Symbolism Prompts

As you read, and saw examples of, in Chapter 3, human beings have a very real need to create symbols and live in a symbolic world. The poems you are reading for Thursday's class all relate to this truth in one way or another.

1. In "Planting a Sequoia," what does the sequoia symbolize? In other words, what does it stand for that transcends itself, that is more than a tree? And why do you think the speaker addresses the sequoia, speaks to the tree, instead of speaking in first person or speaking to someone or something else? Please use specifics from the poem in your response.

2. In "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter," the imagery of the poem, in almost every case, becomes symbolic because it stands for an emotion, specifically the emotion that the speaker, the wife, feels, or has felt, for her husband. Draw our attention to specific examples from the poem, and talk about what they symbolize. Also, why do you think this poem is presented as "A Letter." Is this important to the poem?

3. In "The Snow Man," Wallace Stevens writes about perception and imagination, in our need to create symbols and imbue our surroundings with meaning. In truth, nature (in this case the weather, has no moral value, but we are unable to see the world around us without passing some kind of judgment or thinking of how things are symbolic of human experience. This is a bit of a tricky question, but I think it's an interesting one: How does Stevens use symbolism to write about our need to symbolize?

Thanks. See you on Thursday.