Questions+for+EAAV+Online+Poetry

"Yet Do I Marvel" 1.What does the speaker not doubt? 2. What does the speaker's references to a mole, "flesh that mirrors Him", Tantalus, and Sisyphus suggest about the nature of God? What tone, then, does the first line seem to be in context of the core of the poem? 3. Who is Tantalus and Sisyphus? 4. What is meant by the phrase that God's "ways" are both "inscrutable" and "immune to catechism"? 5. Why is it significant--both in the context of the poem and historical--that the poet is black?

"The Lynching" 1. A lynching is more than hanging. What is it? Be certain to place it within historical and cultural context. 2. To what/whom is McKay's poem alluding? 3. What might the "awful sin" be that is "unforgiven"? This can be read in both a literal and ironic/sardonic manner. 4. What is suggested about God by the "bright and solitary star" and the reference about "Fate's wild whim"? 5. Why is it important that the eyes of the women are "blue"? Do not focus on the fact that they did not show "sorrow" or they are "steely". 6. What is stated about the "little lads" future? 7. What is the "dreadful thing"?

"Negro Speaks of Rivers" 1. How does the speaker establish the idea of heritage? 2. What do you think the speaker chose the four rivers mentioned in the poem? 3. What elements of the poem do you think make Fauset describe it as "dignified" when he read it? 4. What sensory images dominate the poem?

"We Real Cool" 1. Where does the poem take place? 2. Who makes up the "we" in the poem? How would you describe the "we" and what are they doing throughout the poem (consider their age and attitude)? 3. How would you describe the voices, or identities, of the "we"? What three adjectives best describe the pool players? 4. What is the mood or tone of the poem?

5. Audio Clip: Please listen to the poem as read and explained by Gwendolyn Brooks herself: [] Summarize what you learned from the audio clip.
 * In her commentary, Brooks mentions "the establishment." What does she mean by "the establishment"?
 * How are the pool players going against the establishment?
 * What does Brooks mean when she suggests that the soft "we" indicates that the pool players have a "basic uncertainty"? About what are they uncertain?
 * How would you describe the "we" now (in relation to when you first heard the poem read by students)? How does the soft "we" help to make the pool players seem uncertain? Are they uncertain about themselves?
 * Notice how Brooks pauses after each "we"; what effect do these pauses have on the poem as she reads it? How do the pauses affect the poem's pace and rhythm?