Exploring the Text

1. Note that Herman Melville subtitled this poem “A Requiem.” How does that affect your interpretation of it?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Note that Herman Melville subtitled this poem “A Requiem.” How does that affect your interpretation of it?
2. Identify at least three images that Melville uses to describe the setting. How does the imagery contribute to the tone and mood of the poem? How would you describe the tone and mood?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Identify at least three images that Melville uses to describe the setting. How does the imagery contribute to the tone and mood of the poem? How would you describe the tone and mood?
3. Consider the juxtaposition in line 14: “Foemen at morn, but friends at eve.” Look for other juxtapositions in the poem. What do they add to the meaning of the poem as a whole? Are they apt for a poem about war in general? Are they particularly so for this war? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Consider the juxtaposition in line 14: “Foemen at morn, but friends at eve.” Look for other juxtapositions in the poem. What do they add to the meaning of the poem as a whole? Are they apt for a poem about war in general? Are they particularly so for this war? Explain.
4. How do you interpret line 16? Why did Melville cast it as a parenthetical statement? Does it ask a rhetorical question? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - How do you interpret line 16? Why did Melville cast it as a parenthetical statement? Does it ask a rhetorical question? Explain.
5. Listen to the poem as you read it, noting especially the long o sounds in “low,” “Shiloh,” “followed,” “lone,” and so on, and the onomatopoeia of such words as “groan” and “hushed.” How does the assonance affect your reading of the poem? How does it make you feel as you read?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Listen to the poem as you read it, noting especially the long o sounds in “low,” “Shiloh,” “followed,” “lone,” and so on, and the onomatopoeia of such words as “groan” and “hushed.” How does the assonance affect your reading of the poem? How does it make you feel as you read?
6. Why does the poem begin and end with the swallows? What are the implications of the final line?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Why does the poem begin and end with the swallows? What are the implications of the final line?