DE English
Rosenbaum
Our Poetry Unit (aka The Best Six Weeks of Our Lives!)
Chapter 13: Reading a Poem
Those Winter Sundays (p. 635)
Write a poem about a childhood memory involving a relative
Ask Me (p. 643)
Chapter 14: Listening to a Voice
Doo Wop (p. 649)
Write a serious or comic poem which contains no more than two words
per line
White Lies (p. 651)
Monologue for an Onion (p. 654)
Comment (p. 663)
Making it in poetry (p. 663)
Dulce et Decorum Est (p. 667)
Chapter 15: Words
Silence (p. 676)
Write a poem that is told largely in quotations.
Grass (p. 681)
Dog Haiku (p. 681)
Write a haiku (a three line poem with five, seven, and five syllable lines)
Jabberwocky (p. 693)
Write a poem filled with nonsense words
Poetry of the Romantic Period in Elements of Literature book
Poetry of William Blake
Poetry of William Wordsworth
Poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Poetry of George Gordon, Lord Byron
Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Poetry of John Keats
Chapter 16: Saying and Suggesting
next to of course god america i (p. 703)
Write a poem with no capitalization and punctuation
Chapter 17: Imagery
Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter (p. 721)
Birthday Cake (p. 721)
Write a poem about a favorite birthday memory
Chapter 18: Figures of Speech
Metaphors (p. 735)
Turtles (p. 745)
Chapter 19: Song
Richard Cory (p. 754)
Ballad of Birmingham (p. 759)
The Times They Are a-Changin (p. 764)
Song Presentations- worth 50 points
Just like this song represented the 1960s, you will present a song to the
class that symbolizes our modern times. The song must have been
written in 2009 or 2010. You may work by yourself or in a group of up to
four people. You must show me the lyrics of your song to be approved
before you begin working on the assignment, and only one group per class
may choose a certain song. Once the song is chosen, you need to make
a typed handout (which should be given to me on _______). On your
handout should be:
1. The title of and lyrics to your song
2. Three-five open ended questions about your song
3. A minimum of five sentence explanation of how this song
relates to modern times
You should bring in the song on a flash drive or cd to play to the class
when you present it.
Chapter 20: Sound
Recital (p. 774)
The Hippopotamus (p. 780)
Chapter 21: Rhythm
We Real Cool (p. 793)
Chapter 22: Closed Form
Do not go gentle into that good night (p. 824)
Test on Romantic Age and Literature Poetry- worth 200 points
Short Essay #2: Poem Analysis (500-750 words)- worth 100 points
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Rough draft is due _______; Peer editing is done in class on _______; Final
draft is due (including submission to www.turnitin.com) by ________
You should read Chapter 43: Writing about a Poem (p. 1937-1957) in order to
see how to set up a poem analysis. This chapter includes a sample poem analysis
on Robert Frost’s Design on p. 1946-1949.
Rough and final draft must be typed.
You may choose any poem in Chapters 13-19 of Literature or the Romantic Age
in your Elements of Literature book to write on (except for Robert Frost’s Design
or Abbie Hustan Evans Wing-Spread)
You should rely on your own analysis, but if you do use outside sources you must
credit them (as a parenthetical citation in the paper; with a Works Cited entry at
the end).
You should include a Works Cited page crediting the poem you referred to in
your paper. The Works Cited entry should be done as thus:
Last name of poet, First name. “Poem Title.” Title of Book. Ed. of Book.
___th ed. Place Published: Publisher, Year Published.
Your topic is: Write an analysis of a poem from the chapters in Literature or
the Romantic Age, focusing on how a single key element (such as tone, rhyme
and meter, imagery, irony, theme, or extended metaphor) shapes its
meaning.
Chapter 23: Open Form
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird (p. 838)
Write a poem that is Thirteen Ways of Looking at a…
Swan and Shadow p. 843
Concrete Cat p. 845
Write a concrete poem
First Love: A Quiz p. 847
Write a poem in the form of a quiz
Chapter 24: Symbol
The Road Not Taken (p. 859)
Chapter 25: Myth and Narrative
Snow White (p. 877)
Cinderella (p. 879)
Write a poem about a fairy tale character
Chapter 26: Poetry and Personal Identity
America (p. 892)
Learning to love America (p. 900)
Write your own poem about America
Chapter 27: Translation
How Do I Hate You? Let Me Count the Ways (p. 913)
Write your own parody poem
Poetry of the Victorian Period in Elements of Literature textbook
Poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E. Housman
Chapter 28: Poetry in Spanish: Literature of Latin America
Every Tree in Its Shadow (p. 929)
Chapter 29: Recognizing Excellence
One Art (p. 941)
O Captain! My Captain! (p. 945)
Chapter 30: What is Poetry?
Missed Time (p. 956)
Chapter 31: Two Critical Casebooks: Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes
Mother to Son (p. 975)
Write your own poem in the form of advice
Chapter 32: Critical Casebook: T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (p. 995)
Chapter 33: Poems for Further Reading
Ethics (p. 1072)
Test on Victorian Age and Literature Poetry- worth 200 points
Assign and begin work on Short Essay #3: Comparison/Contrast Poem Analysis
(500-1000 words)- worth 100 points
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Rough draft is due _______; Peer editing is done in class on _______; Final
draft is due (including submission to www.turnitin.com) by ________
In Chapter 41: Writing About a Poem, p. 1952-1955 are specifically devoted to
writing a comparison/contrast of poems.
Rough and final draft should be typed.
You should rely on your own analysis, but if you do use outside sources you must
credit them (as a parenthetical citation in the paper; with a Works Cited entry at
the end).
