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Genre Approach to Teaching Narrative Poetry
Erica Brazee
The crown of literature is poetry. It is its end and aim. It is the sublimest activity of
the human mind. It is the achievement of beauty and delicacy. The writer of prose can
only step aside when the poet passes.
–William Somerset Maugham
Writing Narrative Poetry
Everyone has a story they love to tell, and everyone loves to hear a good story.
Tall tales get passed on in grade school, family traditions are recited over holiday feats,
and that fish gets bigger each year by the water cooler the day before the Boss’ annual
fishing trip.
The natural way people speak and tell stories is in prose form. We sometimes
place ourselves in the story, whether we were there or not; we add vivid detail to keep
our readers’ attention and we offer a closing in how the incident ended. Putting these
thoughts and stories down on paper is a lot easier than you might think. And your
students will enjoy it much more than you probably expect.
In distinguishing narrative prose from narrative poetry, there are some major
differences. The most obvious is the length of a poem is often shorter, much shorter,
than a story in prose. Also, writing in poem form allows the author some liberties: to
use poetic language, to emphasize a line or words through rhyme, and to repeat lines
over again as a refrain.
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Writing narrative poetry is easy; narrative poetry is the easiest form of poetry to
write, because there are no strict guidelines. In fact, the only rule to writing narrative
poetry is that it must tell a story.
Genre Studies: Rationale
A genre study is the best way for students to learn to write in a specific form. I
prefer to focus on a genre rather than a topic or theme. A genre study on narrative
poetry teaches students how to write poems as well as read them. In a genre study,
students read numerous examples of a specific type of writing, and then emulating that
style, can they master a form of writing. Writing about global warming in an essay, an
editorial, and then a poem teaches the student nothing about writing in either of those
forms. Students need opportunity to read, study and write the genre in order to master
it. If genre is second to topic in classrooms we risk our students not growing as writers
(357 Calkins).
That said I will lay out the best way to teach a genre study in a middle school
classroom. Students must read examples and then more examples of the genre; and
next, attempt to write in that style; and finally, through peer editing and revision, they
can write a better version. This process should be repeated a few times, starting with
short narrative poems and working towards longer, more complicated poems, until
students have internalized the features of the genre.
History: Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry is among the oldest – maybe the very oldest – genre of poetry.
Narrative poems include epics, ballads, and idylls (Narrative poetry). Before poetry was
written, it was spoken, either to tell a story or recited as a performance. The Ballad
originated in Scotland and England, as performance poetry (Narrative poetry). The
narrative forms mentioned above were originally written with elements that helped
storytellers, or performers, recite them. Elements like meter, rhyme, and refrain all
helped the performers recite them (Narrative poetry). Often these storytellers recited
the poems to music; this is much like fans knowing the lyrics to a song by heart. In the
Middle Ages, these performers were called Bards. William Shakespeare is a historically
famous Bard (William Shakespeare). Other cultures have oral storytellers, as well. In
Asia, storytellers are called Bakhshi, and in Western Africa they are known as Griots
(Sheppard).
In telling students what narrative poetry is, you should also state what it is not:
lyrical poetry. Lyrical poetry expresses feelings. This expression of emotion can be from
a single event, and not a story. The story behind the emotion is often left out. Also,
lyrical poetry has more rules than narrative poetry. Lyrical poems are written in
measured meter by syllables per line, or stresses per line. A traditional form of lyrical
poetry is the sonnet.
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Rationale for Poetry
Each social situation where communication is necessary gives rise to a kind of
genre (Coe, Freedman 137). To begin the genre study, mention that the genre does not
define or limit writing, rather the kind of writing and audience it is intended for creates
the genre. From the brief, pay-per-word telegrams of the late 1800s to the short,
professional typing of the e-mail, writing forms have evolved when new means of
communication were created. The Bards spoke or sang narratives because printed word
was not common; paper was expensive and few people could read or write. With the
availability of paper and computer or pen ink today, anyone can be a writer.
