Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- If the poem is an "undecoded message," what's the decoded message? Make up your own.
- Did you know who Popeye was before you read this poem? Do you think it's important or helpful to know about the back-story of the characters?
- Where does this one rank among the strangest works of literature you've read?
- If you had to write a sestina using six repeated words, which words would you use? (see "Form and Meter" for more on this poetic form.) If you really want to go the whole nine yards, then try to write your own sestina.
- Of all the cartoon characters out there, which ones would you most like to know about what they were up to after hours?
- Do you think there's a distinction between so-called "high" and "low" art? If so, what is it? On which side does this poem fall?