Essay Questions

What is a cosmology and why are the poems in the collection categorized as being cosmologies?

Cosmology is defined as being "the science of the origin and development of the universe’’. In literature, cosmology literature is defined as being those pieces of writing which deal with explaining the origins of the universe, be it by presenting various mythological stories about the creation of the universe or by presenting scientific facts in prose, poesy and so on. The poems in the collection can be categorized as cosmological poems because of the subject they approach. In the poem "The Sciences Sing a Lullabye’’ for example the narrator analysis in an easy to understand way the composition of the human body while in the poem ‘’Sentimental’’ it focuses on the nature of light and how it travels to us.

What does the narrator want to transmit through the poem "Sentimental’’?

In the poem mentioned above, the narrator analyzes the different ways in which we, as humans, let ourselves be influenced by the events which take place all around us. The narrator lists different events such as a wedding, the death of a person and the death of an animal and how these events may have completely different effects on those experiencing it. The word "sentimental’’ is used to transmit the idea of emotion, be it something negative or positive. The narrator highlights the idea that while a person may be moved by some experience, another person who finds himself in the same situation may not react at all. However, those reactions do not validate or make redundant the value of an experience or event.

What is the main theme in the poem "The Amounts’’?

The poem can be read as a list, the narrator naming everything he can think of as having large numbers in their class. The idea transmitted through the poem is that there just too many things in our world and in our society and that in many ways, we are crowded and have crowded our lives to the extreme. Thus, the main theme in the poem is excess and the ways in which this can have a negative impact on our everyday lives and the connections we have with others.