Poetry Introduction

One minute sustained talk: What attitudes about poetry are you bringing to our study? What are your pre-conceptions and possible misconceptions of poetry? Prior knowledge? Do you enjoy reading and/or studying poetry? Why? What makes poetry good?

“Introduction to Poetry” vs. “Ars Poetica” Which do you prefer? Why? Which is a better description of how to approach poetry? Why? How are the two poems similar/different? What is the THEME of each poem?

Metacognition What is it? What are you thinking about as you read a poem? What is going on in your head? How can annotating help understand poetry?

“On Reading Poems To A Senior Class At South High” (pg. 5) What stands out in this poem? Poetic devices? Structure? What is significant in discussing the meaning of this poem? How does it compare to the other poems about poetry?

Chapter Two Reading (page 679, you don’t need to read the poems – except homework, just the text) What are key strategies for approaching/understanding poetry? To aid in understanding a poem, what questions should we ask? Read “Hawk Roosting” and paraphrase it, use TP-CASTT as well

“Hawk Roosting” With a neighbor, share your paraphrases Note differences or omissions How is paraphrasing helpful to understanding poetry? Do you agree that it is “no more equivalent to the poem than a corpse is to a person”?

Homework: Read, paraphrase and annotate more poems about poetry “Constantly Risking Absurdity” pg. 9 “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” pg. 7 “Singapore” pg. 2 Remember vocabulary quizzes may be at any time during our poetry unit Choose ONE of the three and make a case for why it is the best description of what poetry is or what poetry should be/accomplish

Read, Annotate and for ONE, try TPCASTT “Africa” pg. 4 “The Golden Years” pg. 3 “My Papa’s Waltz” pg. 7 Pay attention to denotation and connotation

Writing starters: “The Golden Years” – write a few sentences about the speaker, the tone and the title and how they contribute to the overall meaning of the poem.

Writing starters: “Africa” – write a few sentences about the imagery and diction and how they connect to the theme of the poem.

Writing starters: “My Papa’s Waltz” – write a few sentences on the importance of rhyme and rhythm, connotation and sensory imagery in this poem.

SHIFT Rarely does a poem begin and end its experience in the same place SHIFTS will occur – a change in Emotion Chronology Plot Setting Voice Mood Look for CLUES such as stanza breaks, punctuation, changes in line or stanza length, rhyme change, etc.

SHIFT Finding the shift in a poem can help you understand its meaning and break it into chunks to analyze. Use your TPCASTT handout for guidance It’s a good strategy when writing about poetry. For the homework poems, be sure to note the shift in each.

The Planned Child, The Victims, Ethics Answer and be prepared to share with the class: What is the subject/dramatic situation of the poem? Simply, what is happening? Who is the speaker? What do we know about him/her? How does knowing about the speaker help understand the message of the poem? Where is the shift(s)? How did you know? What kind of shift was it? How did it affect your understanding of the poem? What is the theme? What poetry terms would you write about?

“A Study of Reading Habits”, “The Whipping”, “Those Winter Sundays” Who is the speaker? What do we know about him/her? How does knowing about the speaker help understand the message of the poem? Where is the shift(s)? How did you know? What kind of shift was it? How did it affect your understanding of the poem? What is the theme? What poetry terms would you write about?

“When in Rome” (page 1) and “One Art” (page 15) Homework: read and annotate Focus on structure, voice, speaker for “When in Rome” Focus on repetition, tone for “One Art” These are only hints and starting points . . . Be prepared to discuss and think about how you might write about these poems

“What the Living Do” Who is the speaker? What do we know about her? Who is “you” Why is the speaker “speechless” Why is the poem arranged in couplets? What is the importance of the image of the woman in the last stanza? What is the significance of the title? Choose important diction – why and what does it add to the MOTWAW?