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Welcome to Part 1 of Animal Poetry !
When you see a griffin graphic, you will be asked to respond in some way
through your email, for both discussion and fuller responses. Your work sent
through the body of your own email will only be seen by me, your virtual
teacher (and perhaps Sr. Kristin, if needed) and you and I will be
communicating about it. (You will receive a response through my email and
an eagle-or-lion graphic there at the end of each part will indicate if the work is
complete or needs further thought.) You and I can dialogue about varied
topics and exchange other questions or answers by email. Write to
maureen.griffin@sndden.org and know I will respond eagerly .
(This course has seven parts, just right for a week's work.)
Riddle poems should be fun as well as challenging.
Komodo Dragon
"AMAZING ASIAN ANIMALS" can be seen at the following site:
http://www.ccproject.org/travel/china/asiananimals/page2.html
This site has 21 riddle poems, translated from Chinese poetry, and then
pictures of the varied animals of China. Choose three riddle poems. Take
time to figure out each riddle poem before looking at "Answer."
Study the chosen riddle poems carefully and then the pictures. Explain why
each of the three chosen poems is clever in matching the actual animal and
send your responses by email. (Since you are taking this course individually,
your virtual teacher will be your discussion partner.)
Now, let's move from considering many animals and focus on some family
groups.
The Dog is an animal descended from the wolf and related to the coyote, the
jackal, the fox. There are many poems about dogs. Some are written by
established poets, and others are simple words from dog owners.
Sometimes, there are poets, such as Judith Viorst, who can create humorous
poems. Open the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/61
Read about Judith Viorst and then click the third poem listed: Mother Doesn't
Want a Dog.
After reading about Judith Viorst and studying her humorous poem carefully,
be sure to note the use of rhyme and what is included in each stanza. Next,
send your comments by email.
For a more serious poem, open the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/230
and read about Gary Soto. Then, click on the fourth poem listed, Nelson, My
Dog.
Nelson, My Dog has three stanzas which are packed with interesting facts. It
begins with a simile but quickly moves on:
"Like the cat he scratches the flea camping in fur.
Unlike the cat he delights in water up to his ears."
Please choose one section on which you will base your careful responses.
Send your thoughtful comments. Be sure to mention the poet himself.
Our next focus will be the wolf, the coyote, and Canis Major, the dog of the
skies.
1. Assignments::
Send your responses to three riddle poems you choose. Interact through
email in discussion.
Then, send your comments on Judith Viorst's poem.
Complete Part 1 by sending your responses about a section of Gary Soto's
poem. Interact as possible.
Part 2 of Animal Poetry
In the history of animal domestication, you learn that "every single breed of
dog is descended from wolves." So, Granville Holt sees the wolf as "nature's
keystone." Holt titled his poem about the wolf, Alpha Avatar.
To find the poem, open and scroll down on the following site:
http://www.wolfsongalaska.org/wolf_poems_menu.html
"Golden-yellow eyes have hypnotic
spell..."
We have been accessing some sites which present the simile. This wolf poem
is a metaphor instead. In metaphor, two become one.
Coyote and fox
Jackal
Study the wolf poem and count the number of metaphors within. Also, think
about the poem's title. Then, discuss and interact when possible.
Canus Major, Orion's hunting dog,
active in the winter skies far above Earth.
Robert Frost wrote a brief and humorous poem about the "great Overdog."
Canis Major is the title, and the poem can be accessed at the following site:
http://kellyrfineman.blogspot.com/2010/03/canis-major-by-robert-frostpoetry.html
Read the poem and the analysis very carefully at that site. Write and send a
good summary. Also, do you like the word near the end to be "roams" or
"romps" - and why?
Dogs and cats are often thought of together because they are the usual pets
for so many people. "Where Did Pets Come From?" is a very humorous story
tries to explain the differing qualities of dogs and cats.
Click the following site:
http://www.dogquotes.com/wheredidpetscomefrom.htm
This fable is written in scriptural style. Enjoy reading it, and before the end of
the lesson, write a fairly lengthy reaction. Expect considerable interaction.
The story certainly serves as a good introduction to the Cat family which will
be featured next.
2. Assignments:
Send responses to Holt's wolf poem as metaphor; interaction is encouraged.
Then, send your summary responses to the analysis of Frost's Canus Major.
Answer, also, the added question.
Complete Part 2 by writing a fairly lengthy reaction to the "pets" story;
interact in discussion.
