Burning a Book by William Stafford

Why is context important in reading, especially poetry?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness What is the central image of the first stanza?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness According to the speaker, what is more disturbing than book burning?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness Which of the following best summarizes the theme of this poem?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness Which lines from the poem best support the "Ignorance and a lack of new ideas are greater threats to society than burning books"?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness As used in line 13, what does the word “unthought” mean?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness Which of the following phrases from the text best supports that "unthought" means lack of ideas?

Context: William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In this poem, the speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship (withholding information) in which people set fire to books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found “attractive, shallow, [and] misleading…” “Why should I keep it around?” he thought. Reading focus: As you read, identify the main idea of each stanza. Protecting each other, right in the center a few pages glow a long time. The cover goes first, then outer leaves curling away, then spine and a scattering. Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, its fire as hot as the fire lies make— flame doesn’t care. You can usually find a few charred words in the ashes. And some books ought to burn, trying for character but just faking it. More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing—desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves. If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— ignorance can dance in the absence of fire. So I’ve burned books. And there are many I haven’t even written, and nobody has. 1. Charred (adjective) : blackened or discolored from burning 2. Desolate (adjective) : deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness What type of figurative language is used in the first stanza?