary writing. Academics considered this writing as not very valuable to be considered literary. Owing to the emerging trends of travel experience among the different categories of travellers and tourists, travellers with religious considerations like acquiring merit (teerthayatras) travels with journalistic motivation, travels for probing, understanding and reading histories with a new point of view, with personal, spiritual and philosophical motives and aspiration, travelogues came in the limelight. Any systematic and aesthetic analysis of travelogue studies need to view the corpus selected for specified purpose with stress on the ‘W’s: who produced the discourse, where, when and how it is produced are all matters deserving study. W need to examine ‘when’ for broadly a travel discourse may belong to many categories, some of which readily could be stated. These categories do not purport to be exhaustive. Ancient writing: Travel Records of foreign travellers in India, Megasthenes, Fahien, Huen Tsang, Al Beruni etc. Medieval writing: travel Records in the medieval times: Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta, Nicolo Conte, Abdur Razak, Dom Manuel etc. Pre Colonial and Colonial writing: Scorer, Tavernier, Captain Basil Hall, Count Herman Keiserling, etc. Colonial Writing: Robert Burton, Edward Gibbon, Hakluyt, Mark Twain, etc. The characteristics of each of the categories listed above are bound to be different. Tourist places of interest, cultural or religious destinations are spaces where different cultures throng, meet, interact and share information and experience. They are thrown into the company of one another to form and perceptions and exchange ideas and feelings. The visits and stay at destinations help forming, correcting and revising ideas and perceptions for the better. Today’s tourists and travelers are a thick medley of migrant, neo-settlers, short -time tourists and religious enthusiasts. Many a travelogue does contain literary merit and artistic excellence. Travel accounts as literature are widely varied. There is no homogeneity in this form though it is surely a genre. The purpose of writing may vary from writer to writer and from time to time. So too the degree of subjectivity in the writing.. Travelogue in the hands of imaginative-artistic people charter fresh regions (fresh fields and pastures new) clearly demarcating, mediating, reconciling or harmonizing cultures through observation, understanding and mutual appreciation. Widening horizons is precisely the purpose of a travelogue. A historical study of various travel texts help us to understand our history as well as the personality of the individual travel writers, their attitude towards the life of the people they traveled among, the ways of governance in those periods among various other things. What those writers saw, felt and experienced and the degree of their subjectivity or objectivity in their writing can be studied. We have a huge body exclusively of travel literature to be studied and analyzed distinct from the mere factual details they recorded. Image (c) Gettyimages.com
16-Aug-2013
More by :  Dr. Rama Rao Vadapalli V.B.

HOW TO ANALYZE A POEM

Poetry is a compact language that expresses complex feelings. To understand the multiple meanings of a poem, readers must examine its words and phrasing from the perspectives of rhythm, sound, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning. Readers then need to organize responses to the verse into a logical, point-by-point explanation. A good beginning involves asking questions that apply to most poetry.

Context of the Poem

Clear answers to the following questions can help establish the context of a poem and form the foundation of understanding:

• Who wrote the poem? Does the poet's life suggest any special point of view, such as a political affiliation, religious sect, career interest, musical talent, family or personal problems, travel, or handicap — for example, H. D.'s feminism, Amiri Baraka's radicalism, T. S. Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism, William Carlos Williams' career as a physician, A. R. Ammons' training in chemistry, Amy Lowell's aristocratic background, John Berryman's alcoholism, or Hart Crane's homosexuality?
• When was the poem written and in what country? Knowing something about the poet's life, times, and culture helps readers understand what's in a poem and why.
• Does the poem appear in the original language? If not, readers should consider that translation can alter the language and meaning of a poem.
• Is the poem part of a special collection or series? Examples of such series and collections include Edna St. Vincent Millay's sonnets, Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems, or Rita Dove's triad, "Adolescence — I, II, and III."
• Does the poem belong to a particular period or literary movement? For example, does the poem relate to imagism, confessional verse, the Beat movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights era, the American Indian renaissance, or feminism?

