Creating Questions for a Harkness Discussion (Literature Based)

Ask ​three​ questions about the text (three per level). These need to be questions that you want to discuss or hear your classmates
discuss. Do not ask questions that you know the answer to just to have something down on paper to turn in.

Level One Question: 1. In stanza seven, what is the significance of the

For the seminar student, these are not mere recall questions;
golden bird to the black bird?
rather, they establish evidence of basic facts presented in the
author’s proof paragraph. 2. What is the connotation of the blackbird?
Examples:
● What evidence does the author use to support his
3. How does the title relate to the poem?
argument that it is man’s responsibility to care for the
land?
● So what does the author compare his boyhood
experience on the family farm in order to further his
argument that man is forever attached to the land?

Level Two Question: 1. What is the author, Wallace Stevens,

These questions are textually implicit, requiring analysis and
interpretation on a man, a woman, and a blackbird?
interpretation of specific parts of the text, pointing out what a
specific part of the text actually means, or what language was 2. How does the diction change the tone in stanza
used to create the meaning. It’s not about what happened on six?
page 47 of the novel; it’s more like, “How does the author’s
description of the dying horse on page 47 of the novel create a
tone?” 3. Why does the author choose to change the point
of view in certain stanzas?
Examples:
● Why do you think the author relies heavily upon visual
imagery in this passage to convey his love of the land?
● How does the heavy use of repetition contribute to the
effectiveness of the author’s argument that
___________?
● What do you think the author means when he says:
_____?

Level Three Question: 1. How does the golden bird represent or reflect
These questions are more open-ended and go beyond the text.
society?
They are intended to provoke a discussion of an abstract idea or
issue, to connect events/themes in the anchor text to other 2. How do the two lines in stanza twelve connect to
texts, other arguments, or to universal issues of the theme of the poem, and the theme of life?
life/society/mankind itself.

Examples: 3. Could the poem connect to the author, Wallace

● How has man’s attitude toward nature has changed over Stevens, life?
the last 100 years?
● How has society’s changing perception toward nature
been advantageous? Detrimental?

In one complete sentence, write what the text is about (a In the poem, T​hirteen ways of looking at a
summary of the purpose, message, plot, theme, etc.).

blackbird​, the author, Wallace Stevens creates a

connection to a man, a woman, and a blackbird. He

Create a textual analysis. This analysis should take into account is implying that they are all “one.” In stanza twelve,
your previous questions and explore possible answers of your
level two and three questions. (500 words or more)
he says that “The river is moving. The blackbird

must be flying.” This means that although the

blackbird is gone, it will always be there. The

relationship between the three can directly translate

into society. The blackbird is a symbol for

something negative inside of us, so maybe the man

and woman are feeling this way. Stevens uses a

vast amount of diction to get his point across. In

stanza six, the diction changes the tone with the

words “barbaric,” “shadow,” and “indecipherable.”

They give off a dark, confusing, and unclear

meaning behind what is going on. With this change

in tone, also comes a change of point of view. The

author goes back and forth between the perspective

of the blackbird, and the perspective of an outside

source. Stevens chooses to do this to create an

illusion of being the character in the story, through

their eyes. It also goes along with the theme of the

blackbird being “one with us.” The blackbird is the

focus of the poem, but in stanza seven, the golden

bird is mentioned. The golden bird reflects what we

strive and reach for because it is better than what

we have at the moment, but we ignore the blackbird

that is “walking around the feet of the woman.”

This is talking about how there will always be

something in life to drag you down from your

hopes and aspirations. Additionally, going back to

stanza twelve, this relates to the theme of the poem

because no matter how much you want to forget

something, it will always be inside of you. You can

neve forget how something made you feel. This

poem subliminally connects with the author,

Wallace Stevens, and his life. He was a respected

author in the 20​th​ century as an expert in vocabulary

and precision. He spent most of his life working for

an insurance company in Hartford, Connecticut,

and in stanza eleven, it says, “He rode over

Connecticut in a glass coach.” After writing this

poem, he died one year later from cancer. In stanza

nine, we can infer that his fight is coming to and

end, and he will be leaving the earth soon. A big

hint at this poem relating to his death of cancer is

the last two words. “Cedar-limbs” relate to a coffin,

and that gives a very sad and grim tone for the end

of the poem. The connotation of the blackbird

comes off differently in certain stanzas. Therefore,

the title; poem relationship is so unique because

 you can look at the blackbird in more than one way.

The first time reading this poem, I was

overwhelmed with the meaning. Now that I have

analyzed it, I found the deeper meaning of its intent

for society and universal issues of mankind.

Remember​: This assignment is due at the beginning of the period in which we will discuss a text —not mid-way through. These
responses will serve as the basis for our class discussion.