Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why does the speaker flip-flop between perfect couplets, slant rhymes, and then no rhymes at all? What's the point?
- What's the point of all the paradoxes we see in the poem? Do they seem to point towards any bigger ideas about poetry (and life)?
- Why is imagery so important in "Ars Poetica"? For what reason does the speaker appear to rely more so on imagery than any other device?
- What does the speaker mean when he says, "A poem should not mean but be"? Why do you think so?
- Do you think the speaker has successfully demonstrated what it means to write a good poem? Why or why not?