Poetry:
A Self-Exploration
“In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to
be understood by everyone, something that no one ever
knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.” Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac
Name:
Period:
English 9: Poetry Unit Overview
Introduction:
Throughout this unit we will be exploring what poetry is, and what value it has in
our lives. Through this exploration we will experience a wide variety of famous
poets and even create our own!
Questions that we will explore:
What is the value of expressing yourself and understanding other people’s creative
expressions of the human condition?
What is the importance of being able to read critically?
What is the value of knowing the terminology of a genre?
During this unit we will gain a better understanding of:
Why it is important to explore the genre of poetry in hope to find an appreciation and
understanding
How to read critically through annotation
The difference between denotation and connotation
Things we will complete throughout the unit:
Pre-Unit Assessment
Poetry Terms and Devices Quiz
Annotation Workshops
Comic/Illustration Sonnet Annotation Activity
Final projects:
Portfolio Project (four annotated poems, four original poems)
Poetry Story Board Project
Class Presentation of Story Board Project
Unit Overview: Planned Activities
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Here is what you will learn. . .
I. Introduction of unit
-What comes to mind when you think of poetry?
-Receive handout and discuss Poetry Packet
II. Poetry Terms and Devices
-Vocabulary packets
-Vocabulary Quiz
-Music Videos
III. Denotation/ Connotation
IV. Annotation
Here is what you will produce. . .
I.Portfolio that will include:
A. Lyric Poem
-One annotated
-One original
B. Free Verse
-One annotated
-One original
C. Haiku
-One annotated
-One original
D. Sonnets
-One annotated
-One original
II. Story Board
III. Story Board Presentation
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Poetic Terms and Devices Worksheet
Directions: In order to better our understanding of poetry during this unit, we
must first define the terminology and provide an example of each concept
that we will later use in the annotation process.
alliteration
allusion
apostrophe
assonance
figurative language
hyperbole
imagery
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internal rhyme
metaphor & simile
musical devices
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
personification
refrain
repetition
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rhythm
rhyme
Rhyme scheme
couplet
stanza
symbolism
tone
connotation
denotation
syllable
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In this unit we will be taking a look at only four types of poems. Listed
below are the four types we will consider. After we are introduced to
each type of poem we will then choose poems to work with in a class
activity. Feel free to pick any poem that you would like to annotate
that fits into the lyric, free verse and haiku categories (as long as it is
appropriate). We will be doing a creative annotation assignment
when working with sonnets that we will discuss later on.
Lyric poem:
*The word “lyric” comes from the word “lyre,” which is a stringed
instrument, which was played as an accompaniment to the sung words,
or lyrics.
-This type of poem expresses thoughts and feelings about a subject in a
musical, and usually brief, way. Of all the different types of poetry, lyrics
are the most closely related to song. Not all lyric poetry is set to music,
but a lyric poem often uses musical devices and has other song-like
qualities that distinguish it from other types of poems.
Free verse:
-This type of poem is also known as “open form” verse. It is different
from other forms of poetry because its rhythmic pattern is not
organized into meter; also, it often has irregular line lengths, and usually
does not rhyme. Within the broad category of free verse there are many
different types, and it has evolved over the years.
Haiku:
-This type of poem comes from the Japanese culture. It is written in 17
syllables, divided into 3 times of 5,7, and 5 syllables. There are often
many allusions and comparisons about nature used in these poems.
Shakespearean Sonnet:
*The term sonnet derives from the Italian word sonetto, meaning "little
song"
-This is probably the most complex poem that we will be analyzing. A
Shakespearean, or English, sonnet consists of 14 lines, each line
containing ten syllables and written in iambic pentameter, in which a
pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is
repeated five times. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean sonnet is ab-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.
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In- Class Notes:
Denotation:
Connotation:
Annotation Tips:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
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Sample Poems
Lyric Poem
"Dog Days Are Over" - Florence and the Machine
Happiness hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with her drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run
Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your longing behind
You can't carry it with you if you want to survive
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come
And I never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back
Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come
Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your longing behind
You can't carry it with you if you want to survive
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come
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Free Verse
This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Buffalo Bill's defunct
by E. E. Cummings
Buffalo Bill's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death
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Haiku
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
by Basho (1644-1694)
Shakespearean Sonnet
SONNET 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
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Sonnet Practice!
Here are the rules for writing a sonnet:



It must consist of 14 lines.
It must be written in iambic pentameter =10 Syllables (duh-DUH-duhDUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH).
Line A rhymes with line A, Line B rhymes with line B, and so on and so
forth.
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G
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Portfolio Rubric
Fully Annotated Lyric Poem ___ /6
Fully Annotated Free Verse Poem
Fully Annotated Haiku
/6
/6
Fully Annotated Shakespearean Sonnet
/6
Original Lyric Poem
-Minimum of 3 (must use 3 different devices for each) poetic devices
/6
Original Free Verse Poem
-Minimum of 3 (must use 3 different devices for each) poetic devices
/6
Original Haiku
-Minimum of 3(must use 3 different devices for each) poetic devices
/6
Original Shakespearean Sonnet
-Minimum of 3 (must use 3 different devices for each) poetic devices
/6
Total: /50
(You get two points for turning everything in with your name on it!)
Reminders about your Portfolio . . .
Step 1: Organization
-Make sure you keep all annotated poems together in your folder/binder/Googledoc
-Keep all your written poems in one Googledoc
-Name the Googledoc “Yourname Poetry Unit”
Step 2:Editing
-Check over your work and make sure you have FOUR annotated poems
-Make sure you have FOUR original poems that you have created
-Make sure you have at least THREE different poetic devices in each of your four
original poems
Step 3: Creating and Collecting
-Share your Googledoc with Mr. Thompson and Ms. Scoble
-Once you have completed and edited all of your poems, print them out
-Make sure to save your poems in your Googledoc because we are not finished with
them yet!
Step 4: Submission
-Staple your annotated poems and your written poems together
-Make sure your name is on it
-Turn in your finished portfolio! 
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