poetry
experiments
love
more love
feelings
more feelings
war
teacher's book
Werkwijze
Vooraf
Deze poëzie-cursus bevat zes blokken poëzie.
Blok 1:Experimental Poetry
Blok 2:Love Poetry
Blok 3:More Love Poetry
Blok 4:Feelings
Blok 5:More Feelings
Blok 6:War
Elk blok is voorzien van een aantal opdrachten per gedicht, opdrachten over het hele
blok en een presentatie-opdracht. De dichtbundels en de bijbehorende opdrachten
zijn gescheiden gehouden. Er zijn ongeveer vijftig dichtbundels en zes sets van elk
vijftien exemplaren met opdrachten.
Konkreet
De volgende werkwijze lijkt me een zinvolle.
I.
Vooraf duidelijk maken dat er niet in de bundels of de bijbehorende opdrachten
geschreven mag worden. Deel de dichtbundels uit en geef de leerlingen de
opdracht om eerst de bundel grondig onder de loep te nemen en dan een van
de zes blokken te kiezen. Deel blaadjes uit waarop zij hun naam en keuze
vermelden alsmede hun motivatie voor die keuze. Die motivatie moet in het
Engels en moet minstens honderd woorden lang zijn. Zeg vooraf dat, indien je
als leraar kiest voor groepswerk, jij de groepen indeelt en niet de leerlingen. Dit
om te voorkomen dat zich clubjes vormen op basis van een sociale wens in
plaats van een literaire! Zeg dat de leerlingen elke les dat ze werken aan de
gedichten hun woordenboeken bij zich moeten hebben. Vertel hen ook dat ze
beoordeeld worden.
II.
Maak op basis van de keuzes van de leerlingen een groepsindeling. Maximaal
vier leerlingen per groep. Het is verstandig om geeikte, niet al te ijverige
groepen bij je indeling te voorkomen. Zorg dat je evenveel schriften hebt als
groepen en zet hier de namen van de groepsleden op.
III. Vertel in het kort wat je van de leerlingen verwacht. Vertel de leerlingen dat er
uitsluitend in de klas aan de opdrachten gewerkt wordt en dat zowel de
dichtbundels als de opdrachten en werkschriften aan het einde van de les
moeten worden ingeleverd. Alle vragen worden in het Engels beantwoord. De
woordenboeken zijn nodig om woorden op te zoeken in de gedichten maar ook
voor het beantwoorden van de vragen. Per les is er een leerling die schrijft, elke
les een andere.
In ongeveer zes lessen moeten alle opdrachten over de individuele gedichten
en de algemene opdrachten af zijn. Geef maximaal een les voorbereidingstijd
voor hun presentatie. Bekijk na elke les wat de leerlingen dat uur gepresteerd
hebben en voorzie dat eventueel van commentaar. Door de schriften bij te
houden, houd je zicht op de prestaties per groep en kun je eventueel bijsturen.
IV. Presentatie. Laat elke groep 10/15 minuten vullen. Dit onderdeel kan natuurlijk
vervallen als je vindt dat het teveel tijd kost of als je een klas hebt die dit niet
aankan.
V. Evalueer zelf en laat de leerlingen opschrijven wat ze ervan vonden, of ze
geleerd hebben gedichten te lezen en waarderen, hoe ze gedichten kunnen
analyseren en dergelijke.
Toetsing
Het is heel goed mogelijk om de schriften te beoordelen en er een groepscijfer aan te
koppelen. Dat is natuurlijk wel een heleboel werk(6 X 6 gedichten!) In plaats daarvan
of ernaast zou je een individuele toets kunnen maken. Dat betekent drie
verschillende gedichten voorzien van vragen(voor de twee blokken "love" en
"feelings" kun je volstaan met een gedicht + "experimental" en "war"). Het nadeel van
de cijfergeving voor groepswerk is dat de slechte leerlingen zich kunnen verschuilen
achter de prestaties van anderen.
Het lijkt me niet verstandig om een cijfer te geven voor de presentatie. Beschouw die
als een weerslag van het leerproces.
Cor Dekkers
ca.dekkers@home.nl
poetry
experiments
love
more love
feelings
more feelings
war
EXPERIMENTS IN POETRY
JABBERWOCKY
'T was brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
the frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'T was brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Lewis Carroll
"Buffalo Bill's"
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
E.E. CUMMINGS
Siege
he peeps
i duck
i shoot
he ducks
i wave
he waves back
i peep
he shoots
he waves
i shoot
and duck
i peep
i peep again
he's dead
draped across his turret
he smiles
the inside of his head
my arrow tickles
Johnny Byrne
The Hours Rise Up
the hours rise up putting off stars and it is
dawn
into the street of the sky light walks scattering poems
on earth a candle is
extinguished
the city
wakes
with a song upon her
mouth having death in her eyes
and it is dawn
the world
goes forth to murder dreams...
i see in the street where strong
men are digging bread
and i see the brutal faces of
people contented hideous hopeless cruel happy
and it is day,
in the mirror
i see a frail
man
dreaming
dreams
dreams in the mirror
and it
is dusk
on earth
a candle is lighted
and it is dark.
the people are in their houses
the frail man is in his bed
the city
) sleeps with death upon her mouth having a song in her eyes
the hours descend,
putting on stars...
in the street of the sky night walks scattering poems
e.e.cummings
SOME LOVE POETRY
The Garden of Love
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;
So I turn'd to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore;
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys & desires.
William Blake
I Hold Your Hand in Mine
I hold your hand in mine, dear.
I press it to my lips.
I take a healthy bite from your dainty fingertips.
