1. Where poetry and film collide
Name_________________________________________________________________Period____AP Literature____/30 pts.
Dead Poet’s Society
Where poetry and film collide

2. To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick
Dead Poet’s Society
To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick
1.) This poem’s theme is pretty straightforward. Write just one sentence in your own words that summarizes the poem’s main message. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.) Now, let’s look at the poem’s structure. What is the poem’s rhyme scheme? What is the meter/syllable pattern?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.) Write two passages from the poem where Herrick employs personification.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.) Symbolically, how are people connected to elements in the natural world? Specifically address the poem’s use of flowers and the sun.
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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flow’r that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heav’n, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
– Robert Herrick, published 1648

3. To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick
Dead Poet’s Society
To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick
5.) Clearly, the speaker thinks that youth is better than old age. What is his reasoning? What age do you think of as the prime of life? Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.) In order for these young people to make their lives glorious and fulfilled, there is one specific action they must take. What, according to the speaker, is that action? (Hint: You’ll find the answer in line 14.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.) What, do you suppose, Herrick would say if you told him you interpreted his poem to mean that you should live a wild and crazy life, not worrying about the consequences of your actions? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.) Is this poem depressing or just realistic? Explain your answer.
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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flow’r that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heav’n, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
– Robert Herrick, published 1648

4. O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman
Dead Poet’s Society
O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman
9.) Read the poem closely and summarize the first seven lines into just one sentence, using your own words. Then, summarize the message of the last two lines, again using just one sentence and your own words.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.) This poem is built in free verse, meaning it doesn’t rhyme and reads more like prose than poetry. Notice, though, the unique structure and Whitman’s dramatic use of white space between the two sections. What is his reason for physically structuring the poem in this way? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11.) In the third line, the speaker adds himself to the pathetic crowd of the “faithless” and “foolish.” What effect does this have on the reader?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; Of the endless trains of the faithless — of cities fill’d with the foolish; Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light — of the objects mean — of the struggle ever renew’d; Of the poor results of all — of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me; Of the empty and useless years of the rest — with the rest me intertwined; The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here — that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.
– Walt Whitman, 1891

5. O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman
Dead Poet’s Society
O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman
12.) In a thesaurus, look up the word “sordid” and write down two synonyms. In your experience, do you think this word is appropriate to describe large groups of people? Why or why not? Be sure to give an example from our modern lives as you explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13.) In line four, the speaker says that our eyes “vainly crave the light.” This is an example of symbolism. What does “light” refer to here? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14.) Also in line four, the speaker mentions “the objects mean.” To what, do you suppose, this phrase refers? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15.) Walt Whitman is one of the most celebrated poets in the canon of American literature. After examining this poem, what do you think Whitman’s verse has turned out to be? What do you want your verse to be?
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O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; Of the endless trains of the faithless — of cities fill’d with the foolish; Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light — of the objects mean — of the struggle ever renew’d; Of the poor results of all — of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me; Of the empty and useless years of the rest — with the rest me intertwined; The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here — that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.
– Walt Whitman, 1891

6. Dead Poet’s Society Walt Whitman in our Modern World
Watch the Apple iPad Air commercial located here:
16.) For you, which were the three strongest or most-memorable images from the ad? Why do you suppose those three images are the freshest in your mind? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17.) What is the message of the ad? How does Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!” poem connect? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18.) The ad’s narrator is the well-known comedian/actor Robin Williams and the lines are taken from Dead Poets Society, a popular 1989 film in which Williams plays a dedicated (and rather rebellious) teacher who tries to teach his students to break away from tradition. Why, do you suppose, the commercial’s creators chose this film’s sound clip instead of hiring a new actor to read the lines of the poem?
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7. Walt Whitman in our Modern World by Chris Matyszczyk January 12, 2014
Dead Poet’s Society
Walt Whitman in our Modern World
An ad that launched during the NFL playoffs features poetry and humanity and words from Dead Poets Society. Instead of talking features, it asks, “What is your verse?”
by Chris Matyszczyk January 12, 2014
Why do you stay alive? Last year’s neurotic, metallic rumbling from Apple about what matters being “the experience of a product” can now be placed into the chillier vaults of history. Is it to gain power over others, so that you can feel big while rendering them small in your mind and in your presence? While Google has made considerable progress in mimicking and sometimes subsuming Apple’s emotional credentials, an ad like this reaches for assumptive ground where most fear to tread. If so, Apple thinks you’re not human. The company wants you to know this: “Poetry, beauty, romance, love – these are what we stay alive for.” It is, perhaps, an expression of confidence that Apple has decided to enter 2014 with not only a statement of intent but a re-statement of some feelings that some had thought lost. In a new ad for its freshly-created Age of Enlightenment Party – I’m sorry, I meant the iPad Air – Apple wants you to feel that its gadget isn’t a gadget. It’s a tool to a dream. “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse,” intones Robin Williams. Well, it would be him, as some might know these words from Dead Poets Society. Then he and Apple ask: “What will your verse be?” Some will find this overwrought and pretentious for a gadget manufacturer. Yet, for me, Apple’s return to its core strengths – humanity, art, and emotions – is curiously refreshing. Last year’s neurotic, metallic rumbling from Apple about what matters being “the experience of a product” can now be placed into the chillier vaults of history. You might choose to decide that this ad tells you nothing about the iPad Air. But it’s hard to deny that it says a lot about what Apple thinks it stands for – and what many believe it does stand for. While Google has made considerable progress in mimicking and sometimes subsuming Apple’s emotional credentials, an ad like this reaches for assumptive ground where most fear to tread. It is, perhaps, an expression of confidence that Apple has decided to enter 2014 with not only a statement of intent but a re- statement of some feelings that some had thought lost. Poetry, beauty, romance, and love in a gadget ad. There’s a certain courage about that.

