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Poetry Handout - English 9

Page history last edited by Russell 13 years, 10 months ago

Poetic Terms:

Poetic form          Synonym                 Antonym                 Homonym

Rhyme scheme                        Rhythm/Meter                       Alliteration                  Repetition

Assonance                   Imagery                      Tone                            Speaker

Free verse                Metaphor                   Theme                         Figurative language

 

“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem” by Ishmael Reed

Pg 845 - The poem begins by citing a “thriller” that features an old woman who surrounds herself with mirrors and eventually disappears into one of them. Later tenants of the house do the same. Then the poem itself is compared to that greedy mirror, and it too has a “legendary” hunger that has claimed many victims. If readers relax and do not resist, they’ll become part of the poem and the poem part of them. The poem closes by suggesting that such a fate might have befallen people listed by the Bureau of Missing Persons. Ishmael Reed employs unusual spellings, abbreviations, and other unconventional techniques to draw the reader into his poem.

 

“Young” by Anne Sexton and “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lord

Pgs 344-345 - The speakers on both poems are young women dealing with the experiences of growing up. The speaker of “Hanging Fire” fears dealing with her problems alone and perceives them as insurmountable. The speaker of “Young” seems to find support in her surroundings.

 

“Song of the Open Road” by Walt Whitman and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

Pgs 289-290 - The speakers of both poems express their feelings about choosing a direction in life. One writer exults in the journey that lies ahead, while the other contemplates which road he should take.

 

“Lineage” by Margaret Walker & “The Courage That My Mother Had” by Edna Millay

Pgs 609-610 - These two short poems speak in praise of mothers and grandmothers, and each expresses the speaker’s wish for the qualities of her foremothers.

 

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke and “Grape Sherbet” by Rita Dove

Pgs 614-615 - Each of these poems brings to life a childhood memory involving the speaker’s father. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” it is the poet’s memory of being waltzed around the room on his father’s feet. In “Grape Sherbet,” it is a memory of a Memorial Day picnic, with the speaker only now realizing there was something to memorialize.

 

“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes and “The Writer” by Richard Wilbur

Pgs 467-470 – In Langston Hughes’ free verse poem, the speaker, an African-American college student, tackles an assignment to write a one-page personal essay that is “true.” The speaker at first reveals only casual information about himself – where he lives, the kind of music he likes – but eventually moves on to explore the deeply personal issue of racial identity. Richard Wilbur’s poem describes the speaker’s thoughts as he listens to his daughter’s typewriter and empathizes with her struggle to put words to paper. He uses two extended metaphors – that of a ship setting sail and of a trapped bird trying to escape through a window – to convey the difficulties involved in the creative process of writing a story.

 

Some Possible Purposes of a Poem:

  • ·        Entertain, inform, express an opinion, persuade

 

“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem”

1.      The title is a kind of warning, but what does it make you curious about and want to do?

2.      Locate examples of unusual and unconventional spelling, punctuation, and language

3.      Students often say that poetry is “stuffy” and “formal.” How is the style of writing in this poem closer to how you might write a note or text a friend?

4.      How does the poem’s suggestion that you “not resist this poem” relate to the poem’s theme?

 

“Young” and “Hanging Fire”

1.      Young: What are the speaker’s problems and concerns? Be as specific as possible.

2.      Young: After reading, what image lingers in your mind?

3.      Young: What situation is described? Give evidence, pointing to both the text and your life.

4.      HF: What are the speaker’s problems and concerns? Be as specific as possible.

5.      HF: Why is the speaker upset about her mother’s being in the bedroom with the door closed?

6.      How would you describe the difference in tone between the two poems? Tone would describe the attitude of the speaker: depressed, upbeat, forlorn, optimistic, lighthearted, etc.

7.      To what extent do the two poems capture real problems and concerns of youth?

 

“Song of the Open Road” and “The Road Not Taken”

1.      Song: What kind of person is the speaker? Give evidence to support your reply.

2.      Song: What is the message or theme you think the poem gives about life/human nature?

3.      Road: Chart the rhyme scheme of the poem, as described in 291 “Literary Analysis.”

4.      Paraphrase one of the poems by re-writing it in straightforward, modern English.

5.      What are the differences in the choices of the speakers?

 

“Lineage” and “The Courage That My Mother Had”

1.      Lineage: What image of the speaker’s grandmothers does the poem leave?

2.      Courage: What does this poem suggest about the speaker’s values and priorities?

3.      What do the speakers in the two poems have in common? What similarities are there between the grandmothers in the Walker poem and the mother in the Millay poem?

4.      Conduct the “Literary Analysis” activity on 611.

 

“My Papa’s Waltz” and “Grape Sherbet”

1.      Waltz: What senses do the images hit, and what do they suggest about the father’s life?

2.      Waltz: How does the speaker feel about being waltzed by his father?

3.      Investigate the rhyme scheme and meter in each poem. Considering the subjects in each poem, why does it make sense that “Waltz” is more strict and “Sherbet” free?

4.      Conduct the “Literary Analysis” activity on 616.

 

“Theme for English B” and “The Writer”

1.      Conduct the “Active Reading” activity described on 466.

2.      Theme: Who is the speaker? What challenge(s) does he face?

3.      Writer: Who is the speaker? What challenge(s) does the speaker discuss?

4.      Writer: Identify the metaphors employed in the poem that relate to writing.

5.      What similar ideas about creative struggle do you find in the two poems?

 

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