Style & Structure
 Take the poem “The Rose
Through the Concrete” from
my desk and read it carefully.
In your notebook, consider
the following and answer in
complete sentences:
 What specific words jump out
at you?
 What are the connotations of
those words?
 What type of punctuation (or
lack thereof) do you notice?
 How does the punctuation
affect your understanding?
Objective
Agenda
 Students will examine
 Do Now
how author choice
concerning the style and
structure of a text create
such effects as drama,
tension, or surprise.
 Note-Taking: Style and
Structure Close reading
Lens
 Practice: “The Poison
Tree” by William Blake
 Exit
 Structure is the author’s organizational
choice.
 Each genre has a different structure.
 Non-Fiction
 Poems
 Novels
 Short Stories
 What do the structures of these genre’s look
like?
 STEP 1: Look for the author’s techniques:
 Descriptions
 Dialogue
 Flashbacks
 Comparisons/Contradictions
 Inner Thinking
 Repetition
 Patterns
 STEP 2: Describe the purpose of that
organization/technique:
 To set the stage
 To reveal
 To create suspense
 To foreshadow
 STEP 3: Find patterns
 How are the parts similar?
 How are the parts different?
 What purpose do the parts serve?
 STEP 4: Use the patterns to develop a
new understanding of the text.
 Look at patterns to think about:
 A character’s:
 Development
 A whole text’s:
 Themes
 Central Ideas
 Author’s purpose
 Writing style is the manner in which the author
chooses to write to his audience.
 Each author has a unique style.
 The style of the author depends on the genre:
 Non-Fiction
 Poems
 Novels
 Short Stories
 STEP 1: Look for the author’s techniques:
Sentence fluency (run-on or concise)
Sentence Type
Word choice (concise or descriptive)
Voice (impersonal, chatty, authoritative, objective, or
serious)
 Punctuation




 STEP 2: Describe the purpose of that
style/technique:




To set the stage
To reveal
To create suspense
To foreshadow
Structure & Style Lens
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did
end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the
pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the
tree.
 Why do poets split their poems into multiple stanzas if
the whole poem is focused on one topic?
 What is a stanza?
 Now let’s look at the poem’s organization/structure and
how it influences its meaning.
• What is this stanza
about?
I was angry with my friend; • What are the structure
I told my wrath, my wrath did and style techniques you
have noticed?
end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did
grow.
The author states that he is extremely
angry with his friend. Once, he told the
friend he was angry, his anger
disappeared. Then he was angry with an
enemy but did not tell him and he
became enraged.
Techniques: inner-thinking,
repetition, flashback, voice, and
word choice.
And I watered it in fears,
Night & morning with my
tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
How does this stanza
connect with the previous?
Think in terms of structure
and style.
• What is this stanza
about?
• What are the structure
and style techniques you
have noticed?
The author talks about his
growing anger from his “fears”
and “tears.” Then his
mischievous thoughts grow
with “smiles” and “wiles.”
Techniques: inner-thinking,
figurative language, metaphor,
rhyme, and word choice.
• What is this stanza
about?
What are the structure
and style techniques you
have noticed?
And it grew both day and
night.
•
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
How does this stanza
connect with the previous?
Think in terms of structure
and style.
As his anger grew, it produces a
bright and shiny apple. The
enemy finds the apple and
realizes that it is the speakers.
Techniques: inner-thinking,
figurative language, voice,
rhyme, and word choice.
• What is this stanza
And into my garden stole,
about?
When the night had veild the
• What are the structure
pole;
and style techniques you
In the morning glad I see;
have noticed?
My foe outstretched beneath
the tree.
The enemy tries to steal the
How does this stanza
connect with the previous?
Think in terms of structure
and style.
speaker’s apple, which makes him
a thief. This happens at night with
the “pole” as the starts are
covered. He ate the apple and
died.
Techniques: inner-thinking,
figurative language,
personification, voice, rhyme, and
word choice.
 We read the poem stanza by stanza close reading for
structure and style to make meaning.
 Answer the following questions on a piece of paper:
 Why would the author choose to structure the poem this
way?
 Why would the author use these stylistic techniques?
 How does reading for Style & Structure impact the
reader’s understanding of the text?
HINT: Refer to Steps 2, 3, and 4 answer these questions.
 Independently, read through Langston Hughes’ poem
“Mother to Son” and answer the questions that follow.
 MAKE SURE YOU ANSWER EACH QUESTION
WITH 2-3 COMPLETE SENTENCES. Don’t forget
about your participation rubrics.