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Poetry is
Directions: Read each of the following poems and complete the following.
1. Underline specific words/phrases/lines that you liked.
2. Explain how the poem matches the definition of poetry (see box above).
3. Choose one of the 5 poems to respond to the following questions:
a. Why did you like this poem? Be specific.
b. What emotion is revealed through this poem?
c. How was that emotion revealed?
Poem #1
The End Black Matta
Wherever I go
I know that there must be an end
For happiness
For sadness
For life!!
Everything has "on" and "off"
One day it'll be turned off
Just like us
We were born to die
We smile to cry
We imagine to fly
Every end can be good or bad
Happy or sad
That's what makes me mad
And tires my mind
Wherever I walk
Whenever I talk
I know that there must be a stop
for my way
for my say
for my loss!!
Response:
Poem #2
In The Country Paul Geiger
Why
Had
He come
Here? For peace?
Solace? He began
To realize there wasn't the
Perfect quiet around that he would have expected
Out in the country. Plenty of disturbances here and there, a shaking of the dry
Autumn leaves that wasn't wind, the racketsome unseen birds chastising him. You thought you'd
enter a fresh block of air. Instead, what did you get?
What are you doing here? where are you going? A sense of being watched by thingsthings you
Did not know about. Of being a disturbance. Life
Aroundcoming to some concluSion about you from
How does this poem match the definition of poetry?
Vantage points
You could
Not
See.
Response:
Poem #3
not my world but my universe Sebastian Aaron Baez
Response:
Poem #4
Response:
Poem #5
dumpster diving Alexandra Burns
I threw out all of you
smashed all the CD's
trashed every sweatshirt that smelled of you
ripped up diary pages of admiration
letters and pictures burnt
only ashes that can't say 'I love you' anymore
and then you wanted me back
but I'm not going dumpster diving
Response:
Name: ____________________________
Content Objective: Students will apply the structure of a Sonnet and a Haiku to their own writing.
Language Objective:
Students will read examples of Haikus and Sonnets.
Students will label the meter and rhyme scheme of Haikus and Sonnets.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Notes:
Fixed Form Poetry
Rhyme Scheme
Slant Rhyme
Meter
Sonnet
Quatrain
Couplet
Haiku
Sonnets
Class Sonnets
Task#1 ~15 min
1. Write the first quatrain
for a Sonnet.
2. Follow the ABAB rhyme
scheme
3. Ensure each line is
written in iambic
pentameter (5 beats; 10
syllables daDUM).
1. Write the second
quatrain for a Sonnet.
2. Follow the CDCD rhyme
scheme
3. Ensure each line is
written in iambic
pentameter (5 beats; 10
syllables daDUM).
1. Write the third quatrain
for a Sonnet about .
2. Follow the EFEF rhyme
scheme
3. Ensure each line is
written in iambic
pentameter (5 beats; 10
syllables daDUM).
1. Write a couplet for a
Sonnet about .
2. Follow the GG rhyme
scheme.
3. Ensure each line is
written in iambic
pentameter (5 beats; 10
syllables daDUM).
Sonnet A
Sonnet B
Alex Argueta
Ana Echeverria
Cecelia Delgado
Apiew Alwal
Pedro Dieguez
Arianna Blue
Rashaan Pomani
Marina Peralta
Win Htoo
Alexis Sherer
Orlando Ignacio
Alex Smith
Jose Jiminez
Cole Nyberg
Task#2 ~5 min
1. Cut and paste your groups Sonnet onto a piece of construction paper in the correct order.
2. Give your groups Sonnet a title
Tips
1. Use your Sonnet Plan sheet to brainstorm topic ideas and to fit them into the required four stanza structure
(three quatrains and a couplet.)
2. Once you have your plan, begin trying to write some lines that follow your plan. Try for 10 syllable lines, but at
this point dont worry if your lines arent perfectmeaning is more important!
3. Revise to get the required line length, meter, and rhyme scheme. You must be very strict about the 10 syllable
limit per line. Remember that the meter you are striving for is a rhythm that goes daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM
daDUM.
4. Try the rhyming website: http://www.rhymezone.com/ to help you make the rhymes work.
5. Special tricks.
a. Many words in English can have a varying number of syllables, depending what you need. You can use
the apostrophe to leave out a syllable if needed, such as three syllable every becomes evry.
