Jabberwocky (1871)
By Lewis Carroll
’Twas1 brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe2 he sought3—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou4 slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171647
1
‘Twas= archaic for “it was”
Foe= (n.) enemy
3 Sought= (v.) past tense of seek ; searched for
4 Hast thou= archaic for “have you”
2
Langston Hughes – “Dreams”
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Langston Hughes – “Dream Deferred”
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Alfred, Lord Tennyson – “The Eagle”
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Barren: (adj.) empty
Deferred: (adj.) put off until a future time
Fester: (v.) form pus
Crag: (n.) steep, rugged rock that juts out from a rock mass
Azure: (adj.) blue
Emily Dickinson – “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers—”
“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—
And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—
I’ve heard it in the chilliest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.
Gale: (n.) strong wind
Sore: (adj.) fierce, cruel
Abash: (v.) embarrass
“Mirror”
By Sylvia Plath (writ. 1961; pub. 1971)
I am silver1 and exact. I have no preconceptions2. Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful‚ The eye of a little god, four-cornered. Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, Searching my reaches for what she really is. Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation3 of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/sylvia-plath/mirror/
Title of website: Poem Hunter
Name of person/group responsible: Poem Hunter
Date poem added to site: n.d.
Date site was accessed: 9/22/13
1
Silver: A thin coating of silver or aluminum is attached to the back of a glass mirror
Preconceptions: (n.) prejudices; ideas already formed
3 Agitation: (n.) nervous movement, disturbance, action
2
Figurative Language Poem #1 Assignment
For this assignment, you will create a poem (free verse, etc.) about one of your
favorite places in the world (a room in your house, a place in the city, a city
itself, etc.). To get the best grade you can, try to pick a place that you know
well and can describe with specific details (a favorite country might be too
unmanageable but a favorite spot within that country could work).
Specifications for your poem:
1. At least 5 lines and a total of 40 words
2. At least 3 examples of figurative language describing your favorite place
3. At least one type of rhyme used (end, slant, internal)
a. Using more than one type of rhyme (and more than once) will earn
you more points for creativity
4. Your poem should explain why this is one of your favorite places
a. Possible idea for your poem’s setup: Describe the place in your first
stanza (using sensory detail), then use your second stanza to talk
about its significance to you.
5. Paragraph accompanying your poem explaining your stylistic choices
a. Why did you choose the words you did? Be sure to answer this
question: What connotations of words were you using?
b. Why did you break up the poem the way you did?
c. What is your theme and how does the language you used support
your theme?
Figurative Language Poem #2 Assignment (Personification Poem)
For this assignment, you will create a poem in which you personify either an
animal (in the style of Tennyson) OR an inanimate object (in the style of Plath)
with special meaning for you.
If you do your personification poem in the style of Plath’s “Mirror” …
 Take an object that has significance for you
 Give it human characteristics (speech, thought, etc.) and attitude
o Think about the attitude of the mirror in Plath’s poem … how is the
mirror’s attitude different from that of the woman in the poem?
 Make the object the speaker of your poem: let it describe itself
 Give the object a message (theme) to communicate: use the object to
say something about life, human behavior, etc.
 Use at least 50 words and at least 7 lines
o Focus on using precise language: choose your words carefully for
the denotations and connotations they contribute
 Write a paragraph explaining your stylistic choices:
o Why did you choose the words you did? Be sure to answer this
question: What connotations of words were you using?
o Why did you break up the poem the way you did?
o What is your theme and how does the language you used support
your theme?
If you do your personification poem in the style of Tennyson’s “The Eagle” …
 Take an animal or organism (tree, etc.) that has significance for you
 Give it human characteristics (speech, thought, etc.) and attitude
o Think about how Tennyson gives the eagle a character by
describing its actions
 Describe the animal/organism doing something as if it were human,
perhaps by making it the speaker of your poem
 Give the animal/organism a message (theme) to communicate: use the
animal to say something about life, human behavior, etc.
 Use at least 50 words and at least 7 lines
o Focus on using precise language: choose your words carefully for
the denotations and connotations they contribute
 Write a paragraph explaining your stylistic choices:
o Why did you choose the words you did? Be sure to answer this
question: What connotations of words were you using?
o Why did you break up the poem the way you did?
o What is your theme and how does the language you used support
your theme?
