1. Have you encountered the word ‘epitaph’ before? What do you think it means (hint: it is normally found on a tombstone)?
2. Why do you think people write epitaphs?
3. Have you ever read the book and/or seen the film Gulliver’s Travels? Share your knowledge of its story.
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. Can you think of any reason why Yeats might choose to use the verb ‘sail’ in the first line?
2. Why, in your opinion, might someone feel ‘savage indignation’?
3. What does the line ‘Imitate him if you dare’ tell you about the kind of person Swift might have been?
4. How would someone who was ‘besotted’ with the world feel about it? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Yeats says that Swift ‘Served human liberty’. What do you think this might mean? 6. What, in your opinion, is the theme of this poem? Explain your answer.
CREATING 1. Write an epitaph for W. B. Yeats or for any other poet on your course.
2. Write a short story that begins with the discovery of a mysterious epitaph on a tombstone.
3. Write a blog post on a person whom you consider to be a spokesperson/advocate for the poor today.
4. An epitaph is normally a very short piece of writing, but it can be very powerful. Make a list of ten quotations that you think are very powerful.