Some students may feel strongly that poetry serves a purpose for self expression
or for sharing. Others may argue that poetry serves no purpose. Explain to these
students that the lyrics to their favorite songs are a form of poetry; that both poetry and
music can cause strong feelings and even activism. Also point out that reading for
pleasure and connecting personal experiences to writing are not only acceptable
purposes, but also signs of understanding the writing. Perhaps you are asking why you
should teach poetry. Take as your answer this quote from author Nancie Atwell’s
website:
If ever I had to choose just one genre to teach in a middle
school English program, it would be poetry. The lessons it
teaches kids about good writing, about critical reading, about
the kind of adults they wish to become and the kind of world
they hope to inhabit, extend the best invitation I can imagine
to grow up healthy and whole. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
If one genre of writing can teach our students to be better writers, to read
critically, and to dream big, you would most certainly want to teach that genre in your
classroom. Poetry allows for freedom; it is no five paragraph essay. Poetry allows for
creativity; no one is asking the writer to cite their facts. More importantly, poetry allows
them to express an opinion about themselves or the world, and creates a reaction in
their reader. Narrative poetry is the easiest form of poetry for students to write because
it emulates the way they speak. It is not overly flowery with description, it does not
necessarily rhyme; it simply tells a story from the narrator’s imagination. You can teach
writing skills such as being brief, description and punctuation with narrative poetry.
Narrative poetry can be looked at critically, for the elements of story and the reader’s
interpretation of the event. Narrative poetry is a form of expression and writing that
will come easily to your students after you present them with a genre study of it.
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Procedure for Conducting a Genre Study on Narrative Poetry
Rationale
Imagine a student being told to “write a narrative poem and turn it in tomorrow.”
The result would most likely be less than shining. Without prior knowledge of what
narrative poetry is or prior experience reading a narrative poem, a student can not be
expected to write in that genre. Younger students may not even know what the term
“narrative” means.
Introduction
It would be best to start out with a whole-class effort to define the genre. Poetry
is a familiar term but narrative may not be. In the American Heritage College
dictionary, narrative has a definition specific to our purposes: “Consisting of or
characterized by the telling of a story: narrative poetry” (925). A related word that will
help with the meaning is “narrator.” Students know that the narrator in a book is the
person telling the story.
Optionally, you can ask students if they know what an epic, ballad, or idyll is.
Students may link ballad to a type of song with the same name, and that would be
correct. Ballad poems tell a story; are sometimes set to music or sung rather than read;
often have short lines with alternating stresses and a simple rhyme; and commonly have
a refrain, much like the chorus in a song (Ballad). Students may be surprised to learn
that they know a few examples. They might have sung “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore”
in elementary school. Perhaps they have heard Bruce Springsteen’s many ballads,
among them, “Glory Days” and “Streets of Philadelphia.”
Read, Read, Read the Genre
Next, you need to provide students with shining examples of high-interest
narrative poems. The examples can differ in length, tone and the type of story that is
told. It is important to point out to your students that each piece “gets the job done” so
that they can see that there are differences in form within the genre (Bomer 125). As
you show each poem, ask students for similarities among them. After allowing students
to comment on what they see common to each example, you can point out what makes
each a narrative poem. Only by reading, rereading and talking about narrative poetry
will your students be able to learn about it (Cooper 47). After reading many examples
and being armed with a list of criteria, students will be well prepared to write their own
narrative poem. This brings me to the touchstone texts. The following poems exemplify
the features of narrative poetry. I have provided copies of all the poems in Appendix A.
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“If I Had To Save The World…” by Dawn Shantel Binstock
“What The Doctor Said” by Raymond Carver
“Lydia” by Erica Brazee (after all, you should show your own work!)
“Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch
“I Can’t Forget You.” by Len Roberts
“The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes
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I selected these poems as the touchstone texts because they are about different
topics; some of the poems are serious while others are humorous. I begin by reading
two poems out loud to the students. “If I Had To Save The World” and “What The
Doctor Said” are both modern examples, yet they differ in tone. The first is humorous,
and the latter is sad.
