Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Do you think sadness and pain can ever be beautiful? Does this poem make sad things seem beautiful? If so, how?
- What's the pull of scary stories? Why do we like to hear about things going terribly wrong? Do you feel excited at all at the end of this poem? Why or why not?
- Did you solve the riddle of the palace being like a human head? Would the poem still be meaningful if you didn't make that connection? Why or why not? How would the experience of reading it be different?
- Do you feel like things happen for a reason in this world? Or is everything just chaos and chance? What does the speaker of this poem seem to think about that?
- Can happy memories help us with pain in the present? Does the happy past seem to be any comfort in the dark and scary present we see in "The Haunted Palace"?