A study investigated how asking students to evaluate a poem-reading task stimulated their autonomy as learners. Subjects were 51 Japanese university students of English. During one 90-minute class period, students were given a brief poem with pre-reading, reading, and post-reading tasks. The poem, entitled "40-Love," had ambiguous references to both love and tennis. Pre-reading tasks included identifying their feelings in anticipation of reading a poem, telling what they think poems are usually about, and identifying their feelings about poetry in English. Tasks during reading included answering questions about the poem's content, choosing an alternative title, and responding to questions about non-literal content and message, and what happens after the period of the poem. Post-reading tasks inquired about enjoyment of the poem and perceptions of the tasks, and invited students to make up an original question about the poem as if they were teaching others. It was found that a generally negative attitude toward poetry was replaced by a more positive one, despite a general perception that poetry is difficult, unclear in meaning, and more difficult than prose reading. Students also showed an eagerness to go beyond the level of the assigned task. (MSE)