“Annabel Lee” By Edgar Allan Poe (pub. 1849)
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs1 of Heaven
Coveted2 her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre3
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever4 my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
seraphs: (n.) highest-ranking angels in Christianity
coveted: (v.) desired to possess
3 sepulchre: (n.) a tomb cut into the rock or built of stone; mausoleum, crypt
1
2
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
“She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways”
By William Wordsworth (pub. 1800)
She dwelt among the untrodden1 ways
Beside the springs of Dove2,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
Lyric Poem Assignment
For this assignment, you will create a lyric poem in which you express a personal observation or
feeling about an experience. Lyric poems, especially those written during the nineteenth
century, focused on love, death, beauty, and our connections with the natural world.
Specifications for your poem:
 Your poem must be about a personal observation you have made, or express a strong
feeling you have about a particular experience from your life.
o Both Wordsworth and Poe’s speakers are moved to strong feeling (you might call
it anguish) by the deaths of young women in their lives.
 Being personal (i.e., about you), your poem needs to be in first-person P.O.V.
 Your poem must clearly express the personal observations/feelings of one speaker (you)
o Use figurative language to add sensory detail and give your readers a more vivid
picture of the feeling you are trying to get them to feel when reading your poem.
 Achieve a lyrical effect by using at least three of the following: a rhyme scheme (end
rhyme), assonance and consonance, alliteration, repetition of words/lines/phrases, etc.
 Must be at least 3 stanzas and at least 10 lines long total
 Must be accompanied by a paragraph explaining your stylistic choices
o Why did you choose the words you did? Be sure to answer this question: What
connotations of words were you using?
o Why did you break up the poem the way you did?
o What is your theme and how does the language you used support your theme?
1
2
Untrodden: (adj.) un- + trodden; not walked on
Dove: (n.) the name of a number of rivers in Britain’s Suffolk, Barnsley, North Yorkshire
Sonnet Assignment
For this assignment, you will write an English sonnet on a school-appropriate subject of your
choice (love, loss, friendship, family, etc.). Your sonnet must follow all of the conventions of this
type of poem listed below to receive full credit. This sonnet will be the final poem in your poetry
book so try to do your best to impress on this assignment!
Specifications for this poem:
 Title: Give your sonnet a title that reflects your theme
 Follow sonnet conventions: 14 lines of 10 syllables; abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme; 3
quatrains and a heroic couplet; iambic pentameter
o NOTE: If your poem is not in iambic pentameter but each line is 10 syllables long,
you will only receive half credit
o Each quatrain should say something new about your subject
 Think of your quatrains as paragraphs in an essay: each quatrain should
give more information in support of your chosen theme, just like the
paragraphs in an essay should give more information to support your
thesis statement.
o Your heroic couplet should rhyme and communicate your theme
 Use at least two examples of figurative language
 Paragraph of explanation:
o Explain your word choice, citing specific examples (with lines numbers) from your
sonnet
o Highlight your use of figurative language, citing specific examples
o Explain your theme (the message you are trying to communicate) and explain
how each quatrain connects to this theme (citing specific examples)
Poetry Book Table of Contents:
1. Cover page
a. Decorated; typed or in blue/black ink
b. Name, period, class (“English 9”), my name (“Mr. Shimizu”)
2. Found Poem + explanatory paragraph + illustrations (optional)
3. Figurative Language Poem #1 (your favorite place) + explanatory paragraph +
illustrations (optional)
4. Figurative Language Poem #2 (the personification poem) + explanatory paragraph +
illustrations (optional)
5. Lyric Poem + explanatory paragraph + illustrations (optional)
6. English Sonnet + explanatory paragraph + illustrations (optional)
7. Glossary (in blue/black ink OR typed)
a. Format: Your entries do not need to be alphabetized but each entry must include
the term itself, the definition, and at least one example from a text we have read
in this class.
b. These terms are required for your glossary: poetry (our class definition), stanza
(incl. couplet, tercet, quatrain, cinquain, sestet, heptastich, octave), figurative
language, simile, metaphor, personification, symbol, mood, tone, theme,
universal theme, rhyme, end rhyme, internal rhyme, slant rhyme, alliteration, free
verse, diction, denotation, connotation, imagery, rhyme scheme, rhythm, meter
(incl. monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter,
heptameter), foot (incl. iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, spondee), assonance,
consonance, hyperbole, refrain, lyric poem, sonnet, heroic couplet (51 total)