Part 3 of Animal Poetry
Egyptian bronze sculpture, 700-600 BC
In Egypt, the cat was a sacred animal who kept the grain storage free of
rodents. Anyone who harmed a cat could be killed. Representations of
Bastet, the protector, had the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Her
twin, the destructive Sekhmet, had a woman's body and the head of a lion.
The domestic cat today is one of 41 species. The big cat relatives - who can
roar - include the tiger, the lion, the leopard, and the jaguar. They are often
celebrated in poetry. (Some smaller cats you will have heard of include the
puma, the cheetah, ocelot and lynx.) The family classification for all cats is
felid.
A very short poem using the cat as metaphor is Carl Sandburg's Fog, which
you can find at the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/28
Read about Carl Sandburg and then click the seventh poem which begins,
"The fog comes / on little cat feet." Even though this poem is very short and
only mentions "cat feet," how does the poet manage to capture the fog of
Chicago and the character of the cat? Be sure to discuss why it is a
metaphor.
Send your comments and interact as needed.
William Wordsworth, the celebrated English poet, celebrates a kitten's joy.
The Wordsworth poem to be studied is an excerpt from The Kitten and Falling
Leaves. Open the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/296
Read about the poet and then click the first poem listed. Spent some time.
Note the brief but effective use of rhyme. What is the overwhelming emotion
attributed to this cat?
When you have studied The Kitten and Falling Leaves, send your comments
and read and interact as possible.
It is interesting that the wildly - a pun - successful musical, Cats, is based on
T.S. Eliot's work: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The Naming of Cats is
an excerpt available at the following site:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/tseliot/5536
There are many readings on YouTube as well. The following site features a
high-school production reciting The Naming of Cats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu45Uy0hCNo
There is also an original cast recording of the same naming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W4a9P6ZQeU&feature=related
Read, listen, enjoy. Discuss as you wish. You may know the musical ends
with the confirmation that the cat is not like the dog! (Remember the "Pets"
story.)
The last 11 lines of Eliot's poem begin with But above and beyond there is still
one name left over... When you have weighed these lines carefully, try to write
a summary in your own words of their intent. What do the lines say about a
cat's character? Send your well-written response.
The Lion, a big cousin of the domestic cat, was
celebrated in another very successful musical.
3. Assignments:
Write as directed about Fog and interact.
Then, write as directed about The Kitten and Falling Leaves and continue
interaction.
Complete Part 3 by writing about Eliot's intent and send your response.
Part 4 of Animal Poetry
Edward Hirsch has written an extraordinary poem called Wild Gratitude. You
can access it by opening the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/157
and then clicking on the seventh poem with a sound symbol next to it.
Play the audio of the poet reading his poem which gives great homage to a
much earlier poet, Christophe Smart.
Only after careful listening and then reading, move to the Smart site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/282
and select the first poem listed, Jubilate Agno, Fragment B, known as For I will
consider my Cat Jeoffry.
This selection is long, but the list of Jeoffry's activities is entertaining and
rewarding when read carefully.
Consider one part of the long Smart poem after reading the whole. List some
accomplishments of Jeoffrey and then reread Hirsch's gratitude poem to
identify how he praises both Christopher Smart and his cat. You can read the
biographical information about Smart and that about Hirsch. Although over
200 years separate the poets, they are united in praise of the cat.
Send your comments about this unity.
The Jaguar, a Big Cat
The Jaguar is a Mayan symbol of
power.
And another Big Cat, the Panther is guardian.
To learn more about these cat symbols, open the following site:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/mayan-symbols.html
You can click on land animal totems to learn more, What animal in the cat
family is most appealing to you? Well before the end of the lesson, send your
choice and reason for it and interact. Include a striking graphic of your
choice.
Our last poem about a cat is William Blake's The Tyger. Note how Blake
spelled "tiger." Open the following site:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/116
Click on the second-last poem on the Tiger, a Big Cat.
There are ten questions in this poem because one is a repeat. Burning and
symmetry are constant themes. Before the end of the lesson, send your
comments about the poem's content and power.
Next week, we will learn more about the horse family.
4. Assignments:
Send comments about the two poets united in praise of the cat.
Then, send your personal choice of cat symbol and reasons.
Complete Part 4 by sending your comments about content and power in the
tiger poem.
Part 5 of Animal Poetry
Dogs have masters.
Cats have staff.
Horses have servants.
The brief observation of animal character which begins this lesson is
humorous and quite on target. You already have studied some poetry about
the dog and the cat. Now, let's observe the horse:
Open the following site:
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/horse/
This American Museum of Natural History website is full of interesting
information. Click on the Introduction and read a brief summary of horses.
