1. What would you like to be able to say to comfort the people you leave behind after you pass away?
2. Do you think a funeral should be a celebration of life, an occasion to mourn or both? Understand
1. Why does the speaker tell us not to stand at their grave? 2. What does the speaker tell us that they are now?
Explore 3
3 3
1. (a) How many times can you count the personal pronoun ‘I’ in this poem? (b) Do you think this repetition is effective? Give reasons for your answer.
2. (a) Identify the rhyming scheme in this poem. (b) What contribution do you think this rhyming scheme makes to the poem? 3. Would you agree that this is a comforting poem for someone who has lost a loved one?
4. What similarities do you notice between ‘Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep’ and ‘Death Is Nothing At All’ (page 271)?
Investigate
In small groups, research poems that deal with the theme of death. Find a poem that you consider to portray death in a comforting and consoling manner. Find a poem that you think portrays death as dark and final. Share your poems with the class.
