Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Can an artist ever truly appreciate "real life"? How do you think the speaker of this poem would answer this question?
- Can poetry, or fiction, appreciate life in a way that visual arts cannot? Why or why not? Where do you think this poem falls?
- Is love a truly altered state of mind, or is it just a passing feeling? In other words, is this speaker experiencing life differently than the rest of us because he's in love?
- Can love change the world around us? Or can it just change the way we see the world? Why do you think so?
- Can you think of any examples of art (including songs and movies) that celebrate the experience of life we live it (as opposed to some over-the-top, unrealistic storyline or idea)?
- If you paid too much attention to the world around you, would you ever be able to step back and make art? In other words, do you think that artists need to be removed from life in order to make art?
- What's with all the enjambment here? Why make this a poem in the first place, if it's just going to read like a really long sentence?
- Is this poem about love, or about art? Can it be about both? How so?
- With all those art references and mentions of fancy European cities, does the speaker seem a bit pretentious to you? Why or why not?