English 1302

Poem and poetry are derived from the

Greek word poiein, to create or make, the
idea being that poetry is a created artifact,
a structure that develops from the human
imagination and that is expressed
rhythmically in words.

Make us think
Give us new and unexpected insights
Instruct us
Arouse our emotions
Surprise us
Amuse us
Inspire us
Prompt us to reexamine, reinforce, and
reshape our ideas, our attitudes, our
feelings, and our lives

Four steps

The title
The speaker
The meanings of
all words, whether
familiar or
unfamiliar

The poems setting

and situation
The poems basic
form and
development
The poems subject
and theme

Practice Session on Close Reading

Randall Jarrells
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

The purpose of this exercise is to give you

practice in analyzing a short poem. The
questions are specific to this poem, but
basically they all ask you to do the same
thing:
Look closely at the words of the poem.
Look closely at their meaning.
Look closely at their sounds.
Explain the poem in your own words

Directions: Take turns reading this poem

aloud to one another in your group.
Write down as much as you can about its
sounds and meaning.

Who is the
speaker?
What situation is
being described?
What do we know
about him, and
what words tell us
of his situation?

From my mothers sleep I fell into the State.

Decide which words seem important and
think about them by asking questions.

 Why sleep? What does this say about the

narrators life?
Why use a verb like fell instead of walked or
went?
Why is State capitalized? Can you fall into this
kind of State?

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur

froze.
Analyze this by asking questions and then
answering them.

 What image does this suggest (being hunched in

someones belly)?
What literally is the wet fur? What does it suggest
figuratively?
How does this line set up a contrast to the previous
line?
What noun is the referent for it? Does the State
literally have a belly?
Do the same for the remaining lines

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream

of life,
Why six miles from earth? What does this image
do for the poem?
Whats the referent of its here?
How does the word dream relate to the rest of
the poem so far?
Why does Jarrell choose the verb loosed?

I woke to black flak and the nightmare

fighters.
How do the words and images this line relate to
the previous lines?
What is black flak? Is this language an example
of euphony or cacophony?
What are the nightmare fighters?

When I died, they washed me out of the

turret with a hose.
From what position is this narrator telling of his
experiences?
Who is they? What effect does using this
language have?
What has happened to him, and why is this a vivid
way of describing it?
Why does he say me instead of my body?

What is the writers view toward what he

describes?
What controlling metaphor does he use for
his experiences?
What do you think is his attitude toward
war?

Using your analysis, write a sentence or two

summarizing this poem.
Think about the overarching message or
meaning (theme) of the poem.