Poetry Notebook Project (Honors) (50 points)
A major portion of your grade for this grading period will come from reading and analyzing poetry. You will
compile your analyzed poems into a booklet complete with an illustrated cover page.
You will need to select a common theme for your poetry notebook. Please clear the theme with me before
you begin work on this project. Possible themes could be love poems, coming of age poems, AfricanAmerican poets, women poets, sports, animals, nature, and so on. You may also select one of your favorite
poets—for example, Maya Angelou or Langston Hughes and concentrate on their works. Put some thought
into your theme. I do not want collections of silly, humorous poems. We are in high school! I also
want you to use the works of established poets, not poems submitted for publication on Internet
sites.
1. Begin looking through poetry collections in books or the Internet to find poems that fit into your
theme.
2. You will need to select 7 poems to type.
3. You will need to analyze each poem for the following elements. Not every element will be found in
each poem, but you need to make sure that you cover all ten elements at least once in your seven
poems. Each poem should have at least 5 different elements, one of which must be theme.
1. simile
2. metaphor
3. personification
4. onomatopoeia
5. alliteration
6. symbolism
7. imagery
8. idiom or hyperbole or pun (may find any one of these three)
9. allusion
10. theme
4. Type each poem on one page. (Copy and paste is okay as long as you uniformly format your
booklet.) Your analysis should be included at the end of the page. I will give you an example to go
by. Be sure to include the author.
5. Type and illustrate a cover page that goes along with your theme. Include your name. Submit in a
folder. You are going for an attractive, put-together booklet that reflects effort on your part.
“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree. (1)
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed (3)
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree who looks to God each day, (3)
And lifts her leafy arms to pray; (3)
A tree who may in summer wear (3)
A nest of robins in her hair; (7)
Upon whose bosom snow has lain; (3)
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me, (1)
But only God can make a tree. (6)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
simile
metaphor
personification
onomatopoeia
alliteration
symbolism: tree symbolizes humanity
imagery
idiom or hyperbole or pun
allusion
theme: beauty exists in nature
Suggested Websites: 1) www.poets.org 2) www.poemhunter.com 3)www.poetryfoundation.org