Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Is it possible for the speaker to experience this degree of sadness for her husband at such a young age? Why or why not?
- What do you think changed the speaker's attitude toward her husband from age 14 to her view when she wrote the letter?
- Do emotions have the power to affect your environment, as they seem to do here? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Many critics feel that Pound is unfairly representing China as exotic, primitive, and less civilized than the European West. After reading this poem, what do you think of such criticism?
- Is Ezra pound stealing the cultural work (a poem) of a Chinese poet, or is he making the piece his own?