Do you notice anything different about the text this week?
What images stood out to you the most?
Who was speaking (e.g. gender, identity, circumstances, etc.)? Were there multiple voices or just one?
Was anything particularly troubling and/or compelling in what you just read?
What did you learn? Did this discussion change your reading of this text in any way(s)? If so, how?
In light of this book’s ancient patriarchal context, do you find it significant that the feminine voice of Daughter Zion speaks on behalf of Jerusalem? If so, in what ways?
Why do you think the voice changes gender in this poem? (i.e. Feminine Lam. 1-2, Masculine Lam. 3, Collective Lam. 4-5)
Dr. Baden says that he thinks the male voice in chapter three is intrusive, overtly domineering, and self-pitying (10:25). Do you agree? Why or why not?
Dr. Vayntrub likens Lamentations 3 to manspreading because it takes up the most space as the longest and most verbose chapter in the book (10:03). Does this image shift your reading of this text in any way? If so, how?
Is there hope to be found in the book of Lamentations? If so, where? If not, why?