You were assigned to read either “The Emperor of Ice Cream” by Wallace Stevens or “The Truth the Dead Know” by Anne Sexton. Please choose one to read.
(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45234/the-emperor-of-ice-cream)
(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42564/the-truth-the-dead-know)
First : read only the poem (not the accompanying guide) and perform a close reading of the poem in two to four paragraphs. Employ some of the strategies we discussed in class. (Looking at the title, diction and etymology, narrative elements, biographical information, tone and tonal variations, images and metaphors, verb tense, pronouns and perspective, poetic devices, etc.) At the very least describe what you think the poem is about and what makes you think that.
Second: read the guide linked on the right margin of the poem. Then address some or all of the following questions in two to four paragraphs:
What did the guide clarify about the poem that you didn’t understand on your first reading? How did the author of the guide explain this?
What specific portions of the guide did you find the most successful, either in its clarity of explanation or quality of writing? Why?
What close reading strategies does the author employ to think about the poem? Which parts of the poem are these strategies applied to and why?