In order to show reluctant writers that anyone can write a narrative poem, you
should be prepared to share your own poem. Allow students to view your writing as an
example, picking out the elements that make it narrative poetry. Next I read my own
poem, “Lydia,” about a cancer patient in a hospital facing death.
Then I read aloud two contemporary poems, “Fast Break” and “I Can’t Forget
You.” “Fast Break” is about the common play by the same name that occurs in
basketball. This poem will appeal to male students as well as athletes. The poem is
written in non-rhyming couplets, and is action packed, much like a basketball game.
This is a perfect example of a short poem in which a lot of action occurs. “I Can’t Forget
You.” is a short poem about graffiti written on a highway overpass. It is also about lost
love. There is one word in the poem that may give students trouble: hyperbole. Define
it for students before reading the poem to avoid any hang ups.
“The Highway Man” is a classic narrative poem that will not be too hard for
students to read. It is long, so I suggest saving it for the end. Allow students to mark on
their handout of Noyes’ poem where the rising and falling action are and where the
climax of the poem’s story is, to keep them engaged with the poem.
After reading each of the above poems, have students respond in their journals.
Focus first on their personal reactions and associations. Use the following prompts:
Did any poem remind you of a similar time in your life?
What poem did you like the most, and why? Was the story more exciting than
in others? Did you feel like you were with the speaker, watching the event?
Did you feel sad or excited for the speaker in any of the poems? Why?
Then ask students to begin forming a list of features of narrative poetry. The final
list should be descriptive, and does not need to be evaluative (48). The website
BabinLearn.com provides an example of a class list of the criteria for a narrative poem,
below.
Is there 1 or more character(s)?
Is there a clear voice from the speaker?
What is the setting? (Describe it!)
What is the Rising action, Conflict, Falling action?
Is there a Resolution? (Not always!)
Are there lots of vivid images?
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A true narrative poem will have a Yes answer to most, but not necessarily all, of the
above questions. Students will be familiar with these terms since they previously
learned these literary elements when they studied short stories: character, narrator,
setting, conflict and resolution. A narrative poem tells a story in a much shorter and
often more vivid and linguistically beautiful manner than a short story. Once your
students are armed with shining examples and a list of criteria, they will be well
prepared to write their own narrative poems.
Time to Write!
Since writing is best understood through practicing it, you will want to provide
many opportunities for students to create their own narrative poems, as well as for
revision of each poem (Coe, Freedman 138). A key to student participation is to allow
students to be successful. For that reason, the first poem assigned should be easy for all
students to complete, so as not to discourage any of them away from the genre
completely. Start with a short assignment, limiting the number of lines or words as a
guideline.
The first writing assignment should be done in class, after reading the examples
and formulating the list of criteria. A good class activity includes a prompt, so that no
time is wasted searching for ideas to write about. This assignment allows students to
draw upon their own life experiences. As the ages-old quote goes, “Write what you
know.” Advise students to choose experiences that can be captured in a snapshot. They
are writing a poem of twelve lines, not a two hundred page memoir. These snapshots
should be a moment in time, not the entire event (BabinLearn). I choose to provide
topics for students, especially since this is their first time writing in the narrative poem
genre (48).
Assignment
Write a narrative poem of at least 12 lines. Remember to include the elements of a
narrative poem that we have studied in class:
1 or more character(s)
A clear voice from the speaker
A setting (describe it!)
Rising action, Conflict, Falling action
Maybe even a Resolution
Vivid images!
You can choose to write about anything you wish. If you’re stuck for an idea, try
answering one of the prompts below in poem form.
Tell about a favorite birthday or Christmas present you received.
Write about a funny thing that happened on a family vacation.
Tell about a first day of school when you felt ______.
Write about a memorable experience you had with a deceased relative.
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Your poem does not have to be perfect after one writing. We will spend time in class
tomorrow doing Peer Review, and a final draft of this poem will be due later in the week.
Remember to use vivid images in your “story”!
Students can also use previous writings from their Writer’s Notebooks for
inspiration on a topic of their narrative poem.