My joy would be complete, dear
If you were only here.
But still I keep your hand as a precious souvenir.
The night you died I cut it off.
I really don't know why.
For now each time I kiss it.
I get bloodstains on my tie.
I am sorry now I killed you.
For our love was something fine.
Until they come to get me.
I shall hold your hand in mine.
Tom Lehrer
Reported Missing
Can you give me a precise description?
Said the policeman. Her lips, I told him,
Were soft. Could you give me, he said, pencil
Raised, a metaphor? Soft as an open mouth,
I said. Were there any noticeable
Peculiarities? he asked. Her hair hung
Heavily, I said. Any particular
Colour? he said. I told him I could recall
Little but its distinctive scent. What do
You mean, he asked, by distinctive? It had
The smell of woman's hair, I said. Where
Were you? he asked. Closer than I am to
Anyone at present, I said, level
With her mouth, level with her eyes. Her eyes?
He said, what about her eyes? There were two,
I said, both black. It has been established,
he said, that eyes cannot, outside common
Usage, be black; are you implying that
Violence was used? Only the gentle
Hammer blow of her kisses, the scent
Of her breath, the ... Quite, said the policeman,
Standing, but I regret that we know of
No one answering to that description.
Barry Cole
At Lunchtime/A Story of Love
When the bus stopped suddenly to avoid
damaging a mother and child in the road, the
younglady in the greenhat sitting opposite
was thrown across me, and not being one to
miss an opportunity i started to makelove
with all my body.
At first she resisted saying that it
was tooearly in the morning and toosoon
after breakfast and that anyway she found
me repulsive. But when i explained that
this being a nuclearage, the world was going
to end at lunchtime, she tookoff her
greenhat, put her busticket in her pocket
and joined in the exercise.
The buspeople, and therewere many of
them, were shockedandsurprised and amused
and annoyed, but when the word got around
that the world was coming to an end at lunchtime, they put their pride in their pockets
with their bustickets and madelove one with
the other. And even the busconductor, being over, climbed into
the cab and stuck up
some sort of relationship with the driver.
Thatnight, on the bus coming home,
wewere all a little embarassed, especially me
and the younglady in the greenhat, and we
all started to say different ways howhasty
and foolish we had been. Butthen, always
having been a bitofalad, i stood up and
said it was a pity that the world didn't nearly
end every lunchtime and that we could always
pretend. And then it happened...
Quick asa crash we all changed partners
and soon the bus was a quiver with white
mothballbodies doing naughty things.
And the next day
And everyday
In everybus
In everystreet
In everytown
In everycountry
people pretended that the world was coming
to an end at lunchtime. It still hasn't.
Although in a way it has.
Roger McGough
Reading Scheme
Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.
Jane has a big doll. Peter has a ball.
Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!
Here is Mummy. She has baked a bun.
Here is the milkman. He has come to call.
Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.
Go Peter! Go Jane! Come, milkman, come!
The milkman likes Mummy. She likes them all.
Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!
Here are the curtains. They shut out the sun.
Let us peep! On tiptoe Jane! You are small!
Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.
I hear a car, Jane. The milkman looks glum.
Here is Daddy in his car. Daddy is tall.
Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!
Daddy looks very cross. Has he a gun?
Up milkman! Up milkman! Over the wall!
Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.
Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!
Wendy Cope
SOME MORE LOVE POETRY
ROMAN WALL BLUES
Over the heather the wet wind blows,
I've lice in my tunic and a cold in my nose.
The rain comes pattering out of the sky,
I'm a Wall soldier, I don't know why.
The mist creeps over the hard grey stone,
My girl's in Tungria; I sleep alone.
Aulus goes hanging around her place,
I don't like his manners, I don't like his face.
Piso's a Christian, he worships a fish;
There'd be no kissing if he had his wish.
She gave me a ring but I diced it away;
I want my girl and I want my pay.
When I'm a veteran with only one eye
I shall do nothing but look at the sky.
W.H. Auden
One Flesh
Lying apart now, each in a separate bed,
He with a book, keeping the light on late,
She like a girl dreaming of childhood,
All men elsewhere - it is as if they wait
Some new event: the book he holds unread,
Her eyes fixed on the shadows overhead.
Tossed up like flotsam from a former passion,
How cool they lie. They hardly ever touch,
Or if they do it is like a confession
Of having little feeling - or too much.
Chastity faces them, a destination
For which their whole lives were a preparation.
Strangely apart, yet strangely close together,
Silence between them like a thread to hold
And not wind in. And time itself's a feather
Touching them gently. Do they know they're old,
These two who are my father and my mother
Whose fire from which I came, has now grown cold?
Elizabeth Jennings
A boy's best friend
The exercise book fell open.
Open at a page on which I'd written poems.
Like some comic French detective, you picked it up, my mother,
scrutinized one poem, then gently closed the cover.
"What's behind all this, then?"
you asked with arched eyebrows.
"Are you unhappy, then?"
You never said, but then you always were quiet, even as a baby."
I made some excuse about bad company,
you know, mixing with some of the grammar school boys, ideas
above my station and all that.
You promised not to tell anyone about our little secret,
but then, one Christmas, when you'd had a little too much to drink,
you dragged me into the family's gaze and said,
"Here, what do you think?
Our Philip's been writing poems, go on, Phil, read us one."
Then,
"No need to get upset, dear, it's just a bit of fun."
Paul Camp
The funeral of Father
Black.
They all wore black.
Even the cat wore black.
Flowers.
Wreaths of flowers.
Gardens of flowers
for him who only grew vegetables.
Mother.