You should include a Works Cited page crediting the poems you referred to in
your paper. The Works Cited entry should be done as thus:
Last name of poet, First name. “Poem Title.” Title of Book. Ed. of Book.
___th ed. Place Published: Publisher, Year Published.
You may choose any poem in Chapters 13-33 of Literature, the Romantic Age in
your Elements of Literature book, or the Victorian Age in your Elements of
Literature book to write on (except for Robert Frost’s Design, Abbie Hustan
Evans Wing-Spread, or the poem you analyzed for Short Essay #2)
You may choose one of the following topics to write about:
1. Write a comparison-contrast essay on any two or more poems by a single
poet. Look for two poems that share a characteristic thematic concern.
2. Write an analysis of a certain theme (or other element) that you find in the
work of two or more poets. It is probably that in your conclusion you will
want to set the poets’ work side by side, comparing or contrasting them,
and perhaps making some evaluation. (You may find the attached pages
helpful with this assignment, as each poem in the Literature book is
arranged by subject and theme.)
Poetry Alive!- worth 75 points
DUE
WHAT TO DO:
-Pick a poem out of your Elements of Literature or Literature textbook that you (or your group) would like
to perform for the class. The following guidelines will be used to establish the size of the group:
SOLOS: Poem with 10-25 lines
DUETS: Poem with 20-35 lines
GROUPS (no more than 5 members, or it better be pretty darn impressive): 35-100 lines
-The following is what you are responsible for during your POETRY ALIVE! performance:
1.
ARRANGEMENT OF “STAGE AREA”
- set up props, scenery
2.
INTRODUCTION
- announce poem and poet
- give out HANDOUT to every member of the class which contains:
1.
Name of poem and poet to be performed
2.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION on poet IN YOUR
OWN WORDS (about a paragraph or two long)
3.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION on the poem (if you
can find it; may not be able to)
4.TWO OR THREE QUESTIONS you will ask the class
AFTER YOUR PERFORMANCE (NOTE: You MAY NOT
use the same exact questions from the book)
3.
PERFORMANCE OF POEM
-Perform the poem--You are bringing your poem ALIVE for the class, not
just reciting it. Choose actions and props that will aid the class in
understanding your poem. For example, one group did a poem on hunting
and made props to indicate a forest and wore camouflage. They then
acted as if they were hunting during their performance. Another group
did a poem on different types of seasons and dressed as the seasons.
When the word “rain” was mentioned, one person threw sparkles in the air
to indicate the rain. Everyone in the group needs to be in the performance
and have a speaking part.
4.
ASK YOUR QUESTIONS FROM YOUR HANDOUT.
If time remains at the end of the 3rd nine weeks, study the poetry of John Donne and
watch the film Wit, for which here is the study guide:
Study Guide to Wit
Before beginning the film, it is important to have a brief understanding of what
Metaphysical poetry is. The main character of Vivian studies the Metaphysical poets, and
eventually she becomes more concerned with being a scholar than a person. This
obsession leads to her reflection of her life when she learns she has cancer.
Metaphysical Poets
-metaphysics refers to “speculations on principles that govern realms of knowledge and
beauty” (Qtd. in Adventures in English Literature)
-term was first used in reference to these specific poets by Samuel Johnson, an 18th
century critic, who said the poets liked to “display obscure and specialized learning in
their poems”
-poets also display “verbal wit,” which they became renowned for (and hence supplies
the title of the film)
-Dr. Johnson also criticized poet’s use of “discordia concors,” or paradox, which is
usually found in all of these poems
-The poets’ goal was to “draw together dissimilar ideas to create positive expressive
energy” (Qtd. in Adventures in English Literature)
-themes of the poems were common for the time, love and religion, but the paradox used
within their poetry is that they frequently used religious images to refer to human love
and vice-versa
-Major Metaphysical Poets are:
John Donne-Highly educated man. In early life a soldier and adventurer who
wrote frivolous poems to entertain. Later became the most famous preacher of
time and began writing the metaphysical poems, including his Holy Sonnet
sequence. (WhoWants to Be a Millionaire? Fact is he delivered his own funeral
oration a few weeks before his death)
Andrew Marvell
George Herbert
Henry Vaughn
The one Metaphysical poem to understand in order to understand the film is the
following:
Holy Sonnet 6
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me,
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery,
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die.
By: John Donne
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Themes
-being scared
-regrets/doubts
-importance of human touch
-promise of salvation not standing up to scrutiny
-value of human life
Quotes
-not living life-”Don’t go back to library. Enjoy yourself with friends.”
- “Brevity is the soul of Wit.”
- “Once I did the teaching, now I am taught.”
- she denied- “The touch of human kindness she now seeks”
- “You’ll still take care of me, won’t you Suzy; “Of course, sweetheart, don’t you
worry.”
- “Hard things are what I like best.”
- “I knew...I read between the lines.”
- “It came so quickly after taking so long.”
- “They always want to know more things.”
- “She’s DNR” (Suzy); “She’s research”(Jason)
- “What happens at the end? Do you ever solve the puzzle?”
- “On flights of angels/ sing thee to thy rest.”
Comments Film Makes/Questions Film Asks
-Importance of human touch
-simple human truths VS. Scholarly standards
-How time hangs/weighs/yet there is so little of it
-impersonal nature of doctors
-why did she choose to be a scholar?
-relationship with father - wasn’t always a loner
-steadfast
-having doubts
-She doesn’t want visitors--why?
-Why did she choose to be a scholar?
-How does her being a scholar effect her as a patient?
-How is Vivian seen as positive & negative?
-How is Suzy seen? Jason? Eve, her former teacher?
-Why doesn’t Jason help when she is in so much pain?