The poetry analysis paper will be due January 27... for now. I want to make sure students have enough instruction and work time.
This type of Common Core analysis/writing is different from poetry study done at this level in the past. The level of analysis is more complex and comprehensive. Students are not simply asked to identify poetic elements. They must examine how those devices contribute to the message. Likewise, the response to a poem is not personal. It is skills based. Students must demonstrate their ability interpret the message based on the writer's choices.
Here is everything the students need to do for the poetry analysis unit:
Writing about a Poem
Analyzing a poem
1.
What is the writer doing in the poem?
It
is a verb: describing, comparing, observing, questioning, listing, painting,
etc.
2.
Discuss which poetic devices are present in the poem.
2b
& 3. Describe and support your interpretation of the message of the poem
WHILE explaining that the poet devices help convey this message.
Important!
While
it would be great to include how this poem affects you and describe what it
makes you think about, in this formal writing you must stick to the details
that are in the poem. Do not include personal anecdotes. For example, when I was discussing “Stopping
by Woods…,” I was saying how I feel like I am the man and most people around me
are the horse wondering why I am watching the snow. This personal observation should not be in
your writing.
Examples:
In
the spoken word poem “Daddy are you Proud of Me?” Nego True (1) leads the
listener through five types of fathers.
(2) Form, sound devices, and language in this poem work together to
communicate the (3)
powerful message that although we may have had different experiences with our
fathers, we all have something in common: We want to know that our fathers are
proud of us.
In
the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost (1) uses a
narrative speaker who describes his time observing snow falling in a
woods. Robert Frost uses (2) Form, sound devices,
and language to (3) communicate the message that, although we
should stop to observe the beauty around us, we cannot, unfortunately, stay in
the moment very long.
Poetic Devices
Form
___ Lines (length, number)
___ Stanzas (how many, patterns)
___ Traditional or unconventional
___ Speaker (Distinct? What is he doing?)
Sound devices
See packet: “Like different colors of
paint…” Very important
Poets choose words not only for their
meaning, but also for their sounds.
___ Rhythm (meter and why yes or no)
___ Rhyme (patterns, effect of rhyme, no
rhyme)
___ Repetition (patterns, effect)
___ Alliteration (would it sound better
without?)
___ Assonance
Imagery (not all are
needed)
___ See, Hear, Feel, Smell, Taste (what
effect?)
Figurative Language
___ Simile (why these specific
comparisons?)
___ Metaphor (Extended metaphor? Why these
comparisons?)
___ Personification (Why give human
qualities to inanimate object/non-human?)
Things to keep in mind from
the notes:
Like different
colors of paint or the notes on a musical scale, language can
be arranged to
create a desired effect. For example, short, choppy lines can produce a
fast-paced pounding beat, while long, rhythmic lines can create a soothing
melody. Poets manipulate the words and lines in their writing, fully conscious
of how their work will sound when read aloud and how it will make readers feel.
Poets choose words
not only for their meaning, but also for their sounds. The sound of a word or
line can help emphasize meaning or create a musical quality.
One way poets
create imagery is by using figurative language, or imaginative descriptions
that are not literally true.
Notice how these
examples of figurative language help you picture ordinary things in new ways.
How can I earn an A on this
piece?
The B paper will...
Discuss the three aspects of the poetry analysis
___ what the poet does in the poem
___ which devices are present
___ how those devices help communicate
___ explain the message of the poem
___ no personal anecdotes used to explain message
___ No grammar errors
The A paper will do it with more complete explanations
and will stay focused.
The C paper will include the requirements, but will
show me that the student has only a basic understanding of the process of
analyzing a poem.
If the paper is handed in on-time and uses proper
grammar, no student should get below a 70%.
Because students have never done something like this
before, this written grade will be a 200-point summative grade, which
means it will count the same as a literature test.
Write your own poem (100 points summative)
____ Must be long enough to
meet reading time requirement (at least 30 seconds, but I would like over 1
minute.)
____ Typed or written on
paper
____ Illustrated nicely
____ Poem will be read and
recorded in front of the class
Poetic devices checklist on your poem (50 points
summative)
Use
the checklist on the other side.
Go
through each one examining your own poem.
Explain
briefly whether you included the device and why you did or did not use
it.
(Seriously,
I just want to see your reasons for your choices. Don’t go crazy on this!)
