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Reading a Poem

Reading a Poem. Practice Session on Close Reading Randall Jarrell’s “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. Purpose. 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:

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Reading a Poem

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  1. Reading a Poem Practice Session on Close Reading Randall Jarrell’s “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

  2. Purpose • 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. • Ask yourself this: “Why this word and not a different one?”

  3. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner • Directions: Read this poem aloud and write down as much as you can about its sounds and meaning. From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. When I died, they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

  4. Context • Who is the speaker? • What situation is being described? • What do we know about him, and what words tell us of his situation? • B-17 during World War II

  5. First Line • From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State. • Underline the words that seem important and think about them: • Why “sleep”? What does this say about the narrator’s life? • Why use a verb like “fell” instead of “walked” or “went”? • Why is “State” capitalized? Can you fall into this kind of State?

  6. Second Line • And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. • What image does this suggest (being hunched in someone’s 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?

  7. Third Line • Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, • Why “six miles” from earth? What does this image do for the poem? • What’s 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”?

  8. Fourth Line • 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”?

  9. Fifth Line • 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”?

  10. Other Features • What is the writer’s view toward what he describes? • What controlling metaphor does he use for his experiences? • What do you think is his attitude toward war?

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