Introduction to Literature and Composition 1 Honors
Instructor: Michael Thornton
September 18, 2009
POETRY UNIT: REQUIRED READING AND WRITING
During the next few weeks, we will be reading many poems from the Kirszner & Mandell
Literature book, and students will be required to write a few poems, as well as answer
some questions from the textbook. There will also be a longer literary analysis assigned.
As we read the poems, students are expected to participate in the discussions in class.
Here is a list of the page numbers and poems. The specific assignments will be posted on
the website and discussed in class. Their due dates will be announced at that time.
Form
Sonnet
Haiku
Open Form
pp. 861-864, Introduction
pp. 865-870, p. 684, p. 807
pp. 877-879
pp. 879-884, The Colonel (p. 889)
Sound
Rhythm
pp. 834-836
Alliteration pp. 845-847
Rhyme
pp. 849-852, Jabberwocky (p. 856)
Answer question #4, p. 857
Voice
pp. 722-724, including four poems referred to on p. 724: The Chimney
Sweeper (p. 928), Red Wheelbarrow (p. 794), Daddy (p. 818), Morning
Song (p. 742)
Speaker
Suicide Note (p. 733)
Tone
pp. 735-737
Irony
Ballad of Birmingham (p. 755), The Chicago Defender (p. 933), What
Were They Like (p. 695)
Write a Question and Answer Poem
Imagery
pp. 791-798
Writing Suggestion #2, p. 804
Assignment on Art-Inspired Poetry (due date to be announced)
POETRY UNIT: COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY (due date to be announced)
Students will read several poems by Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and Robert
Frost. Using the checklist on Writing About Voice on pp. 756-757, compare and contrast
the voice of these poets in an essay of two pages at a minimum, typed, 12 point font,
double-spaced, due date to be announced. Quote specific examples from at least two
poems of each poet.
Read Dickinson, pp. 940-944; Frost, pp. 955-960; Hughes, pp. 1043-1051. Here are
some of the more important guidelines from the checklist. Do not simply answer the
questions, but use the questions to write an essay about these poets’ use of voice.
 What do we know about the speaker?
 Is the speaker anonymous, or does he or she have a particular identity?
 How does assuming a particular persona help the poet to convey his or her ideas?
 Does the title give information about the speaker’s identity?
 In what way does work choice provide information about the speaker?
 What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject?
 How do word choice and the poet’s use of poetic techniques convey the attitude
of the speaker?
 Is the tone of the poem consistent? How do shifts in tone reflect the changing
attitude of the speaker?
POETRY UNIT: CREATIVE WRITING DRAFT (due date to be announced)
Consider the patterns that you adhere to in your life – what are your routines, how do you
place order on the disparate happenings that affect you, what are the simple things that
keep you going day to day? Pattern is a word that can apply to the many categories that
you selectively choose to guide your adventures in living. Do not limit yourself in your
interpretation of this word.
Write a poem about the patterns in your life. Spend time on this writing assignment,
since it is likely to become the basis for further writing assignments this year.
This poem should be about 30-40 lines long, comparable to the two poems titled Poetry
on pages 664 and 666 – the Giovanni poem is about 40 lines long, whereas the Moore
poem is only about 25 lines, with considerably more words.
Poem must include five examples of the literary techniques that we have studied:
alliteration, onomatopoeia, parallel structures, rhyme, and figurative language (similes or
metaphors).
Poem must have stanzas and verse structure, meaning line breaks and consistent meter.