Reading a Poem
Practice Session on Close Reading
Randall Jarrell’s
“The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
Purpose
• The purpose of this exercise is to give you
practice in analyzing a short poem. The
questions are specific to this poem, but basically
they all ask you to do the same thing:
• Look closely at the words of the poem.
• Look closely at their meaning.
• Look closely at their sounds.
• Ask yourself this: “Why this word and not a
different one?”
The Death of the Ball Turret
Gunner
• Directions: Read this poem aloud and write
down as much as you can about its sounds and
meaning.
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died, they washed me out of the turret with
a hose.
Context
• Who is the speaker?
• What situation is
being described?
• What do we know
about him, and what
words tell us of his
situation?
• B-17 during World
War II
First Line
• From my mother’s sleep I fell into the
State.
• Underline the words that seem important
and think about them:
– Why “sleep”? What does this say about the
narrator’s life?
– Why use a verb like “fell” instead of “walked”
or “went”?
– Why is “State” capitalized? Can you fall into
this kind of State?
Second Line
• And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur
froze.
– What image does this suggest (being
hunched in someone’s belly)?
– What literally is the “wet fur”? What does it
suggest figuratively?
– How does this line set up a contrast to the
previous line?
– What noun is the referent for “it”? Does the
“State” literally have a belly?
Third Line
• Six miles from earth, loosed from its
dream of life,
– Why “six miles” from earth? What does this
image do for the poem?
– What’s the referent of “its” here?
– How does the word “dream” relate to the rest
of the poem so far?
– Why does Jarrell choose the verb “loosed”?
Fourth Line
• I woke to black flak and the nightmare
fighters.
– How do the words and images this line relate
to the previous lines?
– What is “black flak”? Is this language an
example of euphony or cacophony?
– What are the “nightmare fighters”?
Fifth Line
• When I died, they washed me out of the
turret with a hose.
– From what position is this narrator telling of
his experiences?
– Who is “they”? What effect does using this
language have?
– What has happened to him, and why is this a
vivid way of describing it?
– Why does he say “me” instead of “my body”?
Other Features
• What is the writer’s view toward what he
describes?
• What controlling metaphor does he use for
his experiences?
• What do you think is his attitude toward
war?