POEMS AND SONGS – MAN’S EXPRESSION

OF THOUGHTS AND SENTIMENTS

LESSON 1
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
 Why do we have poems in Literature?
 Why do poets write/ compose poems?
 How do poets and songwriters influence our
lives and our ways of thinking and doing
things?
HOW TO READ A POEM
 Focus on the form of a poem:
 Features such as repetition and rhyme
 Develop a good ear for the musical qualities of
language (how sound and rhythm are related)
 May suggest feelings, experience, and ideas which may
not be expressed directly
 Techniques of words and line arrangements
READING A POEM ALOUD

title
look at the poem’s shape (lines, stanzas)
read the poem aloud for several times
listen to your voice and the sounds of the
words
READING A POEM ALOUD

special effects? word rhyme?

same cluster of sounds
distinct rhythm
THE RAINY DAY
POEM 1
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
 One of the eighteenth century American poets
whose works are widely read in the world
 He was born in 1807
 He became so popular because people loved
the musical quality of his poems.
 He was a national literary figure and a world
famous personality at the time of his death in 1882.
 THE RAINY DAY
The day is cold, and dark and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
 THE RAINY DAY
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.
 THE RAINY DAY
Be still, sad heart! And cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
A TIME TO TALK
POEM 2
ROBERT FROST
 Started poetry when he was 15 and continued
until he died at the age of 88
 Enjoyed wordplay and challenges in creating
a complex idea in the form of a poem through
crafty use of language.
 He is a poetry lover and a great talker and
conversationalist
ROBERT FROST

 He regarded poems as the highest art of language

because of its compression or compactness of
structure
 The Road Not Taken was voted America’s favorite
poem
 A TIME TO TALK
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
 A TIME TO TALK
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I trust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
GROUP ACTIVITY NO. 1
 GROUP 1

How is the song “Trough the Rain”

related to the poem The Rainy Day?
 GROUP 2

How is the song “Count on Me” related

to the poem A Time to Talk?
 GROUP 3

Use the Venn Diagram to compare and

contrast the two poems.
 GROUP 4

Choose a song and change its lyrics to

the first poem and present it to the
class.
 GROUP 5

Role-play the second poem

PRESENTATION OF GROUP ACTIVITY
DISCUSSION
INDIVIDUAL WORK
 On a one whole sheet of pad paper, complete the
table.
FOCUS “The Rainy Day” “A Time to Talk” Comparison
and Contrast
Theme or Main Message

Mood of the Poem

Sounds that contribute
to the Mood

The character of the

speaker in the poem
Figures of speech
Purpose of the poet
VALUES INTEGRATION
LET’S REFLECT
What challenge/s in your life do you
consider as a rain right now?
Why is it important to have time for
your friend/s?