1. Have you ever seen someone famous in real life? Describe what it was like, or what you imagine it might be like.
2. Is there a famous person who you cannot imagine ever growing old?
3. If you had the chance to revisit or relive part of your life, would you take it? Explain why you would/would not take the chance.
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. your own words.
2. Who or what does the speaker envisage when she writes that the being is ‘Not God, exactly.’ Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
3. your own words and explain why you think the question is being asked.
4. Given the chance, do you think the speaker would return to the past? Refer to Part One of the poem in support of your answer.
5. Explain what you think the poet means by lines 19–20: ‘one day I’ll touch the world with bare hands/ Even if it burns.’
6. What impression of Bowie do you get from reading Part Two of the poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
7. ‘Time never stops, but does it end? And how many lives/ Before take-off, before we Smith is describing the apocalypse / the end of all life here? Explain your answer.
8. celebrity? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
9. Discuss the use of humour in the second stanza of Part Three. What do you think it adds to the poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
10. Smith suggests Bowie could? Refer to the third stanza of Part Three in your answer.
11. What theme or themes can you identify in this poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
CREATING
1. Imagine you have been asked to interview a famous person of your choice. Write out the text
2. Write a blurb
3. Write a short story in which the central character wakes up one day to discover that they have become the most famous person in the world.