Theodore Roethke – Perspective


“In a dark time, the eye begins to see.”
Theodore RoethkeBig Idea
One of the hardest skills to develop is the ability to see the world from different perspectives. This skill is especially difficult during crises like the Coronavirus where all around us we see despair, social dislocation and loneliness. Everything tells us to lose hope. It is during these hard times, however, that we have fresh opportunities to see differently in ways that can improve our mental health.
Claim
According to American poet Theodore Roethke, when we are going through hard times we actually have an opportunity to see the world from a new, clearer perspective.
Counterclaim
Reality is brutal sometimes and the world is a cruel place. Sometimes it’s too dark to see.
Essential
Question
How do we know when to have hope?
Student Video


“Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable” Essay – Perspective
In teaching essay writing it is a good idea to look at great modern essays; one being Rebecca Solnit’s “Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable,” which first appeared in the New Yorker on ...

“Mother to Son” – Perspective
In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, I could teach the theme of perspective by examining the message the speaker gives her son– to never give up when times are hard. Before reading ...

“The Raven” – Perspective
Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, “The Raven” sets a grieving lover against the silhouette of an aloof raven whose only answer to his increasingly despairing questions is, “Nevermore.” The Theodore Ro ...

“The Road Not Taken” – Perspective
One of the most analyzed poems in American literature is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Most students cannot understand that the choice made by the speaker can be viewed from differ ...

“Letter to Reverend Samson Occum” – Perspective
Theodore Roethke states, “In a dark time, the eye begins to see.” Does suffering disillusion, or does it reveal? Is there a choice? When still young, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped and enslaved, e ...