Remind students that their poem is like a mini-story. There should be a rising
action, a climax, and a falling action. To help students know if they have a narrative
poem, have them keep in mind the class list of criteria of a narrative poem. Students
should be able to answer Yes to most of those questions. If not, then the student knows
his poem needs revision.
Students should be allowed, but not forced, to share their poems with the class.
Begin by sharing a first draft of your own poem. This will help students to realize that
no one’s first draft is perfect. Just as you showed your own poem as an example, now
you should show the first draft of that same poem. Let students compare your first and
final drafts. Put both poems side by side on an overhead projector. Point out three or
four major changes you made from your first to final drafts. Then explain that all
writers, including your students and yourself, should go through a revision process.
Encourage sharing of students’ first drafts and remind them that only revision and
rewriting will make the draft perfect.
Peer Review
Peer revision and editing are the best ways to improve one’s writing, since writing
is largely an apprenticeship process (Coe, Freeman 142). This point in the revision
process is a good time to work on imagery. Have peer editors mark where imagery
could be added. Does a student say red or crimson? Did the butterfly just fly through
the air, or did it swoop and zig-zag with the wind? A great tool to use for peer revision of
poetry is to offer a worksheet that allows the peer reader to comment on imagery and
note two things he liked and two things he did not understand or that could be improved
(Appendix B). Remind students that not all of the peer review’s suggestions need to be
adhered to; if a student purposely left out the color of a car in the poem, it is her creative
license to do so.
Now I will teach a mini lesson use of imagery in the students’ poems. I will begin
by explaining that imagery is not merely description; it is using language that can be felt
by one of our five senses. I will read aloud the poem “Fast Break” and ask students to fill
in a chart with the five senses with words or phrases that appeal to each sense. The
worksheet for this mini lesson is in Appendix C.
After the peer reviews, give students a day or two to make any suggestions or
corrections they care to before turning in their final draft. A student should never feel
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her writing is not at its best before turning it in. Through peer suggestions and self
revision, the students are given several times to modify their poems.
Author Day
If time allows, hold at least one Author Day, where any student that wishes to can
share his poem with the class. You may choose to require participation, or alternately
allow a student to have her poem read by another student. Be prepared to share your
own poem first. This is a rewarding experience for your student writers, and it allows
everyone to feel important by reading to an audience. Students will be surprised to find
connections between other students’ poems and their own lives.
Additionally, a class anthology of the poems is exciting for all students to be a
part of. You may even be able to get your librarian to keep a copy of the anthology on
the shelves, where other students in the school will have a chance to read your students’
work. Students always want to feel that their work is relevant; it is about much more
than a teacher reading it and assigning a grade. Alternately, you can seek out electronic
publication opportunities for your students. A good website is http://allpoetry.com,
where anyone can upload a poem, and readers are allowed to comment. Students will
be thrilled to have readers other than classmates and get feedback from other writers.
There are even contests offered on this site that you could encourage your students to
participate in.
Reflection
Once the writing process, from first draft to publication, has been completed, set
aside a day for self-reflection. Students will benefit from self-reflection as much as from
peer review. Give the following prompts for students to write on in their journals:
What part of the writing process did you enjoy the most?
Would you like to learn another style of writing in a genre study?
Which of your poems are you most proud of? Why?
Writing in a journal and self-evaluating by filling out a rubric (Appendix D) that
you provide are two ways for students to reflect. Both of these modes can be of
assistance when it comes to grading time.
These questions can also be used to look at a sample poem with the class,
checking for comprehension of these terms, in preparation for the narrative prompt on
the ELA test. Focus on the topic, narrator, logical action, climax and resolution. By
teaching students to read a poem closely and note these narrative elements, you are
preparing them to read the prompts well. Through the reading of sample poems and
identifying criteria of narrative poetry, students are preparing for – without knowing it!
– part III of the ELA Regents, when they will be asked to analyze two texts.
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Writer’s Portfolio
After writing, revising and reflecting on their poems, students will have enough
work to put a Writer’s Portfolio together. You can state which poems should be
included, or allow students to make that choice. You may even allow for additional
revisions to be made to students’ writing, and have them write a brief paragraph
justifying the changes made (50). By putting their best works together, students will see
the benefits of the writing process, and know that they have mastered the genre you
have taught them.