Sometimes an apostrophe is not even needed. For example, chocolate is most often pronounced
chok-lit but may be used as chok-a-lit if needed in a line.
b. Articles (the, a, an) can very often be left out to save a syllable.
c. To save a syllable you can contract is or are onto many subjects. For example, theyre instead of
they are or Springs instead of Spring is.
d. You can poetically switch the usual order of the sentence to put the verb at the end. This often makes
the meter work better since the verb is almost always stressed. It can also help in finding rhyme. For
example: To school he comes instead of He comes to school. (Think Yoda)
Q2. _________________________________________________________________________
Q3. _________________________________________________________________________
Coup _______________________________________________________________________
30 points
Form
15 pts.
Ideas
10 pts.
Conventions
5 pts.
Exceeds
Expectations
5 pts.
The poet included 14
lines each with 10
syllables, followed
the appropriate
rhyme scheme, and
used the quatrain/
couplet pattern.
Meets Expectations
4 pts.
Needs
Improvement
3 pts.
The poet did not
include 14 lines, did
not attempt to use
10 syllables per line,
did not follow the
appropriate rhyme
scheme, and/or did
not use the quatrain/
couplet pattern.
The poet did not
reveal a consistent
idea throughout
his/her sonnet. The
sonnet does not
reveal emotion
through ideas or
strong word choice.
The sonnet has many
grammatical errors.
Rhyme Scheme
a.
b.
c.
d.
Slant Rhyme
Which of the following is an example of slant rhyme?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Cat / Bat
Sliver / River
Purple / Thermal
Phone / Throne
Meter
a.
b.
c.
d.
Sonnet
Circle ALL that apply to a Sonnet.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
14 lines
3 quatrains
2 couplets
10 syllables per line
Alternating rhyme scheme
Quatrain 1 and 3 must follow the same rhyme scheme
The couplet must rhyme with Quatrain 1
Written in iambic pentameter
Quatrain
Which of the following is a characteristic of a quatrain?
a.
b.
c.
d.
4 lines
Rhyme scheme
Consistent meter
All of the above
Couplet
Which of the following in a characteristic of a couplet?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Haiku
3 lines
Each line has the same rhyme
Begins a Sonnet
Meter is not required
As if deep in thought
Renga
Renga, meaning linked poem," began over seven hundred years ago in Japan to encourage the
collaborative composition of poems. Poets worked in pairs or small groups, taking turns composing the
alternating three-line and two-line stanzas. Linked together, renga were often hundreds of lines long,
though the favored length was a 36-line form called a kasen. Several centuries after its inception, the
opening stanza of renga gave rise to the much shorter haiku.
To create a renga, one poet writes the first stanza, which is three lines long with a total of seventeen
syllables. The next poet adds the second stanza, a couplet with seven syllables per line. The third stanza
repeats the structure of the first and the fourth repeats the second, alternating in this pattern until the
poems end. In a Kasen, the final two stanzas follow the same patter as the first.
Assignment:
With your assigned partner, you will write a Kasen. Within your partnership, you will need to determine
the topic or theme of your poem. Remember Japanese poetry has a focus on the natural world. Be
prepared to share your finished Kasen with the class.
Requirements:
1. 36 lines following the structure of a Kasen
Renga Examples
Ready to devour
all the food youve been waiting
to eat all this year.
30 points
Form
15 pts.
Ideas
10 pts.
Conventions
5 pts.
Exceeds
Expectations
5 pts.
The poet included 3
lines following the 57-5 syllable pattern
for each Haiku.
The poet revealed a
consistent idea
throughout his/her
Haikus. The Haikus
reveal connection to
the natural world
through both ideas
and strong word
choice.
The Haikus have no
grammatical errors.
Meets Expectations
4 pts.
The poet included 3
lines following the 57-5 syllable pattern
for 2 of the 3 Haikus.
The poet revealed a
somewhat consistent
idea throughout
his/her Haikus. The
Haikus reveal a
connection to the
natural world, but
lacks strong word
choice.
The Haiku have some
grammatical errors.
Needs
Improvement
3 pts.
The poet included 3
lines following the 57-5 syllable pattern
for 1 of the 3 Haikus.
The poet did not
reveal a consistent
idea throughout
his/her Haikus. The
Haikus do not reveal
a connection to the
natural world
through ideas or
strong word choice.