Mother wept,
forgetting the black eyes he gave her.
And brother,
my brother didn't care
to remember the beatings.
Only I spat on the coffin
as it dropped
and said something
my sister wouldn't tell the vicar,
who, while reading the service,
scratched his nose.
And that was the end of Father.
Back home we drank
the sherry from under the stairs.
Aunt Flo remembered early years
when Father was a lad.
I smiled,
infamous by now
for my lack of gravity.
I smiled and said aloud,
"He was the biggest bastard
you ever knew,"
and then,
as the clock passed one,
they had an honest moment;
nobody denounced
the prodigal son
with his two-tone shoes.
That was the memory of Father.
DENISE KING
Strange fits of passion have I known
Strange fits of passion have I known:
And I will dare to tell,
But in the Lover's ear alone,
What once to me befell.
When she I loved looked every day
Fresh as a rose in June,
I to her cottage bent my way,
Beneath an evening-moon.
Upon the moon I fixed my eye,
All over the wide lea;
With quickening pace my horse drew nigh
Those paths so dear to me.
And now we reached the orchard plot;
And, as we climbed the hill,
The sinking moon to Lucy's cot
Came near, and nearer still.
In one of those sweet dreams I slept,
Kind Nature's gentlest boon!
And all the while my eyes I kept
On the descending moon.
My horse moved on;hoof after hoof
He raised, and never stopped:
When down behind the cottage roof,
At once, the bright moon dropped.
What fond and wayward thoughts will slide
Into a Lover's head!
'O mercy!' to myself I cried,
'If Lucy should be dead!'
William Wordsworth
Talking in bed
Talking in bed ought to be easiest,
Lying together there goes back so far,
An emblem of two people being honest.
Yet more and more time passes silently.
Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest
Builds and disperses clouds about the sky,
And dark towns heap up on the horizon.
None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why
At this unique distance from isolation
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.
PHILIP LARKIN
FEELINGS
First day at school
A millionbillionwillion miles from home
Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy? So much at home they
must have been born in uniform.
Lived all their lives in playgrounds.
Spent the years inventing games
that don't let me in. Games
that are rough, that swallow you up.
And the railings.
All around, the railings.
Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?
Things that carry off and eat children?
Things you don't take sweets from?
Perhaps they're to stop us getting out.
Running away from the lessins. Lessin.
What does a lessin look like?
Sounds small and slimy.
They keep them in glassrooms.
Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.
I wish I could remember my name.
Mummy said it would come in useful.
Like wellies. When there's puddles.
Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.
I think my name is sewn on somewhere.
Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.
Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea.
Roger McGough
In the bath, if you waved your legs
In the bath, if you waved your legs at the rate
of the waves, it would splash right over the side.
I asked Daddy. The water would 'resonate',
he said. Slower would only send it flopping
in a weary slump, however hard you tried.
Faster made your legs ache and sent it slopping
in your face. If you fell in though with the way
of the waves, they were quiet and powerful,
and they took you along with them in their play
and they kept you in time, a kind of cradle
or a swing, till you wanted it more and more
till Mammy screamed at half the bath on the floor.
Edmond Leo Wright
Tich Miller
Tich Miller wore glasses
with elastoplast-pink frames
and had one foot three sizes larger than the other.
When they picked teams for outdoor games
she and I were always the last two
left standing by the wire-mesh fence.
We avoided one another's eyes,
stooping, perhaps, to re-tie a shoelace,
or affecting interest in the flight
of some fortunate bird, and pretended
not to hear the urgent conference:
'Have Tubby!' 'No, no, have Tich!'
Usually they chose me, the lesser dud,
and she lolloped, unselected,
to the back of the other team.
At eleven we went to different schools.
In time I learned to get my own back,
sneering at hockey-players who couldn't spell.
Tich died when she was twelve.
Wendy Cope
Southern cop
Let us forgive Ty Kendricks
The place was Darktown. He was young.
His nerves were jittery. The day was hot.
The negro ran out of the alley.
And so Ty shot.
Let us understand Ty Kendricks
The negro must have been dangerous,
Because he ran;
And there was a rookie with a chance
To prove himself a man.
Let us condone Ty Kendricks
If we cannot decorate.
When he found what the Negro was running for,
It was all too late;
And all we can say for the Negro is
It was unfortunate.
Let us pity Ty Kendricks
He has been through enough,
Standing there, his big gun smoking,
Rabbit-scared, alone,
Having to hear the wenches wail
And the dying negro moan.
Sterling A. Brown
Let me Die a Youngman's Death
Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean & inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death
When I'm 73
& in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party
Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
& sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
& give me a short back & insides
Or when I'm 104
& banned from the Cavern
may my mistress catching me in bed with her daughter
& fearing her son
cut me up into little pieces
& throw away every piece but one
Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax & waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death
Roger McGough
MID-TERM BREAK
I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home.
In the porch I met my father crying He had always taken funerals in his stride And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarassed
By old men standing up to skake my hand
And tell me they were "sorry for my trouble",
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand
In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.
Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,
Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,
He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Seamus Heaney
MORE FEELINGS
From 'After Apple-picking'
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary grass.
Robert Frost
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Carl Sandburg
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ezra Pound
A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.
William Blake
A boy's best friend
The exercise book fell open.
Open at a page on which I'd written poems.
Like some comic French detective, you picked it up, my mother,
scrutinized one poem, then gently closed the cover.
"What's behind all this, then?"
you asked with arched eyebrows.
"Are you unhappy, then?"
You never said, but then you always were quiet, even as a baby."
I made some excuse about bad company,
you know, mixing with some of the grammar school boys, ideas
above my station and all that.