In conclusion, teaching a genre study is an effective way to introduce students to
a particular form of writing. By focusing on the genre, and not a topic, writing in the
style of the genre can be perfected and fully understood. Teaching a genre study focuses
on the students’ writing, as well as their ability to read and identify elements in poems.
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Appendix A
If I Had To Save The World
Dawn Shantel Binstock
The grey telepathic aliens came one night.
They knocked me on the head.
I woke up the next day feeling half dead.
I opened one eye and groaned.
A monkey dressed in a silver space suit sat beside my bed.
The grey aliens sat on the other side.
They told me go with the monkey to the future because only I could save the world.
I lay back down and pulled the covers over my head.
No way was I going anywhere with a monkey I said.
But with a laser gun or two the aliens delicately insisted.
I grabbed the monkey and scowled at the aliens and left for the future...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I opened my eyes and am relieved that it was all just a dream. But then I find a banana on the
pillow beside mine...I begin to wonder...
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What The Doctor Said
-Raymond Carver
He said it doesn't look good
he said it looks bad in fact real bad
he said I counted thirty-two of them on one lung before
I quit counting them
I said I'm glad I wouldn't want to know
about any more being there than that
he said are you a religious man do you kneel down
in forest groves and let yourself ask for help
when you come to a waterfall
mist blowing against your face and arms
do you stop and ask for understanding at those moments
I said not yet but I intend to start today
he said I'm real sorry he said
I wish I had some other kind of news to give you
I said Amen and he said something else
I didn't catch and not knowing what else to do
and not wanting him to have to repeat it
and me to have to fully digest it
I just looked at him
for a minute and he looked back it was then
I jumped up and shook hands with this man who'd just given me
something no one else on earth had ever given me
I may have even thanked him habit being so strong
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Lydia
Erica Brazee
On my first hospital visit, my roommate
was a seventy-eight year old woman. She
was old, but too young for our illness. We
swapped chocolate pudding for fruit cups:
I ate fruit, following my doctor’s advice.
She said, “If I’m going to die, I’m going to
die happy”. She ate the chocolate pudding
as if it were the last cup left. It wasn’t even
good chocolate pudding. There was a black
crust around the rim of the cup; it was at least
three days old and was the instant boxed kind.
Her husband visited her every day except for
Sundays, when he made the three-hour drive
to go home and attend church. During the week
he stayed at the small hotel for the families of
the sick, built by the hospital with the money
people gave for miracle surgeries, up the street.
When her medicine made her sleepy, he would
stay and leaf through pages of magazines like
Cabella’s and Lifetime or watch the television
with his head lopsided to his left. He never had
the volume on so when I spoke, my voice opened
his eyes and we talked every time Lydia napped.
Every other Saturday her daughters and sons
would come too. There was a granddaughter,
only six years old. She would stare at the tubes
and equipment surrounding her grandmother
and at me and mine. She understood that her
Gramma was sick- she called it “your cancer.”
“Is your cancer all gone yet?” and then came
Lydia’s answer with a smile, “Almost.” Seven
months after her diagnosis – seven months after
that bad news day – she passed away. Just three
days ago was a Saturday and I talked to Clarence.
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Fast Break
Edward Hirsch
A hook shot kisses the rim and
hangs there, helplessly, but doesn't drop,
and for once our gangly starting center
boxes out his man and times his jump
perfectly, gathering the orange leather
from the air like a cherished possession
and spinning around to throw a strike
to the outlet who is already shoveling
an underhand pass toward the other guard
scissoring past a flat-footed defender
who looks stunned and nailed to the floor
in the wrong direction, trying to catch sight
of a high, gliding dribble and a man
letting the play develop in front of him
in slow motion, almost exactly
like a coach's drawing on the blackboard,
both forwards racing down the court
the way that forwards should, fanning out
and filling the lanes in tandem, moving
together as brothers passing the ball
between them without a dribble, without
a single bounce hitting the hardwood
until the guard finally lunges out
and commits to the wrong man
while the power-forward explodes past them
in a fury, taking the ball into the air
by himself now and laying it gently
against the glass for a lay-up,
but losing his balance in the process,
inexplicably falling, hitting the floor
with a wild, headlong motion
for the game he loved like a country
and swiveling back to see an orange blur
floating perfectly though the net.