The Haiku have
many grammatical
errors.
Haiku Paintings
Traditionally, Haikus are accompanied by a traditional painting called Haiga.
Haiga Examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgyBbeEl8RI
Straw Painting How-To:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQP9Hyn7JKg
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
15 pts.
Name: _______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I Have to Write a Poem for Class
By Jack Prelutsky
I have to write a poem for class
But don't think I'll succeed,
I know I don't know all the words
That I am going to need.
I cannot quite imagine
How my poem's supposed to be
I've got a sinking feeling
I'm not good at poetry.
My poem must have a meter
And it also has to rhyme,
It's due tomorrow morning
How I wish I had more time!
I do not think that I can write
A poem the way I should
But lookthis is a poem right here,
And it is pretty good.
Disappointments
by Vivian Gilbert Zabel
Every life has a room
where memories are stored:
A box of special occasions here,
Shelves of shared laughter there.
But back in the shadows
Lurks a trunk locked tight,
Not to be opened and searched.
There hide disappointments
Which darken every heart.
I now delight
That march,
In spite
Stiff as starch,
Of the might
Foot to foot,
Boot to boot,
Of classic tradition,
Blade to blade,
In writing
Button to button,
And reciting
Straight ahead,
No! No!
My rhymes must go
Twinkling, frosty,
Will-o-the-wisp-like, misty;
Felicitous Spaces:
An interview with U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins
Billy Collins is a deeply humorous poeta description that only begins to suggest the wide talent of his
writing. His work is both penetrating and unflinching in its portrayals of an often less-than-holy world, as
well as delightfully unpredictable. A voracious reader, Collins creates a poetic world filled with historical
figures and vivid facts that bubble up from all parts of the globe. His work negotiates a smart, lucid path
between an outright love for the world and a healthy suspiciousness of it. Packed with powerful, original
images, his poems turn unexpected corners and surprise the reader with their lush language and
generous imagination.
Collins is the author of six books of poetry, including Picnic, Lightning (University Pittsburgh Press,
1998), The Art of Drowning (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995) and Questions about Angels, which
was selected for the prestigious National Poetry Series. A book of selected poems, Sailing Alone Around
the Room, will be published this autumn by Random House. His wry, intelligent poems can be found
populating the pages of most major literary magazines in the United States, such as Poetry, American
Poetry Review and Paris Review. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as many other awards, he teaches English at Lehman College,
City University of New York. In June 2001, Collins was named Poet Laureate of the United States.
Alexandra van de Kamp: In previous interviews, youve commented on how you see your poems as
modes of travel that take the reader to unexpected places. You also describe the writing process in your
poems as a voyage or odyssey of sorts. Can you explain this further?
Billy Collins: When I say that poetry is the oldest form of travel writing, of course, I mean imaginative
travel as well as geographical. Like Borges, who described himself as a hedonist reader, I admittedly
read for pleasure, and one of the great pleasures that poetry offers is to be moved from one place in the
mind to another, often from a place that exists in reality to one that exists in the imagination, especially
if that second place never existed before the poem was written. All poems do not aim for this vehicular
power, but I tend to judge them by that standard. Actually, I am not really judging when I read
someones poem. I am just waiting to go somewhere. Anywhere. Some poems fly into completely new
realms, others never leave the hangar. Travel also relieves the boredom of writing. When I am
composing, I am looking for a side road or an escape hatch so that I can leave the first part of the poem
behind, which is usually just bait, or scene-setting, and go somewhere new.
Alexandra van de Kamp: This sense of home, of relishing the everyday places we occupy, seems to play a
key role in the landscape of your poems. Can you comment on how retreat or place has figured in
your work?
Billy Collins: Like the three secrets to a successful business, the poem for me needs location, location,
location. This goes back to the idea of the poem as a means of travel. If the poem is to transport the
reader to some Elsewhere, it must start in a Somewhere, and for me that is Here, where I am writing,
usually at home. Poems that begin with a sense of place have somewhere else to go. By the way, I dont
mean sense of place in the regional sense that Southern writers keep applauding. The place can just as
easily be the place of compositionthis desk, this road I am walking. These poems are kind of
occasional poems in that they begin by establishing a setting, an occasion for the act of composing. This
begins, I think, with the Romantics, the poet usually located in an agreeable landscape setting. But
Coleridge can be indoors as in Frost at Midnight or in his garden as in This Lime-Tree Bower My
Prison, which opens Well, they are gone and here must I remain. The here in that line is fresh in
poetry at the time. Coleridge is a poet of the domicile. Someone once called me an indoor nature
poet, which is a charge I would have to cop to.
