1. TS Eliot writes in the opening of his epic poem The Waste Land:

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers. (1-7)

Traditionally, spring has been viewed as a positive event in life. Both in poetry and in life, it has been viewed as a rebirth, when nature wakes up from winter’s slumber. However, in this modern poem, April, the month when spring full takes hold, is called “the cruellest month.” Note: poetry in the modern period seems very negative, doesn’t it?
Please explain for me how that could be so.

2. Thoreau writes in Walden: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (1920). What do you think Thoreau learns in the woods?

*Here are a few suggestions that will help you not only in writing discussion questions but throughout your studies as well. I expect to see them used in your Discussion Boards.

–Use the words of the question in your response.

–Use your mind, not your feelings.

–If the question has a quotation, focus on it.

–If the question does not a quotation, find an appropriate one and focus on it.

–Always, always stay focused and stay textual.
Textbook is Norton Anthology of American Literature.