Useful
Interesting
Memorable
Time for a new
approach
 Going
to highlight everything
you can use to talk about the
theme of a poem.
 By the end of the class, you
shall be able to discuss the
theme of any poem in great
detail.
Unseen Poetry 3

1. A poet becomes obsessed with an emotional
concept to the point where he or she must write
it down.

2. A poet creates a device which shall reproduce
this emotional concept in others.

3. A reader encounters the device and becomes
aware of the concept. That concept is the theme
of the poem.
 S.p.i.t.s.
 S. – Subject Matter
 P. – Purpose or Message
 I. – Identify Emotion, Mood or
Feeling
 T. – Technique
 S. – Summary
 What
is the poem about?
 What
is the story, the setting, the
event as you see it?
 The
title of a poem gives clues
about the theme.
A
Room in the Past
 Nettles
A
Sentimental Moment

Why did the poet write the poem?

Is the poet trying to tell you something
or convince you of something?

The answer can be derived from the last
line or stanza usually.

“turning her back on the rest of us, forever”.

“My son would often feel sharp wounds again”.

“I sometimes start to reach for his hand”

Is there a strong feeling in this poem?

How does it make the reader feel?

If you do not see a word you can
associate with a feeling, look at the
verbs and act them out.
 “A
kitchen falling through time”
 “Slashed
in fury” or “feel sharp
wounds again”
 “He
doesn’t know”

Structure, Language, Imagery, Movement.


S.L.I.M.
How the poem looks, sounds, thinks and
moves all reveal the theme.
A


Sentimental Moment
There are stanzas - There is order.
Language – what words or letters repeat


Image of the son – age.
No full stop at end of first stanza – confusion.
 What
is the impact of the
whole poem for you?
 What
do you think?

Margaret Walker is an African-American poet.
In this poem she celebrates experiences of
the African Americans.

Two of the three poems you have done so far
have had introductions such as this.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
sob-torn
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
i.
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
sob-torn
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
i.
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
i.
sunshine laughter
I want to catch their sunshine
laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
singing melodies in the dark.
want to hear them singing
sob-torn
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
i.
throats
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
i.
sunshine laughter
I want to catch their sunshine
laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
fill them full of stars
and fill
crush and mix such lights till they become
then crush
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs of my people.
singing melodies in the dark.
want to hear them singing
sob-torn
want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn
i.
throats
T.
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into
notes.
i.
sunshine laughter
I want to catch their sunshine
laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
fill them full of stars
and fill
crush and mix such lights till they become
then crush
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
T.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs
Songs of my people.
singing melodies in the dark.
want to hear them singing
strains from their sob-torn
sob-torn
want to catch the last floating strains
i.
throats
T.
souls into
I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls
notes.
i.
sunshine laughter
I want to catch their sunshine
laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
sky
fill them full of stars
stars
and fill
crush and mix such
such lights till they become
then crush
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
T.
I
I
I
I
I Want to Write – S.
want to write
want to write the songs
Songs of my people.
singing melodies in the dark.
want to hear them singing
sob-torn
want to catch
floatingstrains
strains from their sob-torn
catchthe
the last floating
i.
throats
throats
T.
frame their
souls into
I want to frame
their dreams
dreamsinto
intowords
words; their souls
notes.
i.
sunshine laughter
I want to catch their sunshine
laughter in a bowl;
fling dark
Darkhands
handstotoaadarker
darkersky
sky
sky
fill them full of stars
stars
and fill
crush and mix such
such lights till they become
then crush
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
T.
I Want to Write – S.
Songs
singing
strains
catch the last floating strains
throats
frame their dreams into words
i.
sunshine laughter
Dark hands to a darker sky
fill
crush
stars
such
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - P.
sob-torn
i.
souls
I Want to Write – Subject
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn. - Purpose
sob-torn
i.
fill
i.
sunshine laughter
crush
identify emotions
singing
Two stanza – order, sense, structure
Songs
singing
stars
souls such
sob-torn throats
catch the last floating strains
frame their dreams into words
Dark hands to a darker sky
Techniques
 Your
opinion is always important.
A quick summary of the poem and
its effect on you is always
welcome.
 The
poet Rosita Boland
reflects on the tragedy of
the war-torn region in our
world
 Subject Matter
 Purpose or Message
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling
 Technique
 Summary
Butterflies
In Bosnia, there are landmines
Decorated with butterflies
And left on the grassy pathways
Of rural villages.
The children come, quivering down
Familiar lanes & fields.
Hands outstretched, they reach triumphant
For these bright, elusive insects Themselves becoming wingéd in the act;
Gaudy and ephemeral.
(Gaudy – loud or noisy)
(Ephemeral –lasts a short amount of time)
(hint – landmine)
Butterflies – S
Butterflies
landmines
T
In Bosnia, there are landmines
Decorated withwith
butterflies
Decorated
butterfliesT
And left
left on the grassy pathways
Of rural villages.
quivering i down
The children come, quivering
Familiar lanes & fields.
T they reach triumphant
triumphant i
Hands Outstretched
outstretched,
Bright, elusive
insects
T For these bright,
elusive
insects
Becoming wingéd
in the in
act the act;
Themselves becoming
wingéd
Gaudy and
ephemeral
–P i T
Gaudy
and
ephemeral.
(Gaudy – loud or noisy)
(Ephemeral –lasts a short amount of time)
(hint – landmine)
 Subject Matter
 Purpose or Message
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling
 Technique
 Summary
 Subject Matter – Butterflies – link to the rest
 Purpose or Message
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling
 Technique
 Summary
 Subject Matter – Butterflies – link to the rest
 Purpose or Message - Becoming wingéd in the
act, Gaudy and ephemeral
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling
 Technique
 Summary
 Subject Matter – Butterflies – link to the rest
 Purpose or Message - Becoming wingéd in the
act, Gaudy and ephemeral
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling - quivering
 Technique –
 Summary –
 Subject Matter – Butterflies – link to the rest
 Purpose or Message - Becoming wingéd in the
act, Gaudy and ephemeral
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling - quivering
 Technique – image of landmine and wings
 Summary –
 Subject Matter – Butterflies – link to the rest
 Purpose or Message - Becoming wingéd in the
act, Gaudy and ephemeral
 Identify Emotion, Mood or Feeling - quivering
 Technique – image of landmine and wings
 Summary – landmines kill children
Child Of Our Time
Yesterday I knew no lullaby
But you have taught me overnight to order
This song, which takes from your final cry
Its tune, from your unreasoned end its reason;
Its rhythm from the discord of your murder,
Its motive from the fact you cannot listen.
We who should have known how to instruct
With rhymes for your waking, rhythms for your sleep
Names for the animals you took to bed,
Tales to distract, legends to protect,
Later an idiom for you to keep
And living, learn, must learn from you, dead.
To make our broken images rebuild
Themselves around your limbs, your broken
Image, find for your sake whose life our idle
Talk has cost, a new language. Child
Of our time, our times have robbed your cradle.
Sleep in a world your final sleep has woken.
Discuss the theme of the poem.
Use s.p.i.t.s.