Agenda
• Terms of poetry: learn them
• Be here every day: each day we learn
two new poems for the oral
• Tomorrow: answer the questions on the
Elements to explore in poetry for Ely’s
Bullet
IOC
• Interactive oral commentary at the church
• You will choose a poem randomly
• You will have 20 minutes to prepare your
commentary in a quiet room
• You will be escorted to my room and sit
across the table from me and talk for 8
minutes about the poem.
• Commentary needs to be formal, organized
and reveal how well you are able to identify
poetic features and how they support the
poet’s purpose.
• I will give you a minute warning to wrap
it up.
• I will ask some follow up questions and
we have a short 2 minute discussion on
the poem
• Then we transition to a ten minute
discussion on either Lear or SL. (Again I
go down a list of questions and where
you are when you walk in is what I ask.
Carol Ann Duffy
• Born on December 23 1955, in
Glasgow, Scotland's largest city.
• Attended Liverpool University
The first female, Scottish Poet
Laureate in the role's 400 year history,
• Accepted position in 2009
• “the queen of modern British poetry"
• "The beginning of a poem is always a
moment of tiny revelation, a new way of
seeing something, which almost
simultaneously attracts language to it and then the impulse is to catch that
with a pen and paper.” Carol Duffy
Groups
•
•
•
•
•
•
Group 1: Dramatic situation
Group 2: structure
Group 3: language
Group 4: Musical Devices
Conclusion?
First look at poem by yourself then as a
group.
homework
• Half the class annotate and prepare 3
minute oral commentary on Stealing
• Other half annotate and prepare for
Education of Leisure
• Create a thesis
• And identify 3 relevant features and how
they support poets intent.
agenda
• Finish We remember your childhood
• Write a thesis statement
• Author + verb + feature +verb+ lit. effect
and why. See examples on handout
• Eley’s bullet
We remember your childhood
well
• Think about the title.
• The poem is a dramatic monologue:
• The speaker sounds very much on the
defensive: clearly the grown-up child
has complained about something or
asked an awkward question. The parent
insists that the child was brought up
well and was loved
Conflict?
There is a lot of tension
between the speaker and
listener. We get the
impression that the listener is
not given much chance to
speak - or, if they do, that it
is ignored
• As readers, we cannot be sure whose
memory is more accurate - the parents'
or the child's.
• Is the child exaggerating about the
horrors that appear to have taken
place? Or are the parents guiltily trying
to convince themselves that they didn't
happen?
Structure
• The poem consists of six stanzas
of three lines, each of roughly the
same length.
Each stanza begins with a
statement that denies what
the child believes to have
happened - 'Nobody hurt you'
Language
• There are many frightening ideas in the
poem that are suggested but not
developed:
• "The bad man on the moors" (line 2),
• a door being locked (line 3),
• the child being "sent ... away" (line
13).
• definite sense of fear on the part of the
child.
• "skidmarks of sin" (line 16) are and
what is meant by “laid you wide open
for Hell" (line 17).
violent verbs • 'hurt, argued, forced, begged' which add to the sense of danger.
• Onomatopoeia is used to describe
the voices, "Boom. Boom. Boom.
We associate a booming sound
with explosions and bombs,
• It is ironic that the parent uses the
metaphor "called the tune" (line
10) to indicate the control they
had over the child, when the
'music' produced was so violent.
theme
• "the secret police of your
childhood”
• Poem about memory, childhood,
truth lies.
• A parent trying to soft peddle a
difficult childhood?
Eley’s Bullet
• Read paragraph to partner
• Class deconstruction
Agenda
• Voc quiz on Lear
• Review some terms
• Review your notes and commentary
prep
• Debrief
Thesis statement
Make sure you are specific. What kind of
tone, diction, imagery is used?
• Mocking tone, ironic tone?
• Informal diction, poetic diction?
• Duffy uses foreshadowing and images
of decay to create a suspenseful
mood that signifies impending death
terms
• Colloquialism: in a conversational manner that may
include slang:
– Better of dead; Anyone’s guess
• Connotations: emotional association a reader has for
a certain word:
– God ….but in Education it has a – connotation not
as creator but destroyer.
• Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at
beginning of sentences; ripped out in rags
• Assonance: repetition of same vowel sound
– Mute moon
• Consonance: identical consonant sound preceded by
different vowel:
• Home, same, breath, worth
Practice commentary
•
•
•
•
Education for Leisure
Stealing
Partner off. 3 minutes
Debrief.
For Friday
• Group who did Education will discuss it
in seminar
• Everyone Read and annotate Standing
Female Nude
• Answer two questions on hand out for
Socratic Seminar (10 pts)
Homework for Monday
• Read War Photographer From
collection Standing Female Nude 1985
• And write a commentary that includes
thesis and discussion of at least 3 main
literary features and how they support
theme. (10 pts)
Agenda
• Seminar on Education for Leisure
• Socratic Seminar:
• Next Tuesday: I will be in my room to
help you prepare and practice
explicating a poem and delivering orals.
Picasso
Standing
Female Nude
The Grand Nude; 1908
• What are the effects of the variety of
responses in this poem?
• What statement do you believe the
poem makes on the poem in
general?
• Who has more power in this poem?
• How is the model objectified?
What is Duffy saying about
“ART” other themes?
• Gender and class struggles
• Objectification
• Exploitation of women/artists and
commercialization of art
Tone?
• Cynical tone of a prostitute who poses
for money.
• “The bourgeoisie will coo…
– Inequality of the classes
– She stands for 6 hours for a few francs
– Poem ends on the mention of francs also.
Francis Bacon painting breaks
new record
• http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/
article/ALeqM5jSXpbtcGhnglJ1FeFgDiw
4mRNGYA?hl=en&docId=0ea14c2ecd81-40bb-9e01cb8616c948ba&index=0
tomorrow
•
•
•
•
9:50-10:55 Prep for IB orals
Review poetic terms
We will annotate poems
Prepare an oral and practice
Think about Power, Gender
and class struggles, the male
gaze
• Line breaks emphasize ideas, contrasts
and juxtapositions.
• Why in the last stanza do we have two
one word lines? What do they represent
or support?
• Finished… enjambment: line continues
just as the work seems to never end.
Finished
• Also emphasizes the completion, finally
after standing nude for six hours.
• Stands on its own lines…just as the
picture will also stand on its own,
Me
• Reassertion of the model’s
individualism.
• “Finished me.” Two lines stick out and
form their own thought
• Speaks also to the artist’s
transformation of model into an
unrecognizable version of herself.
Some thoughts on structure
• Duffy likes regular lined stanzas
• “I found that [Stealing] fell naturally (as
most of my poems do) into regular-lined
verses- in this case, 5 5-lined verses.
The verses are unrhymed and irregular
in meter. These free verses work for me
like small canvasses to hold the words
of the poem. They help to control the
rhythm of the poem… ”
War Photographer
• From Duffy’s first collection: Standing
Female Nude 1985
War Photographer
Vietnam War
Vietnam
Iraq, 2005
Iran, 1979
Make notes on the structure of
the first verse
In his darkroom he is finally alone
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows,
as though this were a church and he
a priest preparing to atone a Mass.
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.
Is this continued throughout?
Why?
Structure
• 4 stanzas
• 6 lines per stanza
• Regular rhyme scheme – ABBCDD,
etc.
WHY?
• Imposes order in the chaos of war
• Like the photographer – order with
the photos, making sense of the chaos
Imagery
• Four groups…analyze images in
assigned stanza and decide how they
support topic and theme of poem
– First by self
– Discuss with group
– class
• Go through poem and highlight or
underline all the images.
• In his darkroom he is finally alone
• with spools of suffering set out in
ordered rows.
• The only light is red and softly glows,
• as though this were a church and he
• a priest preparing to atone a Mass.
• Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh
is grass.
Contrast to what?
alliteration –
what is the
effect?
What are the
connotations
of the
colours?
In his darkroom he is finally alone
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows,
as though this were a church and he
a priest preparing to atone a Mass.
1. regularity/order
– reflects
structure
2. Suggestion of
graves/bodies
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.
Litany of horror;
what is the effect
of the caesura?
