English 10B Poetry Unit Overview
In the following unit, we will use poetry to examine the different literary devices that great writers use to convey various themes in their writing.
Poem Title
Poem Type
Think and Write
Assignment
Literary Focus
1. I Am Offering This Poem To You Lyric
Suppose someone says to you, “I have
Simile, metaphor,
 S.O.A.P.S. Tone
By Jimmy Satiago Baca
nothing to give you—except love.” How  Write a lyric poem
personification, refrain
would you feel? Is love enough?
2. Since Feeling is first
Lyric
What does love mean? Why is it such a  S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Dichotomies/opposites
By E.E. Cummings
big deal? Why does it make people cry?  Imitate Cummings—Use
Figures of speech
Why does it make people laugh?
dichotomies/opposites in your
poem
3. Heart! We Will Forget Him
Lyric
In this poem, Emily Dickinson tells the
Personification, speaker
 S.O.A.P.S. Tone
By Emily Dickinson
old, sad story of unrequited love—of love  Write a poem using
that is not returned. The poem is about
personification. Personify
conflict between will and emotion,
more than one thing or one
between the thinking mind and the
thing over several lines in the
feeling heart. Which do you think is more
poem.
powerful—the mind or the heart? Does
one control the other, or are they
completely separate systems? Explain.
4. Shall I Compare Thee to a
Sonnet
In Shakespeare’s day every gentleman
Metaphor, quatrain, couplet,
 S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Summer’s Day?
was expected to write sonnets in praise
personification, tone,
By William Shakespeare
of his beloved. Writing a sonnet was a  Write a Shakespearean sonnet metrical poetry, iambic
declaring your love to
challenge, a kind of game. The speaker of
pentameter, scanning a
someone for his/her _______. poem, foot, rhyme, end
this sonnet expresses passionate feelings
Complete the blank with your rhyme, internal rhyme, exact
within very strict rules—not an easy task.
theme.
Before you read the poem, write your
rhyme, meter, speaker
response to this question: Why would
someone want to compare the person he
or she loves to a summer’s day? Explain.
5. Porphyria’s Lover
Dramatic
Can you ever love someone too much?  S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Speaker, metaphor,
By Robert Browning
Monologue Explain. If someone claims to love
 Write a dramatic monologue. personification
someone and injures or kills someone, is
You can imitate “Porphyria’s
that still love? Explain.
Lover.”
6. Three Japanese Tankas
Tankas
Tankas were often done orally. If you
Tanka Structure=5 unrhymed
 S.O.A.P.S. Tone
By Ono Komachi
were to speak your love publicly, what
lines, 31 syllables, lines
Some of the think and writes have been adapted from the Holt Literature and Language journal selections. Most of the poems have also been selected from Holt Literature & Language Arts (Fourth Course)
would you say? Why would you say these
particular words?
7. Ex-Basketball Player
By John Updike
8. Regret to Inform
9. The Ballad of Birmingham
By Dudley Randall
10. The Legend
By Garret Hong
11. Miss Rosie
By Lucille Clifton
Almost every school has a sports hero, 
someone who is a natural at the game. 
Like the glittering stars whose brilliance
fades overnight, some of these bright
heroes seem to dim after graduation.
How important are school athletics to
you? Do you think they prepare young
people for life? Why?
Two Person Write about a significant event in your 
Poem
life. Then write about that same event 
from a different perspective. What are
the similarities? What are the
differences?
Ballad
What do you know about the Four Little 
Girls? What happened to them? Why did
it happen? Write everything you know. 
Lyric
Poem based
on a
newspaper
story
Select a newspaper article or news story 
that interests you. Read the newspaper
article or write what you remember from 
the news story. (You cannot use the
sports section.)
Think of someone you know or someone 
famous (or create a character of your
own). Write a description of that person 
in either the heyday of success or his or
her prime. Be sure to use vivid sensory
images.
Write three Japanese Tankas
within the scope of your
theme. (Prepare to perform
these orally and compete
against your classmates)
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a lyric poem with the
tight structure of iambic
pentameter (at least three
stanzas)
1&3=5 syllables, lines 2,4,5=7
syllables, mood,
personification, imagery,
evokes a strong feeling with a
single image
Iambic pentameter, internal
rhymes, alliteration, near
rhymes, jargon,
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a two person poem
based on an event in the
newspaper or the news.
Speaker, tone, point of view
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Dramatic irony, repetition,
end rhymes, rhythm, tone
Write a sad or humorous
ballad about your selected
theme.
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Setting, tone, imagery,
diction
Write a poem based on a
newspaper story or something
you saw on the news last
night.
idiom
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem about someone
you know or that is famous
that has lost his or her fame or
fortune. Your description
must fall within the scope of
Some of the think and writes have been adapted from the Holt Literature and Language journal selections. Most of the poems have also been selected from Holt Literature & Language Arts (Fourth Course)
What are some the things that high

