GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. WHO WERE IN THE DREAM?

2. WHAT WERE THEY DOING? WHERE?
3. WHAT DID THE SPEAKER SEE?
4. WHAT DID HE NOTICE THAT MADE HIM
CONFUSED? WHY?
5. WHAT WAS THE REVELATION AT THE END OF
THE POEM?
6. HOW DID YOU FEEL AS THE POEM ENDED?
7. WAS THERE EVER A TIME THAT YOU FELT SO
ALONE IN THE WORLD? SHARE YOUR
EXPERIENCE.
8. WHAT LESSON DID YOU GET FROM THE
POEM? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
 THE POEM FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND IS A
NARRATIVE POEM SINCE IT TELLS US A STORY. IT
IS ALSO AN ALLEGORY – A POEM WHEN
INTERPRETED REVEALS A HIDDEN MEANING,
TYPICALLY A MORAL ONE.
 AS A LITERARY DEVICE, AN ALLEGORY IS A
NARRATIVE IN WHICH A CHARACTER, PLACE, OR
EVENT IS USED TO DELIVER A BROADER MESSAGE
ABOUT REAL-WORLD ISSUES AND
OCCURRENCES. AUTHORS HAVE USED ALLEGORY
THROUGHOUT HISTORY IN ALL FORMS OF ART TO
ILLUSTRATE OR CONVEY COMPLEX IDEAS AND
CONCEPTS IN WAYS THAT ARE COMPREHENSIBLE OR
STRIKING TO ITS VIEWERS, READERS, OR LISTENERS.
WRITERS AND SPEAKERS TYPICALLY USE ALLEGORIES
TO CONVEY (SEMI-)HIDDEN OR
COMPLEX MEANINGS THROUGH SYMBOLIC FIGURES,
ACTIONS, IMAGERY, OR EVENTS,
WHICH TOGETHER CREATE THE MORAL, SPIRITUAL, OR
POLITICAL MEANING THE AUTHOR
WISHES TO CONVEY. MANY ALLEGORIES USE
PERSONIFICATION OF ABSTRACT CONCEPTS.