Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What do you think happens to the couple after the end of the poem, and why?
- Which character in this poem do you identify with more, and why?
- Do you agree with what the woman says in lines 101-109, that no matter what people pretend, everyone dies alone? Why, or why not?
- Which character do you think has the most power in this relationship? Does the power shift as the poem progresses? How so?
- Do you agree or disagree with the woman's disgust at the man's manner of digging their son's grave (lines 75-92)? What's your reasoning?
- What's the effect of having most of the poem in dialogue? Would you have rather come at it from the wife's perspective? Or the husband's?