Style of the Poem

Into what category does the poem fit — for example, Carl Sandburg's imagism in "Fog" or Gwendolyn Brooks' epic "The Anniad"? Readers should apply definitions of the many categories to determine which describes the poem's length and style:

• Is it an epic, a long poem about a great person or national hero?
• Is it a lyric, a short, musical verse?
• Is it a narrative, a poem that tells a story?
• Is it a haiku, an intense, lyrical three-line verse of seventeen syllables?
• Is it confessional? For example, does it examine personal memories and experiences?

Title of the Poem

• Is the title's meaning obvious? For example, does it mention a single setting and action, such as W. S. Merwin's "The Drunk in the Furnace" or James A. Wright's "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio"?
• Does it imply multiple possibilities? For example, Jean Toomer's "Georgia Dusk," which refers to a time of day as well as to dark-skinned people.
• Does it strike a balance, as in Rita Dove's "Beulah and Thomas"?
• Is there an obvious antithesis, as with Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice"?
• Is there historical significance to the title? For example, Robert Lowell's "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket."

Repetition in the Poem

Readers should read through a poem several times, at least once aloud. If it is a long poem, such as Allen Ginsberg's Howl or Hart Crane's The Bridge, readers should concentrate on key passages and look for repetition of specific words, phrases, or verses in the poem.

• Why is there a repeated reference to the sea in Robinson Jeffers's poetry?
• Why does the pronoun "we" recur in Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"?
• Why does Edgar Lee Masters reprise epitaphs for Spoon River Anthology?

If readers note repetition in the poem, they should decide why certain information seems to deserve the repetition.

Opening and Closing Lines of the Poem

• Does the poet place significant information or emotion in these places? For example, when reading Marianne Moore's "Poetry," readers may question the negative stance in the opening lines.
• Does the poet intend to leave a lasting impression by closing with a particular thought? For example, why does Langston Hughes' "Harlem" lead to the word "explode"?

Passage of Time in the Poem

• Can readers pin down a time frame? What details specify time?
• Does the poet name a particular month or season, as with Amy Lowell's "Patterns"?
• Is there a clear passage of time, as with the decline of the deceased woman in Denise Levertov's "Death in Mexico"?
• How long is the period of time? Are there gaps?

Speaker of the Poem

• Who is the speaker? Is the person male or female?
• Does the voice speak in first person (I, me, my, mine), for example, John Berryman's "Huffy Henry"?
• Does the speaker talk directly to a second person, as with Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck"?
• Is the voice meant to be universal — for example, applicable to either sex at any time or place?

Names of Characters

• Does the name of a character suggest extra meaning, such as Eben Flood (an alcoholic) in Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Mr. Flood's Party" and T. S. Eliot's prissy protagonist in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?

Basic Details of the Poem

• Is the poet deliberately concealing information from the readers, as with the source of depression in Robert Lowell's "Skunk Hour"?
• Why does the poet leave out significant facts? Are readers supposed to fill in the blanks, for example, the relationship between mother and daughter in Cathy Song's "The White Porch" or the perplexity of a modern tourist in Allen Tate's "Ode to the Union Dead"?

Culture

• Does the poem stress cultural details, such as the behavior, dress, or speech habits of a particular group or a historical period or event — for instance, the death of an airline stewardess in James Dickey's "Falling"?
• Are any sections written in dialect, slang, or foreign words, as with the Deep South patois of Sterling Brown's "Ma Rainey"?

Fantasy versus Reality

• Is the poem an obvious fantasy, as is the case with the intense confrontation in Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" and the setting of Rita Dove's "Geometry"?

Mood and Tone of the Poem

• What is the mood of the poem? Is it cheerful or jolly like limericks? Is it mysterious, provocative, zany, ominous, festive, fearful, or brooding, as with Randall Jarrell's "Sad Heart at the Supermarket"? Does the mood change within the body of the work, as with Joy Harjo's "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window"? Why does the mood shift? Where does the shift begin?
• What is the poet's tone? Is it satiric, serious, mock serious, playful, somber, brash, or teasingly humorous, as with Robert Frost's "Departmental: The End of My Ant Jerry"? Does the poet admire, agree with, ridicule, or condemn the speaker, as in the touch of mock heroic in Richard Wilbur's "The Death of a Toad"? Is there an obvious reason for the poet's attitude, as suggested by the suffering in James Dickey's "Angina"? Does the poet withhold judgment, as is the case with the epitaphs of Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology?