You promised not to tell anyone about our little secret,
but then, one Christmas, when you'd had a little too much to drink,
you dragged me into the family's gaze and said,
"Here, what do you think?
Our Philip's been writing poems, go on, Phil, read us one."
Then,
"No need to get upset, dear, it's just a bit of fun."
Paul Camp
The funeral of Father
Black.
They all wore black.
Even the cat wore black.
Flowers.
Wreaths of flowers.
Gardens of flowers
for him who only grew vegetables.
Mother.
Mother wept,
forgetting the black eyes he gave her.
And brother,
my brother didn't care
to remember the beatings.
Only I spat on the coffin
as it dropped
and said something
my sister wouldn't tell the vicar,
who, while reading the service,
scratched his nose.
And that was the end of Father.
Back home we drank
the sherry from under the stairs.
Aunt Flo remembered early years
when Father was a lad.
I smiled,
infamous by now
for my lack of gravity.
I smiled and said aloud,
"He was the biggest bastard
you ever knew,"
and then,
as the clock passed one,
they had an honest moment;
nobody denounced
the prodigal son
with his two-tone shoes.
That was the memory of Father.
DENISE KING
WAR
Does it matter?
Does it matter? - losing your legs? ...
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When the others come in after hunting
To gobble their muffins and eggs.
Does it matter? - losing your sight? ...
There's such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
And turning your face to the light.
Do they matter? - those dreams from the pit? ...
You can forget and be glad,
And people won't say that you're mad;
For they'll know you've fought for your country
And no one will worry a bit.
Siegfried Sassoon
Grass
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Carl Sandburg
Breakfast
We ate our breakfast lying on our backs
Because the shells were screeching overhead.
I bet a rasher to a loaf of bread
That Hull United would beat Halifax,
When Jimmy Stainthorpe played full-back instead
Of Billy Bradford. Ginger raised his head
And cursed, and took the bet, and dropt back dead.
We ate our breakfast lying on our backs
Because the shells were screeching overhead.
Wilfred Wilson Gibson
Norman Morrison
On November 2nd 1965
in the multi-coloured multi-minded...
United beautiful States of terrible America
Norman Morrison set himself on fire
outside the Pentagon.
He was thirty-one, he was a Quaker,
and his wife (seen weeping in the newsreels)
and his three children
survive him as best they can.
He did it in Washington where everyone could see
because
people were being set on fire
in the dark corners of Vietnam where nobody could see.
Their names, ages, beliefs and loves
are not recorded.
This is what Norman Morrison did.
He poured petrol over himself.
He burned. He suffered.
He died.
This is what he did
in the white heart of Washington
where everyone could see.
He simply burned away his clothes,
his passport, his pink-tinted skin,
put on a new skin of flame
and became
Vietnamese.
Adrian Mitchell
During a Bombardment by V-weapons
The little noises of the house:
Drippings between the slates and ceiling;
From the electric fire's cooling
Tickings; the dry feet of a mouse:
These at the ending of a war
Have power to alarm me more
Than the ridiculous detonations
Outside the gently coughing curtains.
And, love, I see your pallor bears
A far more pointed threat than steel.
Now all the permanent and real
Furies are settling in upstairs.
The Hero
'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the Mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke
In the tired voice that quavered to a choke.
She half looked up. 'We mothers are so proud
Of our dead soldiers.' Then her face was bowed.
Quietly the Brother Officer went out.
He'd told the poor old dear some gallant lies
That she would nourish all her days, no doubt.
For while he coughed and mumbled, her weak eyes
Had shone with gentle triumph, brimmed with joy,
Because he'd been so brave, her glorious boy.
He though how 'Jack', cold-footed, useless swine,
Had panicked down the trench that night the mine
Went up at Wicked Corner; how he'd tried
To get sent home, and how, at last, he died,
Blown to small bits. And no one seemed to care
Except that lonely woman with white hair.
Siegfried Sassoon
Experiments
Questions
Jabberwocky
Important: don't try to look up the words you don't know; you won't find them
in any dictionary!
1.Retell this poem in about a hundred words!
2.What do you think does Jabberwock look like ?
3.In what kind of voice would you declaim this poem?
4.The first stanza alone contains eleven non-existing English words. List them!
Rewrite this stanza in your own words!
5.How come you know roughly what this stanza means in spite of all these nonexisting words?
6.Write a small poem yourself with a number of non-existing words that can be
understood in spite of them!
Buffalo Bill's
1.What happened to Buffalo Bill?
2.Mention three things the I-person admired in Buffalo Bill!
3.How is the picture of the "watersmooth-silver stallion" expressed in sound?(read
aloud:"who used to ride a watersmooth-silver stallion" and listen to the music of the
words!)
4.What is the effect of typing "onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat" without
interspacing?
5.How do you think ought the last three lines to be read? Why?
6.E.E. Cummings' words seem to be scattered over the page. What may have been
the poet's motive to choose such a lay-out?(is there a connection between what he
wants to say and the lay-out)
7.Does this poem sound like poetry or rather like prose? Or is there a kind of mix of
the two? Explain!
Siege
1.Describe in your own words what happens in this poem.
2.Where exactly do you find out that this is not a real siege?
3.Explain the function of the lay-out of this poem.
4.Most lines consist of two parts(he peeps i duck etc.). But after "i peep again" there
is an empty space. Why did the writer do this?
5.After "he's dead" there is even more open space. What for?
6.Which line shows best that the I-person has a great imagination? Explain why!
7.How did the writer of this poem strengthen the idea of a fight between two people?
