English 1
Adapted from Bannecker
Poetry Day 4 Homework
First Lesson
-Philip Booth
1. Annotate for symbol AND tone
Lie back daughter, let your head
be tipped back in the cup of my hand.
Gently, and I will hold you. Spread
your arms wide, lie out on the stream
and look high at the gulls. A deadman's float is face down. You will dive
and swim soon enough where this tidewater
ebbs to the sea. Daughter, believe
me, when you tire on the long thrash
to your island, lie up, and survive.
As you float now, where I held you
and let go, remember when fear
cramps your heart what I told you:
lie gently and wide to the light-year
stars, lie back, and the sea will hold you.
2. Developing my Thoughts
What is the literal meaning of this poem (what is going on in most basic terms?)
What is the tone of this poem? (use tone words)
What specific words and lines led you to that conclusion?
What is water a symbol for in this poem?
What specifically led you to that conclusion?
3. My Final Interpretation. What overall impression or message is the author trying to convey
Bannecker
+English 1
Poetry Day 4 – Symbolism and Tone
The Long Hill
-Sara Teasdale
Annotations—Look for symbolism
I MUST have passed the crest a while ago
And now I am going down.
Strange to have crossed the crest and not to know—
But the brambles were always catching the hem of my gown.
All the morning I thought how proud it would be
To stand there straight as a queen—
Wrapped in the wind and the sun, with the world under me.
But the air was dull, there was little I could have seen.
It was nearly level along the beaten track
And the brambles caught in my gown
But it’s no use now to think of turning back,
The rest of the way will be only going down.
How do the symbol(s) in this poem help convey a certain impression or message?
One Perfect Rose
-Dorothy Parker
Annotations—Find words that indicate tone
A single flow’r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet—
One perfect rose.
I knew the language of the floweret;
“My fragile leaves,” it said, “his tender heart enclose.”
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it’s always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
How does the tone of this poem work to convey a certain impression or message?