Activity 2.5.5 - Did You Miss Anything?
Carefully read the following poem.
Did I Miss Anything?
by Tom Wayman.
Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours (#1)
Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent. (#2)
Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose (#3)
Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth. (#4)
Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur? (#5)
Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered. (#6)
but it was one place
And you weren’t here
In this poem, the narrator/teacher presents six different answers to a typical student’s question. “Is there anything I need to know from the class that I missed?”
Three answers indicate the student missed nothing and three answers indicate the student missed something important.
The poem makes use of two main literary devices known as irony and sarcasm.
Indicate which stanza is an example of irony and which is an example of sarcasm.
Submission: PDF format. (file size can't be more than 20 MB)