StillBorn

Question 1

Summary

Answer 1

• In this poem, the narrator is describing her pregnancy in metaphorical language, exploring an ambivalence about it.

She first announces herself as a “riddle in nine syllables” (the poem is also nine lines long). She then describes herself as an elephant, similar to a huge house. She is also like a watermelon, walking along on two small legs, though she praises both the “red fruit” of her belly and the “fine timbers” of her legs. She then compares herself to a loaf of bread, its yeast rising big and full, and a coin purse stuffed with newly-minted money.

• She views herself as simply a “means,” a carrier for a child. She is merely a “stage,” a hardworking “cow in calf.” She believes she looks as though she has eaten a large bag of green apples. Ultimately, since there is nothing she can do about her pregnancy, she sees herself as having boarded a train which she cannot leave.

Question 2

First Analysis

Answer 2

Question 3

Second Analysis

Answer 3

Question 4

Third Analysis

Answer 4

Question 5

Final Analysis

Answer 5

Question 6

Introduction Analysis

Answer 6

Question 7

Content Analysis

Answer 7

Answer 8

Question 9

Thesis

Answer 9

Question 10

Definition of Diction

Answer 10

Question 11

Sample Annotation

Answer 11

Question 12

Tone and Sound Devices

Answer 12

Question 13

Irony and Figurative Language

Answer 13

Question 14

External Analysis

Additional Info

Different Perspective

Answer 14

Question 15

External Context Information

Extra Info

Answer 15

Question 16

Second External Context

From a different perspective

Answer 16