Poetry for Students Vol. 10

Volume 10 81 of making a promise. The promise on its face first seems distasteful, maybe even gruesome. But, As Cap says, “A pro ...

82 Poetry for Students An important aspect of Service’s style is the generous use of dialogue. In “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” ...

Volume 10 83 fire burns up Sam’s remains. In the first and last stanzas, Service uses two words that now seem odd, “marge” and “ ...

Dear Reader As readers of James Tate’s poems, weare the sub- ject of this one, aptly titled “Dear Reader.” Upon finishing it, we ...

Volume 10 85 despair. In the end, we may indeed be a little more “dear” to him than it would first appear. Author Biography Jame ...

86 Poetry for Students are counteracted by an absurd, impossible, comedic admission. The speaker is using a “burning snowflake” ...

Volume 10 87 whether we will be able to rekindle (“start a little fire”) the connection between him as poet and us as readers. T ...

88 Poetry for Students less than positive, for it implies a pathetic perse- verance to attain the unattainable. Tate’s persona h ...

Volume 10 89 all picture and understand caskets, snowflakes, sleet, hands rubbing together, fire, and the moon. It is what Tate ...

90 Poetry for Students Biography,“Critic after critic has pointed out the obvious: his imagery is dreamlike, although clear; his ...

Volume 10 91 each other as naturally and as contentiously as do the members of any family. The familial relation- ship is arbitr ...

92 Poetry for Students actively in the sequence of verses to come. Instead, “Dear Reader” stands near the end of the volume, int ...

Volume 10 93 way.” They loved to poke fun at death, to chat about revolution, to make grandiose claims about their own works and ...

94 Poetry for Students Many writers would write without fanfare or ex- pectation; perhaps many of readers consider writ- ing as ...

Volume 10 95 covenant between poet and reader based on certain assumptions of how “the game” should be played. At a time when a ...

96 Poetry for Students situation occurring in America around the time when “Dear Reader,” was composed: the burning of draft car ...

Drifters “Drifters” is from the book No Fixed Address, Bruce Dawe’s first book of poetry. Over the years, Dawe has become one of ...

98 Poetry for Students on Australian poetry through his association with other writers who went on to be counted as the greatest ...

Volume 10 99 the form of a horse and drowns travelers. This cross-meaning gives the poem a sense of danger, implying that the fa ...

100 Poetry for Students brightness usually indicates hope and optimism, a goal that one can see beyond the dismal present. In li ...