Themes of the Poem

Locating and identifying theme is crucial to understanding dominant ideas; theme is the poem's essence.

• Is the subject youth, loss, renewal, patriotism, nature, love? Are there several themes? How do these themes relate to each other?
• Is the poet merely teasing or entertaining or trying to teach a lesson, as do Robinson Jeffers' "Hurt Hawks" and Marianne Moore's "The Mind Is an Enchanted Thing"?
• Does the poet emphasize the theme by means of onomatopoeia, personification, or controlling images?

Rhythm of the Poem

• Is there a dominant rhythm? Does it dance, frolic, meander, slither, or march? Is it conversational, like a scene from a drama? Is it a droning monologue, as found in a journal, diary, or confessional?
• Does the rhythm relate to the prevalent theme of the poem? Or does it seem at odds with the theme?
• Does the rhythm increase or decrease in speed, as does Ezra Pound's Hugh Selwyn Mauberley: Life and Contacts? Why?

Use of the Senses in the Poem

• Does the poem stress sense impressions — for example, taste, touch, smell, sound, or sight? Are these impressions pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?
• Does the poet concentrate on a single sense or a burst of sensation, as in Wallace Stevens's "Peter Quince at the Clavier" or Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish"?

Imagery in the Poem

• Are there concrete images or pictures that the poet wants readers to see?
• Are the pictures created by means of comparisons — for instance, metaphor or simile? Do inanimate objects take on human traits (personification)? Does the speaker talk to inanimate objects or to such abstract ideas as freedom?

Language of the Poem

• Does the poet stress certain sounds, such as pleasant sounds (euphony) or harsh letter combinations (cacophony), as demonstrated by Wendy Rose's title "Academic Squaw"?
• Are certain sounds repeated (alliteration, sibilance), as in the insistent a sounds in Amiri Baraka's "A Poem for Willie Best"?
• Are words linked by approximate rhyme, like "seem/freeze," or by real rhyme, such as "least/feast"? Is there a rhyme scheme or sound pattern at the ends of lines, as with the interlocking rhymes of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"? Does rhyming occur within a line (internal rhyme), as in "black flak" in Randall Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"?
• Is there onomatopoeia, or words that make a sound that imitates their meaning, such as swoosh, ping pong, ricochet, clangor, plash, wheeze, clack, boom, tingle, slip, fumble, or clip-clop, as with the verb "soar" in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "On Thought in Harness"?

Supplemental Materials

• Has the editor included any preface, explanatory notes, or concluding comments and questions; for example, T. S. Eliot's dedication of The Waste Land or Wendy Rose's use of epigraphs?
• Are there notes and comments in a biography, poet's letters and essays, critical analyses, Web site, or anthology, such as biographical footnotes to Anne Sexton's "Sylvia's Death" and the many commentaries on Hart Crane's The Bridge?
• Is there an electronic version, such as the poet reading original verse on the Internet? Are there notes on the record jacket, cassette box, or CD booklet, as found on recordings of Adrienne Rich's feminist verse?

Drawing Conclusions

After answering the questions presented in this introduction, readers should paraphrase or restate the poem in everyday words, as though talking to someone on the telephone. A summary of the poem should emphasize a pattern of details, sounds, or rhythm. For example, do various elements of the poem lead readers to believe that the poet is describing an intense experience? Is the poet defining something, such as parenthood, risking a life, curiosity, marriage, religious faith, or aging, as in Denise Levertov's "A Woman Alone"? Is the poet telling a story event by event? Does the poet want to sway the reader's opinion, as Louise Bogan does in "Evening in the Sanitarium"?

Before reaching a conclusion about the meaning of a poem, readers should summarize their personal responses. Are they emotionally moved or touched by the poem? Are they entertained or repulsed, terrified or stirred to agree? Do words and phrases stick in their memory? How has the poet made an impression? And most important, why?