The hours rise up
1.Retell this poem in about a hundred words!
2.As in "Buffalo Bill's" Cummings again has his special way of putting words on the
page. Why, for instance, does Cummings put "dawn"(second line) on a new line?
3.Paraphrase the third line in your own words.(You are likely to need more words
than the poet!!)
4.Why does the word "wakes" get a whole line all for itself?
5."the city .... her eyes". What double picture does the writer paint of the city?
6."the world goes forth to murder dreams". What dreams are meant you think?
7.Explain "in the street (where) strong men are digging bread".
8.Who do you think is the frail man looking in the mirror? What is he doing?(The
English have got a word for this and so have the Dutch!)
9."The city sleeps with death upon her mouth having a song in her eyes". Quote the
line that is almost the same as this one. Can you explain the difference?
10."the hours descend, putting on stars". Explain what the writer means.
11.Of what is the last line an echo? Why do you think the writer repeats the first line?
12.If you had to draw or paint the picture you get from this poem, what technique
would you use? What materials? What colours, if any?
Love
1.What is the connection between the action described and the lay-out?
2.How are these two middle aged people playing?
3.How do you think the poet wants us to understand the title?
4.There are two words that have been split up by the writer. Mention them! What's so
original about these divisions of words? Explain for both!
5.Why do you think the poet only used words of one or two syllables?
Silence
1.Is this an effective way of visualizing the abstract notion of silence? Explain!
2.Is the empty space in the middle of the poem the right place? Why?
3.Would it have made the poem better or worse, if the poet had typed the word
"silence" 34 times instead of 14?
Wind
1.Try to explain as precisely as you can why the writer has chosen these positions for
the letters w, i, n, d.
2.Think of other positions to visualize the word "wind". Is your visualization more or
less effective? Why?
Forsythia
Look up in an encyclopedia what a forsythia looks like!
1.Give an exact description of the way the poet has built up his poem and thereby the
plant!
2.Can you make sense of the shoots of the plants(=the vertical words)?
General questions
1.Which two poems show the closest resemblance?
2.Which one do you think is more effective? Why?
3.What have "wind", "silence" and "forsythia" got in common? Which one visualizes
best what the poet wants to say? Why?
4.Use the above as examples for your own visualization of an idea.
5.Compare the two poems by E.E. Cummings.
Try to prove that they must have been written by the same poet!
Presentation
Your group will get a quarter of an hour to show the rest of the class what you've
been doing with these poems. The title of your collection of poems is experiments
so why not do an experimental presentation yourselves? You can use the poems of
your collection, you can use your own poems. You could think of declaiming a few
poems in an original way(some poems can be read by two!).
Use your imagination!
Some Love Poetry
Questions
The Garden of Love
1.What does the "Garden of Love" mean to the I-person?(in every stanza you find a
bit of information)
2.What has become of the "Garden of Love"?(again, every stanza contains some
information)
3.Who does the I-person hold responsible for what has happened to this garden?
4.What does the I-person say about religion in this poem?(information in second and
third stanzas!)
5.Mention at least four contrasts that you can find in the poem!
6.When do you think this poem was written? Why do you think so?
I hold your hand in mine
1.Describe in your own words what has happened.
2.In which line do you find out that there's something weird going on?
3.Until which line are you not aware that the I-person killed his beloved?
4.What's rather impractical about kissing the beloved's hand?
5.What will eventually happen to the I-person? Does he realize this?
6.Is there any indication why the I-person killed his beloved? Can you think of an
acceptable reason?
7.How does the I-person feel about his deed?
8.How do you like this poem? Explain yourself!
At lunchtime/A story of love
1.Retell the poem in your own words.
2.If there wasn't a deeper meaning behind this poem, it would be rather silly. What
could this deeper meaning be?
Try to find out what the following bits of the poem stand for:
a.the bus
b.the tickets
c.the passengers
d.the driver and conductor
3.What's the reaction of the passengers when they hear that the end of the world's
near? Can you account for this reaction?
4.Quote the line(s) that show how the writer felt about the passengers' reaction!
5.You must have noticed some unusual spellings in this poem. What has the fact that
McGough linked words got to do with the activities of the passengers?
6.What could be the connection between breaking the official spelling rules and the
meaning of this poem as a whole?
7.What does the poet want to make clear by using the word "pretended"?
8.
"It still hasn't
Although in a way it has."
Explain what the writer means!
9.How are we supposed to understand the second part of the title:"A story of love"?
Reading Scheme
1.Retell what happens in this poem in your own words!
2.Why do you think does Wendy Cope write such short sentences?
3.Why is her vocabulary so small?
4.Connect the short sentences and the small vocabulary with the title!
5.What do you think will happen after this poem?
6."The milkman likes Mummy. She likes them all."
What does the poet suggest about Mummy?
7."Here are the curtains. They shut out the sun."
From what kind of booklet could these sentences have been taken?
What is the additional function of the curtains in this poem?
8.What kind of style does Wendy Cope imitate?
9.What's the effect of this style on the content?
Reported missing
1.What misunderstanding is worked out in this poem?
2.How did the writer work out this misunderstanding?
3.Make two lists of examples of the language the policeman uses and the man who
has lost his girlfriend.
4.Now study the different types of language. What can you say about the difference?
5."There were two, I said, both black." Why can't the poem be properly translated into
Dutch from this line onward?
6.Is this poem in prose style, in a poetic style or in a mixture of the two? Explain your
choice by means of good examples!
Love
1.What is the connection between the action described and the lay-out?
2.How are these two middle aged people playing?
3.How do you think the poet wants us to understand the title?
