Name: ________________________________
Period: _______________________________
English 1
Unit 2 – Poetry
Week 1
Ms. Toole Room K206
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Contents
Introduction to Poetry
Elements – Rhyming (Internal and End), Rhythm, Stressed and Unstressed Syllables, Iambic Meter
Types of Poetry – ABC Poetry
Imagery – ‘Phenomenal Woman’ by Maya Angelou
Types of Poetry – Acrostic Poem
Types of Poetry – Dramatic Poetry
Tupac Chakur – Biography and ‘Changes’
‘Where I’m From’ by George Ella Leon
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Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
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.
I want them to waterski
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.
from The Apple that Astonished Paris, 1996
University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Ark.
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Valentine for Ernest Mann
by Naomi Shihab Nye
You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.
Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.
Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.
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Elements of Poetry – Rhyming
Rhyme is the repetition of the sound of the stressed vowel and any sounds that follow it in words that are
close together in a poem: nails and whales; material and cereal, icicle and bicycle
Write 4 pairs of words that rhyme.
Example: hat and phat
1. ___________________ and ___________________
2. ___________________ and ___________________
3. ___________________ and ___________________
4. ___________________ and ___________________
Rhymes usually occur at the end of lines. This type of rhyme is called an end rhyme. The rhyming words are
seldom spaced more than four lines apart – if the interval is longer than that, the chiming sound cannot be
clearly heard. Rhyme can also occur inside the lines (or within the lines rather than at the end). This is called
internal rhyme.
Identify the rhymes below, and state if they are internal or end rhymes.
Remember remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...
Rhythm comes in a common form known as meter. Meter is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Stressed syllables are marked with a ́ symbol and unstressed syllables are marked with ̌ .
Iambic meter is when an _____________________ syllable is followed by a _____________________ syllable.
This rhythm can be expressed as da-DUM. The da-DUM of a human heartbeat is the most common example
of this rhythm.
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See below for an example.
˘
́
˘
́
˘
́
˘
́
˘
́
To swell | the gourd, | and plump | the ha- | zel shells
The following poem is written in iambic meter. Write the unstressed and stressed syllables, like above.
Bat- ter | my heart | three- per- | soned God, | for you |
as yet | but knock, | breathe, shine | and seek | to mend. |
That I | may rise | and stand | o'er throw | me and bend |
Your force | to break, | blow, burn | and make | me new. |
The following poem is written in iambic meter. Write the unstressed and stressed syllables, like above.
When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw,
The line, too, labours and the words move slow.
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain,
Flies o’er th’unbending corn, and skims along the main.
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Types of Poetry – ABC poem
An ABC poem has a series of lines that create a mood, picture, or feeling. Lines are made up of words and
phrases. The first word of line 1 begins with an A, the first word of line 2 begins with a B, the first word of
line 3 begins with C, and so on.
#1
A lthough things are not perfect
B ecause of trial or pain
#2
C ontinue in thanksgiving
Ask for what you want.
E ven when the times are hard
Count your blessings.
D o not begin to blame
F ierce winds are bound to blow
Believe in dreams.
Do the right thing.
Enjoy the moment.
Fail. And dare to succeed
Continue poem #2 by using the template below.
G ___________________________________________
H___________________________________________
I __________________________________________
J __________________________________________
K __________________________________________
L __________________________________________
Homework: Write your own ABC poem, using the letters A – F.
Due: ___________________________________
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Elements of Poetry – Imagery
______________________ is the use of details and descriptors, such as adjectives and nouns, used to create a
mental or sensational image in the mind of a reader. The elements in a literary work used to evoke mental
images, not only of the visual sense, but also of sensation (touch, taste, smell, sound, orientation) and emotion.
Imagery allows a writer to show a reader what he/she means instead of just telling someone.
Authors do this by using ________________________________________.
___________________________ is describing something by comparing it with something else.
Types of figurative language include metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism, alliteration, and
onomatopoeia.
Metaphor states a fact or draws a verbal picture by the use of comparison.
Underline the metaphors in the poem below and then write them here.
1. _______________________________________________
She compares __________________ to ________________________________.
2. _______________________________________________
She compares __________________ to ________________________________.
3. _______________________________________________
She compares __________________ to ________________________________.
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PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
They try so much
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But they can't touch
They think I'm telling lies.
When I try to show them,
But when I start to tell them
My inner mystery.
I say,
They say they still can't see.
It's in the reach of my arms
I say
The span of my hips,
It's in the arch of my back,
The curl of my lips.
The ride of my breasts,
I'm a woman
The grace of my style.
Phenomenal woman,
Phenomenally.
That's me.
Phenomenal woman,
The stride of my step,
The sun of my smile,
Phenomenally.
I'm a woman
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
Now you understand
And to a man,
Just why my head's not bowed.
The fellows stand or
I don't shout or jump about
Then they swarm around me,
When you see me passing
A hive of honey bees.
It ought to make you proud.
It's the fire in my eyes
It's in the click of my heels,
And the flash of my teeth,
The bend of my hair,
Fall down on their knees.
I say,
Or have to talk real loud.
I say,
The swing of my waist,
The palm of my hand,
And the joy in my feet.
The need of my care,
I'm a woman
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman,
Phenomenal woman,
Phenomenally.
Phenomenally.
That's me.
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
from And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou.
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Types of Poetry – Acrostic Poem
Acrostic Poetry is where the first letter of each line spells a word, usually using the same words
as in the title.
Carousel - #1
#2 - What word is spelled in this acrostic
C ontagious,
__________________________________
R iding around,
Startling
By Author Unknown
A biding charm,
poem?
O blivious of all,
Pretty scary
S miling broad,
Deadly
L asting forever.
Really it is just like us.
U nder the carousel
E xcitement
It has lots of eyes
Everywhere
Poem #1 spells the word Carousel, uses the word carousel within the poem, and is about a
carousel. Poem #2 spells the word _______________ and is about a ____________________.
Pick your favorite thing in the word. Write it here ____________________________________
Use that word to write your own poem. First, write the word down the page, like carousel is
written above. Then use each letter of the word to write each line.
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Types of Poetry – Dramatic Poem
Dramatic poetry is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung, and appears in varying,
sometimes related forms in many cultures. Dramatic poetry tells a story.
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his
stage names 2Pac was an American rapper and actor.
The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner
cities, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during
the East Coast – West Coast hip hop rivalry.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of
Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died 6 days later of
respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.
As you listen, underline the internal rhymes in the song. Circle the end rhymes in this song.
Changes
By Tupac Shakur
Come on come on
I see no changes. Wake up in the morning and I ask myself,
"Is life worth living? Should I blast myself?"
I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.
My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.
Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare.
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers.
Give 'em guns, step back, and watch 'em kill each other.
"It's time to fight back", that's what Huey said.
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead.
I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes.
Learn to see me as a brother 'stead of 2 distant strangers.
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And that's how it's supposed to be.
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids
but things changed, and that's the way it is
Come on come on
That's just the way it is
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is
aww yeah
I see no changes. All I see is racist faces.
Misplaced hate makes disgrace for races we under.
I wonder what it takes to make this one better place...
let's erase the wasted.
Take the evil out the people, they'll be acting right.
'Cause mo' black than white is smokin' crack tonight.
And only time we chill is when we kill each other.
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other.
And although it seems heaven sent,
we ain't ready to see a black President, uhh.
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact...
the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks.
But some things will never change.
Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game.
Now tell me what's a mother to do?
Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you.
You gotta operate the easy way.
"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way.
Sellin' crack to the kids. "I gotta get paid,"
Well hey, well that's the way it is.
We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
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and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.
And still I see no changes. Can't a brother get a little peace?
There's war on the streets & the war in the Middle East.
Instead of war on poverty,
they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me.
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do.
But now I'm back with the facts givin' 'em back to you.
Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up, crack you up and pimp smack you up.
You gotta learn to hold ya own.
They get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone.
But tell the cops they can't touch this.
I don't trust this, when they try to rush I bust this.
That's the sound of my tune. You say it ain't cool, but mama didn't raise no fool.
And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped & I never get to lay back.
'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs.
Some buck that I roughed up way back... comin' back after all these years.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat. That's the way it is. uhh