8. Walt Whitman in our Modern World
Dead Poet’s Society
Walt Whitman in our Modern World
19.) Writer Chris Matyszczyk says that he likes the Apple/Walt Whitman ad, but that some critics will find it to be “overwrought and pretentious.” What do these words mean? Do you agree with Matyszczyk or with the inevitable critics? Explain your answer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20.) When speaking about an earlier Apple ad campaign, Matyszczyk says the materials created a “neurotic, metallic rumbling.” Explain this insult. What, do you suppose, was the writer’s problem with the earlier ad campaign?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 21.) Explain the irony of this company using Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!” poem to promote sales of the iPad. (Hint: Look at the fourth line of the poem.)
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9. O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
Dead Poet’s Society
O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck, You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
– Walt Whitman, 1865
Abraham Lincoln ( )
When a just man dies,
Lamentation and praise,
Sorrow and joy, are one.
Why then, why there, Why thus, we cry, did he die?
The heavens are silent.
What he was, he was:
What he is fated to become
Depends on us
Remembering his death,
How we choose to live
Will decide its meaning.
— W. H. Auden, 1964
John F. Kennedy ( )

10. O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
Dead Poet’s Society
O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
22.) “O Captain! My Captain” is an extended metaphor, as Whitman symbolically connects the death of the sea captain to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, just five days after the end of the Civil War. Looking at the poem through the lens of the extended metaphor, explain what Whitman intends each of the following items to represent:
“our fearful trip” (line 1)
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b. “the prize” (line 2)
c. “the vessel” (line 4)
__________________________________________________________________________________________ d. “the swaying mass” (line 12)
23.) Explain the emotional contrast between the sailor and the people on the dock. What point is Whitman trying to emphasize by presenting this contrast? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
24.) Does Whitman think the country will heal from the wounds left by the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln? How do you know? Cite a line from the poem that supports your stance.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25.) Some experts have noted that the sailor in Whitman’s poem travels quickly through several psychological stages of grief that people experience when someone they love dies suddenly. Look closely at the last four lines of each of the three stanzas and explain the different reactions that we see the sailor experience.
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11. O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
Dead Poet’s Society
O Captain! My Captain! & Elegy for J.F.K.
26.) Whitman uses rhyming couplets, but he intentionally breaks the flow and pattern of the couplets in the last four lines of each stanza. Notice that if you added line 6 to the end of line 5 and line 8 to the end of line 7 that you would have a regular rhyming couplet structure throughout the entire poem. Notice, too, that rhymes are sometimes perfect (ex: “done” and “won”), but other times the rhymes are slant or near (ex: “bells” and “trills”). Why, do you suppose, Whitman decided to subtly break the traditional pattern? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
27.) In “Elegy for J.F.K.,” Auden presents a similar theme, but builds his poem with a leaner, more sparse style. Can you find any pattern to the rhyme or meter he uses? How does this help emphasize the poem’s theme?
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28.) Auden mentions that both sorrow and joy are felt at the same time as people grieve. What would be joyful about such a tragic time?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 29.) Look at the last line of the first and last stanza in each poem. What technique is being used here by both poets? What effect does this technique create for the reader?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 30.) Which poem did you find to be more effective in relaying the sorrow of the poet? Explain why.
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