4.There are two words that have been split up by the writer. Mention them! What's so
original about these divisions of words? Explain for both!
5.Why do you think the poet only used words of one or two syllables?
General questions
1.Give the theme of every poem, if possible in one word! Don't start retelling the
poems!
2.Which of these six poems impressed you most? Explain why!
3.Which of these poems is most original? Why?
4.Which of these poems sounds most poetic when read aloud? How come?
5.Which of the poems is most superficial? Why?
6.List the six poems in your order of preference. Explain why you like number one
most and number six least!
Presentation
You will get 10 to 15 minutes to present to the rest of the class what you've been
doing for some lessons. Think of an original/creative way to fill these ten minutes.
The whole group must take part in it. You may declaim poems, comment on them as
teachers. You may invite pupils to answer or ask questions etc.
Some more love poetry
Questions
Roman Wall Blues
1.Where would youi locate this Roman Wall? Don't hesitate to consult an
encyclopaediar, a history book or history teacher!
2.Where would you locate Tungria? Look this up in an historical map!
3.Why does Auden call this lament a blues?
4.Mention at least 3 important things the soldier feels blue about!
5.Quote the lines which show the soldier's prejudices. Explain these prejudices!
6.What can you say about the soldier's motivation for his task? Which lines show this
most clearly?
One flesh
Stanza 1:
1.How do these people feel? Quote the lines that how this!
Stanza 2:
2.Their situation is compared with "flotsam tossed up". Work out the comparison
completely. Do you think this is a good comparison or is it too far-fetched?
3."having little feeling - or too much" Explain what the writer means. Imagine you
were old and in such a situation!
Stanza 3:
4.Why is "silence like a thread to hold and not wind in"?
About the whole poem:
5.What is the effect of the writer telling us that the old people described in this poem
are her parents? Would it be different if the poet hadn't mentioned this fact?
6.What has "one flesh" got to do with the situation of these old people?
7.Do you think this is a realistic or an unrealistic poem? Explain!
A boy's best friend
1.Retell what happens in this poem in your own words!
2.What do you think of the mother's behaviour?
3.What does the last line show about the boy's mother?
4.How are we supposed to understand the title?
5.Does this poem sound very poetic?
6.Why does the style of the poem suit the subject very well?
7.Do you think parents have got a right to read their children's poetry/diary/letters
etc.? Why(not)? Are there no exceptions?
8.What is the basic mistake of this parent?
The funeral of father
1.Read the first seven lines aloud. You can hear the mood of the speaker. How do
you think these lines(and the rest of the poem) sound?
2.What's the difference between the I-person's mood and that of his mother and his
brother? What does the I-person think of the feelings his mother and brother show at
the funeral?
3."...said something my sister wouldn't tell the vicar". What can the I-person have
said?
4.Was the vicar really involved in the ceremony? How can you prove this?
5.What does the I-person mean by "they had one honest moment"?
6.What picture did you get from this father? Do you think the I-person was
reasonably objective? Explain!
Strange fits of passion have I known
1.Retell the poem in your own words. Leave out the unimportant details, but don't
forget the important ones!
2.There are two different descriptions of the way the poet's horse moves.
a.Quote these two short passages!
b.One of you should read these passages aloud. The others should listen carefully.
What is the difference you hear when you listen to the sounds?
c.What have these sounds got to do with the meaning that is conveyed by the
words?
3.Why does the writer speak about "a sinking moon", "a descending moon" and "the
bright moon dropped"? What exactly happened? Use your imagination!
4.What made the fact that the moon dropped the poet think of?
5.Would you describe Wordsworth's language as "poetry" or rather as "prose"?
Explain!
6.Many people think that "poetic language" is synonymous with "difficult language". Is
that true for this poem? Did the writer use simple language and simple sentences or
did he try to write in a very complicated way?
Talking in bed
1.Why "ought tallking in bed to be easiest"?
2.What is the full meaning of "lying together"(both words are important!)?
3.What do you think has happened to this couple?
4.How does the poet describe the outside world? What has that description got to do
with the subject? Would the poem be different if this description was left out? Explain!
5.Who is "us"?
6.What does the poet mean by "a unique distance of isolation"?
7.Explain the last three lines. You may need a lot more words than the poet who
used only 19!
General
1.Compare "One flesh" and "Talking in bed"!
a.In what way are they similar?
b.In what way are they (completely?) different?
c.Which of the two is most emotional? Explain!
2.Compare "A boy's best friend" and "The funeral of father"!
a.What have these poems got in common?
b.Which of the two displays more hatred? Explain!
c.Which one do you prefer? Why?
3.Which of these six poems show that the writer has tender feelings? How/where do
you see this tenderness?
4.In which poem(s) do you see most clearly that people can be disappointed in love?
Presentation
You will get 10 to 15 minutes to show your fellow pupils what you've been doing
during a number of lessons. Think of an original/creative way of filling your speaking
time. Every member of the group has to participate. You may declaim a poem. You
may act as teachers etc. etc.
Feelings
Questions
First day at school
1.Who's the speaker? What's his age you think? What's his/her problem?
2.The poet has tried to make his poem sound like the language of a child. Give at
least three examples that show this!
3.The poet has also tried to imitate the working of a child's mind/imagination. Find
three examples of this!
4.You all know the game of association. One person says "glass", the next one says
"break", the next one says "leg" and so on. Can you find an example of such a
(small) chain of association in this poem as well? Explain the association!
5.Can you find at least two good examples of words that the child misinterprets?
Explain the misinterpretations!
6.You may remember your own "first day at school". Do you think Roger McGough
has characterized this important step in a child's life very well? Why(not)?
