Lesson 36
“A Poison Tree”
“Catacombs and Carnival”
Lesson Goals
-Analyze how an author
achieves specific effects of
tone and theme.
-Use context clues to clarify
the meaning of unknown or
ambiguous words
-Develop background
knowledge for “The Cask of
Amontillado”
Bell Ringer
Tone & Poem Review
1. What is tone?
2. Poetry Review: lines and stanzas
Activity 2.3 page 92
“A Poison Tree” by William Blake
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 watered it in fears,
Night and 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 veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
Visualizing the Poem
8 groups, two lines per group
• You and your group will be
assigned a two line section
of the poem
• Together, you will discuss
what you all imagine these
two lines to look like –
picture it in your heads!
• Next to the two lines, draw
an image that represents
your group’s discussion
• Think about the themes
and ideas of the poem and
incorporate them in your
image
• When finishing, draw your
image in the corresponding
box on the board
Marking the text: Analyzing Poetry
• Let’s go back to the poem
and mark the following:
• Highlight the different
choices the speaker makes
about revenge
• Where does the speaker shift
in attitude (tone)? Mark a
star there!
• Describe the attitude of the
speaker in different places in
the poem (make a number
next to the line, then write
the notes about the attitude
in the margin)
• Paraphrase the last two lines
(put it in your own words
but keep it the same length).
How does the poem end?
Based off the last class
discussion and the
ideas of the poem,
what is our theme?
Activity 2.4
Catacombs and Carnival
• Groups of 4!
• Organize the words into four different categories.
• Use your best judgment—you probably won’t know all of the
words
• Work as a team to decide how the words should be categorized
• Be sure to decide what each category is labeled
• Share out—how did your group categorize the words, and
why?
Carnival
• The day before Ash Wednesday
• Public celebrations: parades, masks,
street parties, elements of a circus
• People dress up in masquerade: in
costumes with masks
Diffusing the Passage:
Catacombs and Carnival on page 94
• As we read the first paragraph together, highlight unfamiliar
words.
• After we read the paragraph, we’ll define each individual
word.
• Then we’ll go back and reread the paragraph after
understanding the terms.
• Continue the last two paragraphs with you and a partner