Stevens Study Questions

"Sunday Morning," 1497-99

A.  How are Sundays the crossroads between urban civilization and religion?

B.  Explain how he stanza represents a stage in the modern questioning of religious observance?

C.  How does the last stanza describe the woman's being set free from religious dogma?

A. The jar is the focal image.

B. The verses describe the experience of the jar on the hillside.

C. Nature is judged by the human element, not the natural element.

"The Snow Man," 1500

A. The poem is about the human need to look at nature coldly and clearly.

B. He uses winter because of its specific elements.

C. What does he reference to winter say about humans, nature, and reality?

 

Williams Study Questions

“Young Housewife” 1509

A.  What is the impression of the woman in the first verse?

B.  What does the second verse do to that impression?

C.  What is meant by comparing her to “a fallen leaf”?

D.  What is the image in the last verse?

“The Red Wheelbarrow” 1515

A.  Why is the red wheelbarrow important in the picture?

B.  What is Williams saying about reality?

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