1. Are there certain times of the day, week, month, or year that have a particularly positive or negative effect on you?
2. Does music make you feel a certain way? Give examples of music that makes you feel the emotions listed below.
„„Sad „„Happy „„Calm „„Nostalgic „„Excited
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. What type of winter light do you think Dickinson is referring to in the first stanza? Describe what you imagine in as much detail as possible.
2. What impact do ‘Cathedral Tunes’ have on the speaker’s mood, in your opinion?
3. What do you think Dickinson means when she writes: ‘Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –/ We can find no scar’? Explain your answer.
4. In stanza two Dickinson claims that everything important takes place on the inside, not the outside. Do you agree with her? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Describe in your own words how the light makes Dickinson feel.
6. ‘Dickinson’s use of personification is very effective in this poem.’ Do you agree with this statement? Refer to stanza four in support of your answer.
7. The closing lines of this poem can be interpreted in many different ways. Explain your own interpretation of: ‘the Distance/ On the look of Death –’.
8. How would you describe the tone of this poem? Give reasons for your choice.
9. What theme or themes can you find in this poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
CREATING
1. Write an article for your school website in which you give your school community advice on how to beat the winter blues.
2. ‘All types of oppression should be stamped out in our society.’ Write a radio talk for a popular current affairs programme on this topic.
3. Write a personal essay about your relationship with nature.
4. ‘Time flies when you are having fun.’ Write a blog post about the curious way time seems to speed up and slow down at various times of our life.