I think the sense of the place of writing is related to the connection between retreat and creativity. The
writing workshop suggests that writing can be socialized, but I would throw in with Gaston Bachelards
idea of felicitous space, private nooks where children hide and where their imaginations are formed.
Poets and other creative types have simply managed to emerge from those hiding places with their
imaginations intact, trailing clouds of imaginative gloryif that doesnt sound too lofty.
Alexandra van de Kamp: Your work also seems to have been influenced by jazzyouve written some of
the best contemporary poetry on it. Can you talk a little about your relationship to the music?
Billy Collins: A long time ago, when I was in my early teens, my parents used to send me to Canada for
part of the summer to stay with my uncle John, to work on his farm bringing in hay and such, and to
mow the lawn and the like at this hotel he owned on Lake Simcoe in Ontario. One day when I was
mowing the lawn, a motorboat pulled up to the dock with two couples in it. They tied up, set up a record
player, poured some drinks and laid around the deck, sunbathing and listening to what turned out to be
the Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert. That was the first time I heard jazz. Of course, I didnt know
it at the time, but this was 1954 and they were hipsters. One of the girls was beautiful, and I fell in love
with her (without ever speaking) and with jazz. I decided to devote my life to becoming someone like
her boyfriend. I have been listening ever since. Recently, I have been taking piano lessons, and now I can
play some standards and some blues. But I cannot seem to play if anyone else is in the room.
As for the references to jazz in my workjazz is just something that is part of the atmosphere I live in,
the part I can control. I write about jazz the way I write about the weather. It is part of the background
that I sometimes move to the foreground. People like to make comparisons between jazz improvisation
and the improvisational quality of some contemporary poetry. Thats worth talking aboutI try to write
poems in one sitting to get into the mood of spontaneitybut lets be real. The poet can go back and
erase, the trumpet player on the stand in a club cannot.
5. What locations are intriguing to you that you could include in your poetry?
7. What is something that is a part of your life that you can connect with your poetry?
Step 2: Think of keywords (descriptive words or phrases) that can be used to describe
and picture your topic at this stage.
Step 3: Start constructing your poem. A great thing about free verse poems is that
you do not need to worry about rhyming (like in sonnets), meter (like in a haiku) or
specific beginnings (like in narratives), there is no structure to it; but all the while it is
important that your poem has a natural flow to it. Example of beginning a poem: The
everlasting waterfalls.
Step 4: Remember that a free verse poem is constructed vertically in lines -- not as a
paragraph -- so make a new line after a phrase or two or three or more.
Topic: Object/Thing
Toothpaste
don't forget to
put the cap back on
the toothpaste tube
or it will dry up
and crack
and the chalky mess
will crumble away
when I go to
brush my teeth
I know you do it
out of malicious spite
because it makes me
crazy
it's always little things
those little stings
that burn me up inside
don't forget to
put the cap back on
the toothpaste tube
or it will dry up
and crack
just like my teeth
when I'm screaming and
my heart stops beating
Topic: Person
I stare into his eyes, and I see a whole world.
Blues mix with greens mix with greys mix with me.
Clear as day and deep as the ocean,
his eyes suck me in and I have no choice but to go.
I am floating in the waters of his eyes.
Everything he sees, I feel.
I am covered in those blues mixed with greens mixed with greys.
I feel calm in his eyes.
I feel safe in his eyes.
I feel loved in his eyes.
I never want to leave this abyss of bliss.
Like a hug wrapping tightly around me,
his eyes hold me close.
I am lost, I am found.
I enjoy being lost and feel pure joy at being found.
I stare into his eyes, and I see my future.
Love mixed with hope mixed with life mixed with me.
Moving me in waves,
tossing me gently.
I long for my world to be hidden in his eyes.
Where we can both escape and never be seen.
Together wed live, in the calm of his eyes.
In a world of blues mixed with greens mixed with greys.
Topic: Emotion/Thoughts
Lost in my mind, I am swarmed by my thoughts,
Incessant thoughts spinning around me like a tornado of worry and doubt.