In the bath if you waved your legs
1.What children's experience is described in this poem?
2.Three ways of waving the legs in the bath are mentioned. Which are they and what
are their different effects?
3.One pupil ought to read these three different ways of waving the legs aloud. The
others should listen carefully to the sound/rhythm of the words.
a.What important difference(s) can you hear?
b.What have these differences in sound got to do with the meaning?
c.Which of the three sounds really rhythmical and melodious? Why is that logical?
4.Just like the waves are building up higher and higher the poem itself is moving
towards ecstatic heights. Where is this height reached? What makes the child leave
this height rather abruptly?
5.This poem is very visual. How did the poet achieve that?
Tich Miller
1.What kind of children are Tich and Tubby?
2.a.How did they try to cope with painful situations, e.g. when teams had to be picked
for outdoor games?
b.How do you think they must have felt? Why didn't they show their emotions?
3.Which of the two seems to have overcome her problem? How?
4.What does the last line suggest, without saying so explicitly?
5.What does this poem tell you about children's behaviour?
6.Do you think this is a true picture of what life can be like for some children?
Southern Cop
1.What has the southern cop done? Was he white or black? How do you know?
2.Who do you think are meant by "us"?
3.Why was it "only logical" for Ty Kendricks to shoot the negro?
4.Find two examples of ridiculous behaviour in Ty Kendricks? What excuses are
given for this behaviour?
5.Who is worst off according to "us"? Why?
6.What does the reaction to this incident of "us" show about their attitudes? Do you
think this is a realistic representation of some people's attitudes? Explain!
7.Where would you situate this "incident"? ExpIain! In what time would you place it?
Explain!
Let me die a young man's death
1.What is the kind of death the I-person does not want? Why not?
2.What do you think the "holy water" in line three refers to?
3.On what condition is the I-person willing to grow old?
4.What three different deaths at three different ages does the I-person describe?
What have they got in common?
5.There are four words in italics. Can you explain why the writer has done this?
6.In what ways are the first and the last stanza similar? Mention at least two
similarities.
Mid-term break
1.Retell this poem in your own words.
2.Look up the expression "take in one's stride". Why does the poet mention this after
the preceding line?
3.Why does the poet describe the baby's reaction, when the I-person comes home?
4.How does the I-person feel about so many people being in the house?
5.How does the mother feel about the death of her child? Which word(s) tell you so?
6.In what way is the boy no longer the dead boy he was when the ambulance
brought him home?(Don't say "he was alive and now he's dead!")
7.What feeling does the last line express you think?
8.Would you say that this is an extremely emotional outburst or rather a controlled
expression of feelings? Explain!
General
1.Four out of six poems deal with the world of the child.
a.Mention the different aspects of childhood shown in these poems.
b.Which poet do you think comes closest to a realistic picture of childhood? Explain!
d.In which of these poems is the distance between the worlds of adults and children
small, in which is this distance large? Explain this for each poem!
2.Which of these six poems are full of life/vitality/optimism? Describe these positive
feelings!
3.Which of these six poems is/are rather sarcastic? Explain the sarcasm!
Presentation
Prepare a group presentation that will last 10-15 minutes. Remember the theme of
your poems was "feelings". Try to think of an original way to show what you have
been doing for some lessons. The others have not read and studied your poems!
You may discuss one if you like. Every member of the group must take an active part
in the presentation!
More feelings
Questions
From "After Apple-picking"
1.What experience does the writer describe in these four lines taken from a poem?
2.What impression did this experience leave on the poet?
3.How can you find out that the pane of glass was not real glass? What substance
was it? (you must know all the words from this poem to be able to answer this
question!)
4.How would you call the feeling that these four lines describe?
5.These four lines were taken from a much longer poem. In spite of that they can be
looked upon as a poem within a poem. Explain how?
Fog
1.a.What is the fog compared with?
b.Why?
2.Why are the fff-sounds in the first two lines particularly appropriate to underline the
way fog comes(and goes)?
3.What double meaning have the last four lines got?
4.One of you should read this poem aloud. The others should listen carefully! How
does this poem sound? Why must it sound like that, considering the meaning?
5.What do you think of comparing fog with a cat? Is it a good or a bad comparison?
Explain!
6.Suppose you had to make a painting or a drawing based on this poem. What
technique would you use? What materials would you use? What colours? Try to be
creative in your imagination!
In a station
1.Why does the metro make the poet think of a wet black bough?(Account for these
three words!)
2.What exactly did he see when he was in a station of the metro?
3.It's rather unusual that a poem is only two lines long. Have you got the feeling it is
(un)finished? Explain!
4.What image does this poem leave in your imagination?
5.See number 6 of the previous poem. Carry out the same assignment for this poem.
A poison tree
1.Retell what this poem is about in your own words!
2.Is the poet right in what he thinks about anger? Explain!
3.What does the poet compare untold anger with?
4.Where does the comparison start? Where do you find out what he compares untold
anger with?
5.Why are all the sss-sounds in lines 7 + 8 very appropriate to make the meaning
clearer/stronger? What is it he is trying to make clear?
6.The poet might have compared his anger with a cancer growth. Would it be
possible to come to the same effective conclusion with that comparison? Explain
why(not)?
7.Why is the rather simple language very suitable for this subject?
8.Where do you think did Blake get the idea of an apple?
A boy's best friend
1.Retell what happens in this poem in your own words!
2.What do you think of the mother's behaviour?
3.What does the last line show about the boy's mother?
4.How are we supposed to understand the title?
5.Does this poem sound very poetic?