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I Can’t Forget You.
Len Roberts
spray-painted high on the overpass,
each letter a good foot long,
and I try to picture the writer
hanging from a rope
between midnight and dawn
the weight of his love swaying,
making a trembling
N and G, his mind at work
with the apostrophe—
the grammar of loss—
and his resistance to hyperbole,
no exclamation point
but a period at the end
that shows a heart not given
to exaggeration,
a heart that’s direct with a nofooling around approach,
and I wonder if he tested the rope
before tying it to the only tree I can see
that would bear his weight,
or if he didn’t care about the freefall of thirty or more feet
as he locked his wrist to form such
straight T’s,
and still managed, dangling, to flex
for the C and G,
knowing as he did, I’m sure,
the lover would ride this way each day
until she found a way around,
a winding back road with trees
and roadside
tiger lilies, maybe a stream, a
white house, white fence,
a dog in the yard
miles
from this black-letter, open-book
in-your-face missing
that the rain or Turnpike road
crew
will soon wash off.
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The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes
PART ONE
I
THE wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
IV
And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—
V
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
VI
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
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(Oh, sweet, black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonliglt, and galloped away to the West.
PART TWO
I
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching—
Marching—marching—
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
II
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
III
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now, keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say—
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
IV
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
V
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain .
VI
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
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Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still!
VII
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death.
VIII
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
IX
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
*
*
*
*
*
*
X
And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding—
Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
XI
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
18
Appendix B
Peer Review Worksheet
Author: ____________________
Title: ____________________
Peer Reviewer: ____________________
Things I Liked About the Poem…
(Remember, a good peer reader gives details – why you liked something!)
1.
2.
Things To Improve…
(Was a line unclear? Is punctuation missing?)
1.
2.
Where more vivid imagery could be added…
1.
2.
19
Appendix C
Mini Lesson: Imagery
During the read aloud of the poem “Fast Break,” write down any words or phrases that
can be felt by one of the five senses in the chart below.
See
Smell
Heat
Taste
Touch
20
Appendix D
Narrative Poem
Rubric
Novice
1 Point
Fair
2 Points
Good
3 Points
Beat Poet
4 Points
Slammer Poet
5 Points
Pro Poet
6 Points
Narrative Flow &
Elements:
Rising action,
conflict, falling
action, resolution,
narrator,
characters.
Poem does not
tell a story, or
lacks narrative
elements.
Poem tells a
story, and some
of the narrative
elements are
out of order
causing
confusion.
Poem tells a
story, has
most of the
narrative
elements in
linear order.
Poem tells a
story and has
all the
narrative
elements in
linear order.
Poem tells a
story and all
narrative
elements are in
linear order and
are well
developed.
Poem tells a
story and all
narrative
elements are
in linear order,
well developed
and improve
the poem’s
flow.
Literary
Elements:
Imagery
Uses no
literary
elements.
Attempts to use
one literary
element and its
use is incorrect;
does not add to
poem’s
meaning.
Uses one
literary
element that
adds to the
poem’s
meaning.
Uses one
literary
element more
than once but
not always
correctly.
Uses the literary
element more
than once, most
of which are
used correctly
and help to add
to poem’s
meaning.
Uses a literary
element more
than once,
correctly, and
they add to the
poem’s
meaning.
Grammar
Multiple
grammatical
mistakes
which cause
confusion in
reading the
poem.
Some
grammatical
errors, but does
not interfere with
reading of the
poem.
Few or no
grammatical
errors that
do not
interfere
with reading
of poem; no
use of
complex
words.
Grammatical
errors only
when
attempting to
use complex
language.
No grammatical
errors and uses
few complex
words.
No
grammatical
errors and
uses complex
language
throughout
poem.
21
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