1. In pairs, discuss the emotional impact of this poem. (a) What feelings does the poem evoke?
(b) Choose three words to describe the mood created in this poem. Share your chosen words with the rest of the class.
Understand
1. What did the speaker do to the car? 2. Who do you think the speaker addresses in this poem? (a) Her husband (b) Her brother
3. (a) How often is the title repeated as a line throughout the poem? (b) Where is this line most effective?
Explore 3 1. Do you think the speaker feels regretful?
2. The person addressed in the poem did not return from Vietnam. (a) What do you think happened to him? (b) How do you think the speaker felt when she found out?
3. What do you think the speaker might have wanted to say to this person upon his return from war?
4. What do you know about the Vietnam War? Create
Write the diary entry the speaker or the speaker’s husband would have written on the day he left for Vietnam.