Simile –
reverence and
devotion to the
pictures
Isaiah 40:6 –
shortness of life
Ambiguity –
chemicals/solution
s to war
Implies
carelessness
He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays
Why did
they not
beneath his hands which did not tremble then
tremble
then?
though seem to now. Rural England. Home again Why
to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, now?
to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet
of running children in nightmare heat.
True meaning to
the poem contrast
Contrast: barefoot
children running in
grass for fun/those
running from war – end
of innocence and,
possibly, life.
Suggests
idyllic life
Cannot compare to
pain of war
Ambiguous:
Literal –
developing the
photo. Figurative
– person in pain
Something is happening. A stranger’s features
faintly start to twist before his eyes,
a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries
of this man’s wife, how he sought approval
Without words to do what someone must
and how the blood stained into foreign dust.
Metaphor – 1. image
on photo, 2. death
Photographer’s
dilemma – has a job to
do.
Discussion Points
• How do you think this photographer feels about
their job? Pride or guilt?
• How do you think Duffy feels towards the
newspaper editors?
• What does Duffy seem to be suggesting about the
way the readers react to seeing these images?
• What is Duffy trying to point out about life in
Britain compared to Beirut etc?
• Themes?
Homework
• Read “Little Red Cap” and answer the questions on
the poetry worksheet. Think about how Duffy
uses certain literary devices; for what effect?
• For example, in “War Photographer,” Duffy
uses rhyme scheme to impose order on a
chaotic world. The alliteration of Belfast.
Beruit. Phnom Penh is a harsh sound,
suggestive of bombs or bullets. Also, the
caesura created between each city creates a
pause, similar to a sacred recitation or prayer
for the dead.
1. Photo
2. Good/evil
3. Truth/lies
Trivialises;
we are only
moved
momentarily
Contrast
to war
from which his editor will pick out five or six zone
A hundred agonies in black-and-white
for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick
with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.
From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where
He earns his living and they do not care.
Chooses photos
to suit the
article; don’t
convey the full
horror of war
Who
are
they?
Suggests they
are used for
entertainment
En route to
another
assignment; poem
is cyclical;
unceasing wars
Group Thesis
How does author +verb+ lit. feature+
verb+lit. effect + why.
War Photographer
•Duffy uses structure and the contrasting
imagery of war and rural England to
reveal the cyclical nature of conflict
and the impassivity that some feel
toward others’ suffering.
Thesis example
• Duffy uses structure and the
contrasting imagery of war and rural
England to reveal the cyclical nature
of conflict and the impassivity that
some feel toward others’ suffering.
Shooting Stars Class
Performance
• Six groups (count off)
• Each group will present one stanza.
Use choral voices, poses, actions to
bring meaning to poem.
• We will perform with no break
More Poetry terms
A caesura is a strong pause within a line,
and is often found alongside enjambment.
Enjambment: the running over from one
line to another
Agenda
• Finish discussion on “Shooting Stars”
• Turn to hand out on The World’s Wife
• Discuss Literary Devices on Little RedCap
• Model of oral (me)
Shooting Stars
• Group 1: Reflect on title: make web of denotations and
connotations.
• Group 2: what is the dramatic situation and how is it
demonstrated through structure ( form, movement, endstopped lines: enjambment)?
• Group 3: What is the significance of the images and how do
they contribute to theme[s]?
• Group 4: what is the significance of the persona’s
characterization to poem’s theme[s]?
• Group 5: What type of diction is used, what tone is created,
and how does it support theme or action of poem?
• Group 6: Discuss use of punctuation and how it supports
theme or poet’s intent.
Shooting Stars
• Use of emotional diction and biblical
diction to show the cruelty of the Nazis
and the speaker’s plea to remember
these atrocities and for humankind to
show mercy.
• uxtaposition of violent Imagery with the
mundane to show the indifference to
human suffering.
“The world/turns in its sleep”
Punctuation
• Lack of commas between names to
show loss of individuality.
• Elipses…. The names go on and on….
• Rhetorical questions: How would you
prepare to die? Do you not consider
me?
• 4th stanza: no commas…horror runs into
the mundane
Persona
• A strong woman describing how the
women were brave as statues.
Juxtaposed with men weeping behind
wire….Perhaps to emphasize the horror
and strength needed to face such
horror?
