WEEK 3: READING ASSIGNMENT
Reading: Read the chapters “The Music of the Line” and “Voice and Style” in The
Poet’s Companion (104-128) before doing the annotation (due Friday 4/22) and
creative assignments (due Monday 4/25).
READ: From Totems to Hip-Hop, section 3, “Family”, 97-190. Look through the
section and read at least half of the poems. You’ll choose one of the longer ones for
your annotation, due on Friday, April 22. Instructions below.
Week 3: Annotation Writing Assignment – Due Friday 4/22
Read the “Family” section of From Totems to Hip-Hop (97-190). Choose one of the
longer poems to work with – 2 pages or more. Consider “In the Waiting Room,” “Oh!
Mercy Mercy Me!,” “Calallo,” “The Names,” or another longish one.
Use the following list of questions to generate an informal paper about the poem
you chose. You might want to answer each question in turn, or you could focus
closely on a particular element such as imagery or persona. Make sure you address
the final question: why do you think the poet wrote this poem? I’m looking for 2-3
pages (double spaced) of thoughtful inquiry into the structure, subject, and effect of
the poem.
Looking at Poetry: Questions to Ask
 What’s the title of the poem?
 What is the first line?
 What is the last line?
 What images do you notice ?
 Are these images linked together or similar in some way? Do some images
repeat?
 What feelings or emotions does the imagery suggest?
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What information does the poem give you about the poem’s “speaker” or
persona – does it say where the person is? Any biographical details like age,
gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, health, work,
etc.?
What is the person doing? Thinking? Feeling?
What information does the poem give you about the world – botany, history,
language, politics, cooking – what can you learn from it?
What does the speaker seem to be most concerned about?
How long is the poem (number of lines)?
Is it arranged in stanzas? Are the stanzas of regular length, or do they vary?
How many lines per stanza?
How long are the lines (number of words? of syllables)? Or, what’s the range
between shortest and longest line?
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Does the poet end sentences at the end of lines, or do sentences wrap around
and end in the middle of a line?
Is rhyme used at the end of lines? Within a single lines? Some other way?
Are there patterns of repeated words, or repeated lines? How would you
describe those patterns?
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Read the poem out loud. What parts of the language seem most interesting,
alive, or musical? Which words or passages capture your attention as you
read them?
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If you had written this poem yourself, what would be your motivation – why
might you write such a poem?
Why do you think this author wrote the poem?
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