Describe the structure of the poem, and explain

how this structure supports the development of the

theme. Cite evidence from the poem in your

response.

According to a different source, this question refers to the poem "Burning a Book" by William Stafford.

In this poem, the author employs a free verse structure in the poem. This means that the author does not follow a strict rhyming pattern. The main theme of the poem is that ignorance and lack of new ideas are great threats to society. He claims that this is even worse than burning a book: "More disturbing than book ashes are whole libraries that no one got around to writing." Therefore, the author encourages innovation, ingenuity and creativity. This is emphasized by the free verse that the author employs.