Terms
• Satire: A type of literature in which folly,
evil or topical issues are held up to
scorn through ridicule, irony or
exaggeration.
• Euphemism: an inoffensive word or
phrase substituted for one considered
offensive or harmful.
Group 1
Mrs. Sisyphus
1 Dooon
2 Tressie
3 Marc
4 Stuart
Group 2
Pygmalion’s
Bride
1 Sam Shaheen
2 Diego
3 Paige
4 Jonah
5 Martina
Group 3
Eurydice
1 Max
2 Lucy
3 Sawyer
4 Nora
5 Richie
Group 5
Queen Kong
1 Anna
2 Megan
3 Malcolm
4 Zane
5 Nate
Group 4
Mrs. Midas
1 Cedric
2 Victoria
3 Andrea
4 Nina
5 Sam O.
Group 6
Penelope
1 Rachel
2 Fiona
3 Paul
4 Liam
Group 7
Medusa
Sam Sinkler
Maggie
Gary
Stellan
• Assign Groups and poems
• Finish “Little Red-Cap”
– What Literary Devices does Duffy use to show
how the speaker moves to self-reliance.?
• Meet in Groups
• Homework: Read your poem, annotate it, know it,
be ready to jump into group work on Monday.
• We Begin presentations on Tuesday: “Sisyphus” (10
minute work time before presentation)
• All students will continue writing half page
commentary on Duffy’s poems- due the day poem is
presented in class.
Allusion: using an old literary character little girl, pawn,
victim. Here more realistic. What could happen. She can
take care of herself . Making fun…turning story on its head.
Reflection on marriage …loss of innocence. Broken away
from marriage. She saves herself. Bones… past oppression
of grandmother who was eaten, could not escape.
Short internal rhyme, similariteis to older fok story.
Rhyme…creepy images…foreshadowing
Structure: short pwerul phrases… she becomes the the
power.
Repetition of axe: to emphasize the oppression and her
breaking from it.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Group 1
Queen Kong
Alision
Yesenia
Julian
Maria
Klaas
Group 2
Sisyphus
Harrison
Edwin
Miriam
Min
Group 3
Eurydice
Caroline
Sam G.
Leah
Mitchel
•
•
•
•
•
•
Group 4
Mrs. Midas
Philip
Angie
Rowan
Julia D
•
•
•
•
•
•
Group 5
Pygmalion’s Bride
Steph
Firdaws
Linnea
Emma
Group 6
Medusa
Anna
Averi
Evan
Eva
Group 7: Penelope
Naja
Julia P
Olivia
Ellie
Allusion: a reference to another literary work, famous
person, myth, poem
Re-rendering of Fairy Tales
• Little Red-Cap takes on a feminist twist
to the original tale in which a young girl
falls victim to a predator.
• Here, Little Red-Cap initiates the
relationship with a “wolf” or older man
for the sexual experience, but also to be
introduced to the world of poetry.
• The poem serves as an metaphor for
female writers in a male world.
Opening comments for Oral
• General comments of poem: Title, poet, context
(collection)
• Structure: Duffy uses regular 6 line stanzas
– Purpose?
• What is it about? Literal meaning
– Identify dramatic situation
• Deeper meaning? Say one or two sentences
here.
• thesis
Write thesis for poem
• How does author +verb+ lit. feature+
verb+lit. effect + why.
• Example:
• Carol Ann Duffy uses a sarcastic tone
and humorous allusions to Aesop’s
Fables to show the wife’s discontent in
her marrige and to depict her husband
as an unoriginal bore.
Evidence for Thesis
• Meat and potatoes, Tofu and vegetables of
Oral
• 5-8 items Author uses______to (show,
illustrate, portray)
– State line number say the line and explain how
it connects to thesis, or poem’s theme. ( “In
line 6, stanza 2 Duffy alludes to King Lear: say
line”.)
– Explain the literary effect (“Duffy uses allusion
in stanza two in order to show the alienation of
this young man from his education.”)
– Move to next example
Two approaches
• Stanza by Stanza
• Or by literary features.
• Choose one to practice with for today. It
depends on poem as well.
• Make sure you are relating back to
thesis, literary effect and poet’s intent.