Then, early in the lesson, find the quiz - "What Do You Know About Horses?"
- by opening and searching the following site:
http://www.amnh.org/ology/index.php
Choose your answer for each of the 10 questions - and then Check your
Answers to get your Results. Retake the quiz as needed.
Share and discuss which questions may have been especially challenging.
Quotations: There are many quotations about horses. A good site to open is
the following:
http://www.beckerpaints.com/Pet_Gems_Horses.html
Scroll down and spend some time reading these quotations - about the horse
as a creature to care for, to ride, to listen to, hope for, rejoice in, tell things to,
treasure.
Then, other than the two in the next paragraph, choose a favorite quotation to
share.
A horse can be a great pet if circumstances permit. One of the quotations
listed on the site above says, All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to
be loved by a little girl. Another quotation claims, Old age means realizing you
will never get to love all the horses you wanted to.
But Patty Barnhart, an enthusiastic rider, will find a way to always love some
horses; she writes, When I Am Old. The poem can be found at the following
site:
http://angelacreshorsehavenrescue.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-is-beautifulwritten-by-patty.html
This site also discusses the important horse rescue efforts by Angel Acres
Horse Haven.
Horses have been harnessed for personal riding, travel, and work. They are
also used successfully as therapy horses.
Robert Frost, the famed poet not usually associated with horses, wrote a
deceptively-simple poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Listen to Robert Frost read his poem:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/journal/videoitem.html?id=18
Then, open his short poem at the following site:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20519
Read the poem carefully. After that, return to the site where Frost is reading.
Listen again and note the poet's facial expressions and his emphasis on
certain parts of the poem.
Patty Barnhart wrote When I Am Old and did so in free verse. Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening was written by Robert Frost using classic meter
and rhyme. Study the two poems and finally describe some similarities and
differences. Send your well-written comparison.
5. Assignments:
Share which quiz questions about horses may have been especially
challenging.
Then, before mid-lesson, choose a favorite quotation on horses to share.
Complete Part 5 by finding and writing about similarities and differences in the
Barnhart and Frost poems. Send your well-written comparison.
More about the horse and related creatures in the next lessons.
Part 6 of Animal Poetry
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Horses are harnessed, as we have seen, for varied reasons. Besides personal
riding and using the horse for travel or work, the horse, particularly the
thoroughbred, is prized for racing. Horse racing is now a big-time industry.
Zenyatta is a mare who beat all rivals in 19 out of 20 races. One admirer,
whose name is not given online, wrote The Queen's Dance, a poem about this
thoroughbred. The Queen's Dance can be found by scrolling down to the 4th
poem at the following site:
http://community.tvg.com/t5/TVG-Viewer-Mailbox/Zenyatta-poem/td-p/373741
[Image:2122011_31627_2.jpg]
This poem, The Queen's Dance, like one listed in the prior lesson, is not
written by an established poet. Yet the poem captures the spirit of the
victorious animal. Here there is alliteration, assonance, metaphor,
onomatopoeia, simile, and rhyme.
Go to the Gillian Clark site to refresh your memory of the language of poetry:
http://www.gillianclarke.co.uk/home.htm
and then follow directions carefully - click "For Students" and "General" to
reach alliteration, etc.)
Before mid-lesson, can you find examples of some of these figures of speech
in The Queen's Dance?
Send your well-written response.
The horse has many cousins.
[Image:2122011_23627_0.jpg] The Hippopotamus, is called "River Horse" by the
Greeks.
The large land mammal is the subject of Theodore Roethke's humor. Open the
following site:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15296
When you read The Hippo, you can see that the poet manages in a few short
lines to create quite a picture and express a wry admiration of this creature.
Mid-lesson, rewrite this poem in non-poetic words. Send your prose. You will
then be able to make some comments about which text you prefer: the poetry
or the prose.
Even bigger than the hippo, the cousin rhinoceros, "nosehorn," is endangered
because of that horn which poachers covet. [Image:2122011_25616_1.jpg]
[Image:2122011_34443_3.jpg] Another relative, the tapir, has a pig-like head
and none of the grace of the horse.
But the zebra remains striking in its camouflage.
[Image:2122011_34807_4.png]
Stanley Harrison, in a short but beautiful poem, knows "great horses live
again." To access Somewhere, open the following site:
http://www.hopendreamsquarterhorses.com/poems.htm#Somewhere
Before the end of the lesson, send your thoughts about Somewhere. You may
have noticed when reading quotations about the cat and the dog that those
who love the animals have sentiments like Harrison's.
