1. Focus on a particular flower. Meditate on its qualities and its life cycle. Look for patterns and associations with human counterparts.
2. You may imagine them as other kinds of items altogether like arbiters of the underworld for their dark blue presence in Lawrence's "Bavarian Gentians"
3. The flower may be used to associate some quality to the natural world.
• they may come to represent persistence and continuity among humans as in "Wisteria"
• they may force the speaker to regard the natural world with mock seriousness as in "Morning Glories."
4. One might ascribe intention (or lack of intention, or both) to a flower by imagining it with a human voice as in "Lilies."
5. The flower often takes its place as a thing of unquestioned beauty. Perhaps the author could underscore or challenge that assumption.
This assignment is worth 1 point.
Examples:
1. from Asphodel, That Greeny Flower—William Carlos Williams
2. Bavarian Gentians—D. H. Lawrence
4. Morning Glories— Mary Oliver