literature: songs of ourselves

Question 1

themes for rising five

Answer 1

anticipation of boy to grow older
imagery of young boy
inability of humans to possess the current moment

Question 2

themes for not waving but drowning

Answer 2

onlookers and lack of action taken
mental heath
vagueness

Question 3

themes for midterm break

Answer 3

foreshadowing of death
the narrator’s pain
metaphorical language in last stanzas

Question 4

themes for marrysong

Answer 4

unpredictability of relationship
writer’s perception of wife
time motif

Question 5

themes for caged bird

Answer 5

description of free bird
description of caged bird
power of singing as artistic defiance.