Bumping me left and right, up and down.
I dream of a mind as peaceful as a meadow,
as clear as a river,
as calm as a lake.
A mind where my thoughts flow easily,
where my thoughts dont bombard me
but inspire me.
Instead, I am in the middle of the traffic of my mind,
thoughts like cars rushing by, or completely stopped.
Thoughts that cause me to curl up
and hide.
I grow exhausted from the constant train of judgement that has no purpose but to hurt me.
Thoughts that hurt me.
My own thoughts hurting me.
When will I be able to control my own mind?
When will peace fall upon my eyes?
I long for that clear river in my mind,
where worry washes away clean and hope springs forth.
I take a deep breath and try to fall into a deep slumber, like I am falling from the sky.
Falling away from my thoughts and into an abyss of freedom from myself.
But once again, I am lost in my mind.
Thoughts swarming around me,
thoughts forever consuming me.
30 points
Form
15 pts.
Ideas
10 pts.
Conventions
5 pts.
Exceeds
Expectations
5 pts.
The poet explored
the freedoms of free
verse poetry while
maintaining strong
cohesion among
his/her chosen
structure. The poet
provided a sense of
rhythm to the poem
through the
deliberate choice of
phrasing and words.
The poem has a
consistent idea or
theme throughout
his/her poem, used
strong and
purposeful word
choice, and conveyed
a clear emotional
connection to his/her
topic.
The poem has no
grammatical errors.
Meets Expectations
4 pts.
The poet used the
freedoms of free
verse poetry but lost
some cohesion within
his/her structure.
The poet attempted
to give a sense of
rhythm in the poem,
but it was often
broken due to weak
choice of phrasing
and words.
The poet has a
somewhat consistent
idea of theme
throughout his/her
poem, used
somewhat strong
and purposeful word
choice, and conveyed
a somewhat clear
emotional connection
to his/her topic.
The poem has some
grammatical errors.
Needs
Improvement
3 pts.
The poet used the
freedom in free verse
poetry too liberally
causing the poem to
have no structure.
The poet had no
sense of rhythm in
the poem due.
Brainstorming
_________________________
(Topic)
Structure Goals
#1.
#2.
#3.
30 points
Recording
15 pts.
Visuals
10 pts.
Exceeds Expectations
5 pts.
- Strong facial
expressions, effective
tone of voice, and clear
pronunciations to
perform his/her free
verse poem.
- Clearly understood and
spoke at a good pace.
- 5-10 slides
- Effectively used visuals
and color to compliment
his/her free verse poem.
- Included a title page.
Overall
Product
5 pts.
Meets Expectations
4 pts.
Somewhat strong facial
expressions, somewhat
effective tone of voice,
and somewhat clear
pronunciations to
perform his/her free
verse poem.
Somewhat clear and
spoke a bit too fast or
too slow.
4 or 11-12 slides
Somewhat effectively
used visuals and color to
compliment his/her free
verse poem.
Included a title page.
Needs Improvement
3 pts.
- Did not use strong facial
expressions, did not use
effective tone of voice,
and/or did not use clear
pronunciations to
perform his/her free
verse poem.
- Not clear and spoke too
fast or too slow.
- Less than 3 or 13+
slides
- Did not effectively used
visuals and color to
compliment his/her free
verse poem.
- Did not included a title
page.
Took very little time to
develop a poorly organized
project.
PowerPoint Example
3. +Create New
4.
If you mess up, you can re-record, but you have to start over.
6. Save
Name: _____________________
5. The sense of _______________ and the sense of _____________ are appealed to in the first line.
A. Sight and taste
B. Touch and sight
C. Touch and sound
D. Sound and smell
4. Meter is______________.
A. The rhythm established in a poem.
B. 10 syllables per line.
C. The pattern of rhyming words in a poem.
D. Iambic Pentameter
Directions: Label each poem with the correct poem classification: Sonnet, Haiku , Free Verse
1. __________________
Coming from the woods
A bully has lilac sprig
Dangling from a horn
2. ___________________
When I was christened
They held my up
And poured some water
Out of a cup.
The trouble was
It fell on me,
And I and water
Dont agree
A lot of christeners
Stood and listened:
I let them know
What I was christened.
3. ___________________________
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.