6. Assignments:
Identify poetic language in The Queen's Dance. Send your well-written
response.
Then, rewrite in prose the Roethke poem, The Hippo. Send the prose and
comment on prose vs. poetry.
Complete Part 6 by sending your thoughts on Harrison's sentiments.
In the next lesson we will go to Bethlehem and find many of the animals
already studied.
Part 7 of Animal Poetry
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Traditionally, there were many animals in Bethlehem when Christ was born.
We have learned in past lessons about the dog and the cat, and the horse with
camel and donkey cousins. We will be looking, as well, at sheep and oxen,
which have been livestock across time.
The Donkey
[Image:2142011_15311_0.png]
The Donkey is the subject of two poems which praise this rough animal's
pride in its extraordinary experiences. U.A. Fanthorpe is a British poet who
believed her poems should sound like conversations with the readers. One of
her poems, What the Donkey Saw, describes the overcrowding in the stable.
Here is the site:
http://www.christmas-time.com/ct-whatdonk.htm
Read the poem which begins, "No room in the inn, of course." The last two
lines are the key to the whole poem.
Then, read The Donkey, another poem about this unlovely animal.
G.K.Chesterton, also a British poet, takes the same approach as Fanthorpe.
He speaks of "One far fierce hour and sweet."
Study the last two lines of each poem about the donkey. How are the poems
connected by these surprise endings?
Send your well-crafted comparisons.
The Ox
Other animals traditionally found in the stable in Bethlehem and present-day
creches include the ox and the lamb.
[Image:2122011_80133_3.jpg]
Poets can find spiritual joy in these creatures of Christmas legend.
One English writer, Thomas Hardy, speaks of the animals kneeling on
Christmas Eve. Here is Hardy's poem:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16143
The poet writes as an adult and remembers his childhood belief. He listens
for, "Come; see the oxen kneel..."
The Lamb
William Blake, whose tiger poem you read in an early lesson, also wrote The
Lamb. Find the poem at the following site:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15522
Read and then think of how the lamb and the Christ Child are connected.
A warm story of one family's creche mentions the animals at a scene
remembering Bethlehem. The story by Tess Hoffman is The Line for the
Family Stable Forms Here, and it can be found at the following site:
[Image:2122011_80204_4.jpg]
http://www.familychristmasonline.com/musings/line_for_the_stable/line_for_th
e_stable.htm
Read this heart-warming story.
[Image:2142011_72243_4.png]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a Christmas poem, The Three Kings. It is
available by scrolling down at that following site:
http://www.carols.org.uk/the_three_kings_longfellow.htm
There is a surprise in stanza six concerning their animals. They "came riding
from far away" and left "with a clatter of hoofs in proud array."
Focus on their animals and then write an an outline of their ride and send.
Finally, when you were younger, what Christmas legends were very
meaningful to you? Were there some like the kneeling oxen that impressed
Hardy? Did you, like the family in the story you read, have a creche or crib
that attracted children to see the animals around the scene? Or, did you
celebrate some other holiday or holyday?
Please share in your cultural background concerning Christmas. And interact
in Discussion.
[Image:2142011_71345_1.jpg]
The Dog and the Cat
Of course, the dog and the cat probably met Joseph, Mary, and the Child.
Sheepdogs assisted the "shepherds who watched by night." When the
donkey helped the family escape to Egypt, the cat would be waiting in the
country that protected them.
7. Assignments:
Compare the two poems about the donkey. Send your comparisons.
Then, comment on the ride in Longfellow's Three Kings. Send your outline.
Finally, discuss how you celebrate Christmas legends and customs or another
holiday or holyday .
Afterwords:
There is not time in this PDP course to conclude with much on fantastic
animals. You have received eagles and maybe lions in your assignments.
Here is the griffin, half-eagle and half-lion:
[Image:192012_73250_8.jpg]
The Griffin Is an ancient figure which is still used today as the guardian of the
treasury. Most modern nations feature the griffin this way. In Dante, the
griffin is the symbol of Christ leading the chariot of the Sun across the sky.
Some think only a female griffin had wings.
Vachel Lindsay has written Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be, a humorous poem
about the griffin, a dual-natured creature. Open the poem at the following site:
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/vachel_lindsay/poems/19181
See, your virtual teacher is really gentle!
Thank you and best wishes Sr. Maureen