Lesson 22
1.
Collect Final Drafts of Essays
2.
Introduction to Poetry
Final Essays
Before turning in your essay, complete
these steps:
1. Highlight and label your thesis.
2. Bracket and label your evidence.
3. Bracket and label your concession and
refutation.
 Staple in the following order

◦ Final Essay
◦ Marked-up rough draft
WHAT IS POETRY?
According to you, poetry is…





…only understood by the poet
…always about emotions
…boring
…made up of rhyming words
…difficult to understand
POETRY
Rules of Analyzing Poetry
 Rip
It Out!
Even though we’re analyzing
poems, don’t become so
technical that you miss the
message!
Billy Collins

“I don’t think people
read poetry because
they’re interested in the 
poet. I think they read
poetry because they’re
interested in
themselves. That’s why
I read poetry…to
discover things about
myself.”
Billy Collins Introduction to Poetry
audio-visual.wmv YouTube
Introduction to Poetry
Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
Who’s “I”?
Who’s “them”?
Is that normal?
“poem” metaphor
or press an ear against its hive.
~color slide
~hive
~maze
~room in house
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
UNDERSTANDING!!!
I want them to water-ski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Difficult to figure
out/confusing/
uncertainty
wants them to have fun with a poem
Assumes they are stable enough/comfortable
enough to look up and wave
another metaphor
Even though poetry can be complicated, it is to be enjoyed and meaning is
created through connections between the reader and the poem.
Your Turn
Individual Work
 Pick one of the
poems from your
packet.
 Break it down in
similar manner.

Group Work
 With your group,
mark up your poem.
 Each member’s
contribution will be
evaluated by pencil
color.
 Put your name on
this WITH YOUR
COLORED PENCIL.
