Poetry
“Martin Luther King” and
“Annabel Lee”
Objectives
Students in grades 6–12 apply the Reading standards to the following range of text
types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods.
Literature
Stories
Dramas
Includes the subgenres of
Includes one-act and
adventure stories, historical multi-act plays, both in
fiction, mysteries, myths,
written form and on film
science fiction, realistic
fiction, allegories, parodies,
satire, and graphic novels
Informational Text
Poetry
Literary Nonfiction and
Historical, Scientific, and
Technical Texts
Includes the subgenres of Includes the subgenres of
narrative poems, lyrical
exposition, argument, and
poems, free verse poems, functional text in the form of
sonnets, odes, ballads, and personal essays, speeches,
epics
opinion pieces, essays about art
or literature, biographies,
memoirs, journalism, and
historical, scientific, technical, or
economic accounts (including
digital sources) written for a
broad audience
Objectives
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly
and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or
speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of
rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or
stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.5 Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g.,
soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.
“Martin Luther King” and
“Annabel Lee”
You learned last week when we read the essay by Alice Walker
that a tribute is an expression of admiration, a way to honor a
person. The poems we are reading this week are also tributes.
One is about a famous figure in history; the other is written about
a lost love.
Questions to consider:
What type of person would you write a tribute about?
When would you write the tribute?
Would you write an essay or a poem? What are the benefits of
each method?
Martin Luther King
January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968
Amazing Facts!!
Graduated from high school at
15…college at 19!!
He went on to earn a Ph.D. in
systematic theology in 1955!
In 1964 King won the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Time Magazine's
"Man of the Year"
(1963)
Did You Know??
King wrote five books in addition to
many letters, essays, and speeches.
Martin Luther King’s birth name was:
Michael Luther King Jr.
King's efforts were not limited to securing civil
rights; he also spoke out against poverty and war.
“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Richard Patterson
He came upon an age
Beset by grief, by rageHis love so deep so wide,
He could not turn aside.
His passion, so profound,
He would not turn around.
He taught this suffering Earth
The measure of Man’s worth.
He showed what Man can be
Before death sets him free.
Rhythm
• Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
• You should be able to hear a “beat” in the
reading.
You should be able to hear a stressed/unstressed
pattern in words that are more than one syllable.
For example, the adverb forcefully has the first
syllable stressed, and the other two syllables
unstressed:
force´ful ly.
FORCE fully is the correct way to say this
word.
FORCE = the stressed syllable
fully = the two unstressed syllables
If you said forceFULLY, the word would sound
wrong.
The stress can change if the words
changes.
photograph
photography
photographic
How do we find the stressed syllables?
• Dictionaries show us the stressed syllables in
many different ways. Example: Amazing
• Accent marks.
a·maz·ing
• Lower cased unstressed/higher cased stressed
uh-MAY-zing
Watch the pattern of the beats.
The stressed beat is the louder one,
and the line goes higher.
Rhythm
He came upon an age
Beset by grief, by rage
“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Richard Patterson
He came upon an age
Beset by grief, by rageHis love so deep so wide,
He could not turn aside.
His passion, so profound,
He would not turn around.
He taught this suffering Earth
The measure of Man’s worth.
He showed what Man can be
Before death sets him free.
Rhythm
How many beats do you count in each line?
How many stressed syllables is that?
How many unstressed syllables?
Paraphrase
To understand the meaning of a poem, you can
paraphrase or restate parts of it.
For example: “He came upon an age/ Beset by
grief, by rage.”
Paraphrased: King was born in and grew up in a
troubled time.
There is more that we can add to this! What do
we know about the time period?
Paraphrase
Let’s paraphrase the rest of the poem.
The first couplet has already been done
for you.
“He came upon an age
Beset by grief, by rage.”
Paraphrased:
King was born in and grew
up in a troubled time.
Add to the paraphrase.
Consider:
When did King
become an adult?
What was going on in
our country at that
time?
What type of troubles
did our country face?
His love so deep so wide,
He could not turn aside
What does King
love?
His love is so strong
that he cannot do
what?
His passion, so profound,
He would not turn around.
He taught this suffering Earth
The measure of Man’s worth.
Why is the Earth
“suffering” (What
does it suffer
from?)
How does society
measure the value
of a person? How
should we measure
the value of a
person?
He showed what Man can be
Before death sets him free.
The word “can”
indicates possibility.
What does the
author say that King
shows us is possible?
Why would an
author consider
death a form of
freedom?
Questions Pg. 772
Reader’s Response: Do you think that the poem
captures the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.?
Thematic Focus: What clues to Martin Luther
King Jr.’s personality can you find in the poem?
(How do we know what type of person he was?
What evidence does the author give us?)
Check Your Comprehension
1.Describe the age into which King was born.
2.What are two personal qualities that King
brought to this age? (According to the
poem)
3.What did King teach this “suffering Earth”?
Critical Thinking
1. What does the poet mean by King’s “passion so
profound”?
2. In your own words, explain the phrases in lines
8-9 that describe King’s achievements.
3. Would this poem be suitable for an epitaph, an
inscription on King’s grave? Explain.
4. If King were alive today, what are causes for
which he might be fighting?
Excerpt from King’s Last Speech
•This part is not about the poem, but it does
speak to the incredible faith that King had. It
showcases why an author might chose to write
a tribute about King.
•Consider-what does our faith call us to do?
Excerpt from King’s Last Speech
• "I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed
me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked
over. And I've seen the promised land. I may
not get there with you. But I want you to
know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to
the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm
not worried about anything. I'm not fearing
any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the
coming of the Lord."
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
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.
Where does this take
place?
Who is there?
What do we know about
them?
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 winged seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
A seraph is a type of angel.
Covet means to envy.
How great was their love?
What did it cause the seraphs
in heaven to do?
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 sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
Kinsmen are relatives.
Sepulcher is a type of burial vault
or tomb
What happens to Annabel Lee?
Where does Annabel Lee end up?
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.
The speaker thinks the way Annabel
Lee died is because…
The speaker thinks the reason
Annabel Lee died is because…
How does the speaker feel about the
angels? Why would an author include
angels/Heaven when speaking of the
death of a loved one? (Keep in mind, the
author does not say that his love became
an angel.)
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 dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
How strong is the love between the
speaker and Annabel?
Dissever means to separate
or divide.
Can anyone keep them apart?
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 sepulcher there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
How is the speaker still
connected to Annabel?
Thematic Focus
Everlasting Love: Do people today still
experience the type of love that the speaker
describes in this poem? Is the theme of
eternal love a theme that people can relate
to?
Check Your Comprehension
1. At what stage in life did the speaker in the
poem fall in love?
2. What caused the death Annabel Lee?
3. What did Annabel Lee’s kinsmen do when she
died?
4. Why will nothing be able to separate the
speaker’s soul from the soul of Annabel Lee?
5. What does the speaker do “all the nighttide”?
Critical Thinking
1. In your own words, describe the love
between the speaker and Annabel Lee.
2. In what way does Poe make the events of the
story seem distant, like those in a fairy tale?
3. The poet Countee Cullen once wrote, “Never
love with all your heart/It only ends in
aching.” Would the speaker in “Annabel Lee”
agree? Why or why not?
Critical Thinking
4. “Martin Luther King” and “Annabel Lee” are
similar in honoring someone who has died. In
what ways do they differ?
Compare
“In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker
“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Walker
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
Which of the three pieces do you feel was most
effective in communicating the admiration/honor of
the writer? Why?
Which one was easiest to connect to on a personal
level? Why?