08._10G_Unit_5_Death_of_a_Soldier_WS
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Name Class Ian M
The Death of a Soldier Wallace Stevens About this Text
Wallace Stevens (1879-1955), an American modernist poet known for his rich vocabulary, lyricism, and precision, won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1955. He wrote this poem during World War I, in which more than 8.5 million soldiers were killed; sometimes tens of thousands died in a single battle.
Vocabulary
Let’s pronounce these words together as a class: Contract [k
uh
n-
trakt
] Pomp [pomp]
FIRST READ Read the poem for the gist. Then answer the question.
SECOND READ Read the poem again for literal
understanding. As you read, answer the
questions.
[1] Life contracts and death is expected, [2] As in a season of autumn. [3] The soldier falls. [4] He does not become a three-days personage,
1
[5] Imposing his separation, [6] Calling for pomp
. [7] Death is absolute and without memorial, [8] As in a season of autumn, [9] When the wind stops, [10] When the wind stops and, over the heavens, [11] The clouds go, nevertheless, [12] In their direction.
Lines 1-3 Think & Share: Explain the simile in these lines in
your own words. Lines 4-6 Think & Share: How does the metaphor in this
stanza contrast with the rest of the poem? This shows how a soldier will always fight no matter what and his objective will never be being recognized or getting recognition Lines 7-12 Turn & Talk: How do these two stanzas develop the
metaphor from lines 1-3? These stanzas are talking
about how war also comes with the death of the soldier, and how this is something that is basically
inevitable just like the past of the time and the changes of every season After the FIRST READ: What is the main idea or “gist” of this poem?
“The Death of a Soldier” from Poetry: A Magazine in Verse by Wallace Stevens (1918) is in the public domain.
1 an important or famous person
Unit 5: War Stories 1 Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
THIRD READ Read the poem again for the deeper meaning. Then answer the questions.
1. Consider the entire poem: look at the shape of each stanza on the page. What is similar about the shape of each stanza? How does the poem’s shape reinforce its meaning? All the stanzas are constantly using time as a reference and as a metaphor too, and this helps to reinforce the message of a soldier always giving his life in order to protect his country no matter if they recognize him or not
2. Consider the entire poem: Wallace Stevens was raised in the Christian religion. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was
killed and, three days later, came back to life. They believe that Jesus later rose in a cloud to an afterlife called heaven, where the souls of all Christians will go and live forever after their bodies die. Christians celebrate Jesus’s death and resurrection with special rituals every spring on Easter. Reread the poem with this information in mind. In what ways does Stevens create a contrast between the story of Jesus and the death of a soldier? After rereading the poem, we now can once again see that a soldier doesn’t care about fame or recognition, and that the writer was comparing the death of jesus christ who came back to life 3 days after being killed and then got recognition and ended up going to a better place where he now happily lived, to a soldier, who once is death, does not come back to life, does not get recognition for doing what he did, and the world just keeps moving forward no matter all the things they did in
life.
Unit 5: War Stories 2 Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Name Class: Ian M
Independent Practice Directions: Answer the multiple choice questions for “The Death of a Soldier.” 5 minutes 1. Which statement best expresses the theme of the poem? [RL.2] A. When soldiers die in war, their comrades fight on regardless. B. When soldiers die in war, it causes great pain to those left behind. C. When soldiers die in war, society sees it as normal and unimportant. D. When soldiers die in war, they are rarely forgotten by their families and friends. 2. What is suggested by the use of the word “falls” in line 3? [RL.4] A. Anyone who becomes a soldier has “fallen” for a patriotic lie. B. A soldier who is shot on the battlefield will drop to the ground. C. A soldier’s death is as predictable as a leaf dropping in October. D. Anyone who becomes a soldier drops out of their natural social circle. 3. Why does the poet most likely repeat “When the wind stops” in lines 9 and 10? [RL.5] A. t
o emphasize the finality of death B. to create a strange, mysterious mood C. to contrast the wind with the falling soldier D. to symbolize public concern for those who die 4. In lines 11-12, the speaker says, “The clouds go, nevertheless, / in their direction.” What does this image most likely represent? [RL.4] A. an army that continues to fight after a soldier’s death B. a world that pays little attention to a soldier’s death C. a heaven that mourns the death of a soldier D. a soldier who dies unexpectedly Unit 5: War Stories 3 Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Independent Practice Directions: Answer the short response prompt for “The Death of a Soldier.” 15 minutes
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PROMPT:
You have just read “The Death of a Soldier”
by Wallace Stevens. How does the nature imagery in this poem develop the meaning?
[RL.4] Answer to the Prompt: (PEE Paragraph)
The writing is constantly using imagery, comparison and references to show the readers a better idea of what’s really going on with the death of the soldiers, the narrator achieves this by using comparison with things that we all easily understand since we’ve seen it all the time
“As in season of autumn, the soldier falls” and he also uses references to the bible such as “
He does not become a three-days personage “ talking about how a soldier doesn’t comes back to life like Jesus did, all of this is used by the narrator to teach us that no matter what happens, war, society and the world itself will always keep moving forward in order to give the earned respect to their fallen soldiers.
CHECKLIST FOR WRITING A STRONG RESPONSE: Make sure your response is strong by: ● starting with an argument that clearly answers all parts of the prompt. ● including two pieces of evidence that support your argument. ●
using transitions to help readers follow your ideas. ● explaining how your evidence supports your argument. Also, make sure to incorporate relevant unit vocabulary in your writing. ❏ Did you begin with an argument that clearly answers all parts of the prompt? A. YES! B. No, I will go back and add that. ❏ Did you include at least two pieces of evidence that support your argument? A. YES! B. No, I will go back and add that. ❏ Did you use transitions to help readers follow your ideas? A. YES! B. No, I will go back and add that. ❏ Did you explain how each piece of evidence supports your argument? A. YES! B. No, I will go back and add that.