1. Do you think it is natural to long for nature and the ‘great outdoors’ when you have spent a long time in a city?
2. How different do you think cities in Keats’ day would have been to modern-day cities? Consider population, pollution, industry and housing in your discussion.
3. Discuss the accuracy of the saying ‘Time flies when you are having fun’.
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. Do you agree that people who have spent a long time in a city would enjoy the chance to spend time outdoors? Support your answer with reference to the first four lines of the poem.
2. What activity does the speaker believe would bring the greatest happiness? Refer to lines 5–8 in your answer.
3. How does the speaker feel when the day is over and he is returning home? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
4. This poem is full of natural imagery. Which image is your favourite? Explain your choice.
5. ‘This sonnet celebrates the restorative powers of nature.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Refer to the poem in your answer.
6. How would you describe the tone of this sonnet? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
7. Read through the notes on the Romantic Movement at the start of this chapter. What features of this poem would you identify as typically Romantic (style, subject, theme, etc.)? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
8. What theme or themes can you find in this poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
CREATING
1. Your school is running a series of events for World Book Day. You have been asked to give a talk to First Year students persuading them of the importance and enjoyment of reading. Write the text of the talk you would give.
2. Write an open letter for publication in a national newspaper about the importance of celebrating and conserving Ireland’s beautiful natural landscape.
3. Write a short story in which a character leaves the city for the countryside, either temporarily or permanently.