6.Why does the style of the poem suit the subject very well?
7.Do you think parents have got a right to read their children's poetry/diary/letters
etc.? Why(not)? Are there no exceptions?
8.What is the basic mistake of this parent?
The funeral of father
1.Read the first seven lines aloud. You can hear the mood of the speaker. How do
you think these lines(and the rest of the poem) sound?
2.What's the difference between the I-person's mood and that of his mother and his
brother? What does the I-person think of the feelings his mother and brother show at
the funeral?
3."...said something my sister wouldn't tell the vicar". What can the I-person have
said?
4.Was the vicar really involved in the ceremony? How can you prove this?
5.What does the I-person mean by "they had one honest moment"?
6.What picture did you get from this father? Do you think the I-person was
reasonably objective? Explain!
General
1.In what way can you connect "The poison Tree" and "Funeral of Father"?
2.In what way can you connect "A boy's best friend" and "The funeral of Father"?
3.What have the three poems mentioned above got in common?
4.Would you say they(= the three mentioned above) describe negative or positive
feelings? Explain!
5.In what respect(s) are the first three poems completely different from the second
three?
6.Which of these poems made the deepest impression on you? Why?
7.Which of the poems made no impression at all? Why not?
8.Which of these poems would make a good song-text? Why?
9.Which of these poems would be very good to provide with (beautiful)
pictures(moving or not)
Presentation
Prepare a group presentation that will last 10-15 minutes. Remember the theme of
your poems was "feelings". Try to think of an original way to show what you have
been doing for some lessons. The others have not read and studied your poems!
You may discuss one if you like. Every member of the group must take an active part
in the presentation!
War
Questions
Does it matter
1.In what kind of voice would you read this poem? Why?
2.This poem works with strong contrasts. Work these contrasts out for every stanza!
3.Explain that the poet works towards a climax!
4.Which line(s) show clearest that people are hypocrites when it comes to a proper
treatment of war invalids? Why do you think so?
5.Look up the word "to gobble". What does it mean? Why does the writer take this
word for this human activity? What more every day word might also have been used?
Why would it be less effective?
6.Why does the poet use the word "hunting" where he might have used "walking" or
"shopping" etc.?
7.Find a line full of sarcasm in every stanza. Explain the sarcasm!
Grass
1.Look up in a history book/encyclopaedia what all these place names stand for.
What happened in these places?
2.Find out how many killings took place!
3.Why does the writer mention all these different places?
4.What do you think the writer wants us to do: forget or remember? Explain!
5.What does the fact that the passengers have to ask "What place is this?" tell us
about them?
6.The poem is entitled "Grass". What is grass a symbol for in this poem? What do
you think of this symbol? (In)appropriate? Explain!
Breakfast
1.Like Sassoon Gibson works with strong contrasts. What are these contrasts?
2.What makes this poem sound very casual?
3.Why do you think does the writer use a number of names in this poem?
4.What happened to Ginger?
5.Why do you think are the first and last two lines identical?
6.Why do you think did the writer make this poem sound so casual instead of
dramatic?
Norman Morrison
1.Retell what happened in your own words!
2.Look up the word "Quaker" in an encyclopaedia/history book. What is a Quaker?
Why is it important for this poem to know this?
3.Mention at least two important contrasts between the Vietnamese people when
burned and Norman Morrison!
4.See line 3. What two unusual words do you find in this line? What are they
supposed to tell us about the writer's attitude?
5.What was Norman Morrison's motive to do a thing like this?
6.What do you think of his action? Is he a fool or a hero? Discuss this question in
your group before you write down your choice and explanation!
7.Does it make any difference that he was married and had children?
8.What does the fact that the Newsreels showed his wife suggest about their attitude
towards this "suicide"?
9.How are we to understand the last two lines of the poem:"...and became
Vuetnamese"?
During a bombardment by V-weapons
1.Which war and what kind of war activities does the title refer to?If necessary, look
up V-weapons in an encyclopaedia!
2.What kind of little noises are described? Explain in your own words!
3.What is the effect of these noises? On whom?
4.What is meant by "the ridiculous detonations outside"?
5.Curtains normally cannot cough gently. What does the poet mean by this?
6.What does the I-person see in the face of his beloved?
7.What does "steel" refer to?
8.Why does the writer speak of a "pointed threat"? Explain both words!
9.Explain the last two lines!
The Hero
1.Why does the Brother Officer visit the mother?
2.What kind of information does the letter contain? Be precise and complete!
3.Prove from the text that the letter must contain positive things about Jack!
4.What did the Brother Officer tell the mother? How did the mother react?
5.What had Jack's death been really like? Give a precise and complete explanation.
6.Should the Colonel and Brother Officer have told the truth to the mother?
Why(not)?
7.How are we supposed to understand the title?
General
1.Which of the poems strongly show(s) the bitterness people can feel after the war?
Explain what made you choose this/these poem(s)!
2.Which of the poems is a good example of the immediate and later effects of war on
people? Explain these effects separately!
3.Which of the poems sounds and looks like a piece of journalism? Why do you think
the writer made it sound and look like journalism?
4.Which one is most poetic as far as the language is concerned? Why?
5.Which of these poems come(s) closest to ordinary everyday language? Why do
you think the poet(s) chose for this particular style?
6.Which of the poems sounds saddest? Why do you think so?
7.Why do you think there are so many people who write novels, poems etc. about the
war?
Presentation
Your group is to present the result of your studies to your fellow pupils. Remember
the others haven't read and studied these poems. Every group member must
contribute! Think of an original/creative way to present your work to the rest of the
class!