What is the story that this song tells?

What is the essential, overall “meaning” of Tupac’s lyrics?

Explain the forces that create Tupac’s belief that ‘Changes’ are needed. What changes does
he suggest we need in the song?
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
What does Tupac mean in the lyrics below? Does Tupac agree or disagree with this? How
do you know?
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact...
the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks.
But some things will never change.
Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game.
Now tell me what's a mother to do?
Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you.
You gotta operate the easy way.
"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way.
Sellin' crack to the kids. "I gotta get paid,"
Well hey, well that's the way it is.

The lines below suggest that Tupac thinks the real problem in America is what?
Instead of war on poverty,
they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me.
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do.

How might Tupac’s life have affected his song-writing? Explain using complete sentences.
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Where I'm From
By George Ella Leon
I'm from He restoreth my soul
I am from clothespins,
with a cottonball lamb
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
and ten verses I can say myself.
(Black, glistening,
fried corn and strong coffee.
I am from the forsythia bush
From the finger my grandfather lost
the Dutch elm
to the auger,
as if they were my own.
Under my bed was a dress box
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
it tasted like beets.)
whose long-gone limbs I remember
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
from Imogene and Alafair.
to drift beneath my dreams.
I'm from the know-it-alls
I am from those moments--
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
leaf-fall from the family tree.
and the pass-it-ons,
snapped before I budded --
Based on the song, where is Tupac from? Based on the poem, where is George Ella Leon from?
How are they different?__________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How do these different upbringings affect the way that each author writes?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Write one (1) paragraph about where you are from.
Using the paragraph above, write your own poem about where you are from. It must have at
least 3 stanzas of 4 lines each.
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