Poetry Journal Assignment
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This poetry journal will give you an opportunity to delve into the mystical and powerful world
of poetry. You will analyze and develop some classic and obscure poetry, and have an
opportunity to create your own poems. Over the course of this unit I hope you’ll begin to
notice what it is that appeals to you in a poem. Think about the images that come into your
mind when reading a poem, and the way a poet uses words, sounds, rhyme and arrangement
to create meaning and effect. While I will provide you with a number of class periods to work
on it, you will need to dedicate significant time outside of school to ensure you create a
product you can be proud of.
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**IMPORTANT** This assignment will not be accepted unless all the criteria are completed
correctly. You must prove to me that have met all of the criteria below before I will accept
the paper for a grade.
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Cover Page
Table of Contents
Twelve Themed Poems
Three Formatted Poems
Completed Literary Devices Chart
Five Published Poems
Five APPARTS Worksheets for the above poems
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Organization: Please arrange your journal in the following order:
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1. Cover/Title Page: The cover will appear on the outside or as the first page of the binder. The
cover should represent the journal with a title and at least one picture. Make sure your name is
on there!
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2. Table of Contents: This is the way your journal is organized. All of the pages in the journal
should be numbered and coincide with the table of contents. INCLUDE EVERY PIECE IN THE
JOURNAL. Poems are in quotations marks; please include all author names. This page must be
typed.
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3. Poems: Turn in a journal that includes 20 poems...in this order:
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A. Personal Section: THEMES
The theme of a literary work is the controlling idea. The controlling idea of a poem is the idea
continuously developed throughout the poem by sets of key words that identify the poet's
subject and his attitude or feeling about it. It may also be suggested by the title of a poem or by
segment of the poem. It is rarely stated explicitly (precisely and clearly expressed) by the poet. The controlling idea is an idea, not a moral; it is a major idea, not a minor supporting idea or
detail; and it controls or dominates the poem as a whole. Such themes may be love, hope, joy,
nature, loss, sadness, family, past, future, etc.
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a. You need to present 3 themes (4 poems a theme), any that you choose. =12
(2 that you find; 2 that you write)
b. With EACH page, you need to have a visual and/or a border attached. This could
include a picture, drawing, collage, etc. Please be creative and make sure the visual
represents the poem. You can have no more than TWO poems per page.
c. For EACH theme you need to have TWO original poems. This means that you wrote
it. There is no required form for these poems, except that they must be at least SIX lines
each.
d. You are allowed to have one music selection for the entire journal. You do not,
however, need to have any music.
e. Each theme needs to be indicated using binder dividers or posters.
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B. Personal Section: FORMATTING
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Following the poetry notes, you will need to compose three more poems. They should be in this
order:
a. One Cinquain about one of the four seasons
b. One Haiku about nature
c. One Shakespearean Sonnet
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C. Personal Poetry: ANALYSIS
Recreate the Literary Terms Analysis chart below inside your poetry journal. Please note that you cannot
discuss any Literary Device more than once. You must recreate this chart inside your journal to receive
credit.
If you fill it out on this handout, it will not count for points.
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Literary Device
Poem Title
Evidence
D. Published Poetry: ANALYSIS
Complete the attached APPARTS Worksheet for FIVE published poems. These poems can be the ones
included in your themes, six new poems, or a combination of the two. You will need to include copies of
the original poems with your analysis.
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APPARTS Worksheet
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Poem Title:____________________________________________
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Author - Who created the poem? What do you know about the author? What is
the author's point of view?
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Place and time - Where and when was the poem written? How might this affect
the meaning of the poem?
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Prior knowledge - Beyond information about the author and the context of its
creation, what do you know that would help you further understand the poem?
For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represent?
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Audience - For whom was the poem created?
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Reason - Why was this poem produced at the time it was produced?
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The Main Idea - What point is the poem trying to convey?
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Significance - Why is this poem important? What inferences can you draw from
this poem/writing/style? Ask yourself, "So what?" and record your answer.