school students do to “look good”? How 
do they figure out what “looking good”
should look like? How important is
“looking good” anyway? Explain.
12. Same Song
By Pat Mora
Using t-chart, list five words in the left

column that describe you. In the right
column write metaphors that convey the 
adjectives you chose to describe you.
13. Ego Tripping
By Nikki Giovanni
14. Ode to my socks
Pablo Neruda
Ode
16. Quinceañera
By Judith Ortiz Cofer
18. Responding to a major
political, social, or economic
issue


What does poetry mean to you? Do you 
ever write it? How does it make you feel

when you do? Explain
15. Constantly Risking Absurdity
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
17. Song __________________
Think of your theme? What does it
mean? What are its characteristics?
Explain.
What is a Quinceañera? What does it
represent?
Song


Select an appropriate song related to

your theme. Write a response to the
song you selected. What does it mean to 
you?
Discuss a major political, social, or

economic issue that is important to you.
What are the significant facts surrounding
your theme.
Imagery, allusion, theme
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem that reveals your
standards of beauty, but it
must fit into the theme you
selected. How do you define
it?
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Allusions, metaphors, simile
Write about yourself. Imitate
Giovanni’s style and tone
within the scope of your
selected theme. Use allusions
and metaphors in your poem.
Extended metaphor, similes
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write an ode to your theme
while imitating Neruda’s style.
Form
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem about your
theme; the form of your poem
should match your theme.
Connotation, denotation
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem about what it
means to “come of age” within
the context of your theme.
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem imitating the
style of the song’s lyrics.
Write a poem within the scope
of your theme about that
issue.
Some of the think and writes have been adapted from the Holt Literature and Language journal selections. Most of the poems have also been selected from Holt Literature & Language Arts (Fourth Course)
19. Responding to an image
20. Tupac (2 Poems)
the issue? Why is it important?
Select an ad or image from a magazine
related to your theme. Write a response
to the image. What seems interesting,
important, or strange?
How does our environment influence
who we are or who we become? Do we
have to be like the people that around
us?




21. In your own words
Why is your voice important? Does it

matter whether you use slang or
standard English? Do you need standard
English to survive? Explain.
22. I Am Joaquin
By Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez
Why is it important that we learn about 
our neighbors? How does it benefit our 
community? How does it benefit us?
Explain.
O.P.T.I.C.
Write a poem about that
image and tie it into your
selected theme.
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem about your
environment within in the
scope of your theme.
Write a poem where you
incorporate (appropriate)
words from your native
language and/or the slang you
use in your everyday
conversations.
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
Write a poem that
incorporates words in Spanish
throughout the poem. You
must include a minimum of
five Spanish words and/or
phrases.
Your Anthology
 What is the theme of your anthology? _________________________________
o All of your poems must develop the theme you selected.
 While your rough drafts and S.O.A.P.S. Tone will go into your Literary Notebooks, you will compile all of the poems that you created into an anthology.
 Every poem included must be written by you--plagiarism is unacceptable.
 All the poems must be typed and placed inside a folder with sheet protectors.
o You should organize pages back to back.
 Your anthology must be organized in the following order
o Cover with illustrations--visual symbols or metaphors that convey your theme
o Title Page: Name, Class ID Number, Period, Grade, Date Due
o Table of contents
Some of the think and writes have been adapted from the Holt Literature and Language journal selections. Most of the poems have also been selected from Holt Literature & Language Arts (Fourth Course)
o
o
o

Introduction (1-2 Paragraphs that introduces your theme and its scope)
Organize poems purposefully
Beneath the title of each poem, write what poem inspired it
For each poem, you will draw or use magazine clippings that correspond to the poem you created.
o
The Poetry Café (Tentative Date: April 16, 2009 @ 3:30 P.M.)
o If time and scheduling permits and we receive approval, students will select one poem form their anthology to present at The Poetry
Café.
o This is a Mandatory Assignment and we will include it in your final grade.
Some of the think and writes have been adapted from the Holt Literature and Language journal selections. Most of the poems have also been selected from Holt Literature & Language Arts (Fourth Course)