Backwards Poetry

We can tell a lot about a poem based on the author’s word choice We can tell a lot about a poem based on the author’s word choice. Often times, word choice will help us determine tone. Tone: the author’s attitude toward the subject

Task 1: Circle the FIVE words from the list that you think are the most important to understanding the meaning of the poem. Explain why you chose these five and what they tell you about the poem below.

Task 2: Next, make a few predictions based on what else you might know about the topic (setting, people, action) and explain how you know those things in the chart below. Provide evidence from the word list to support your thoughts. Because I see the words… I infer:

Personification: giving human like qualities to objects that are non-human.

When reading poetry, the first thing people usually think of is “rhyme,” but that is not the only way to play with sound. In addition to creating a pleasing sound, authors use alliteration to call attention to details or images in a piece of writing. Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds When analyzing alliteration, think about the following… Words: what words alliterate (begin with the same sound?) Emphasis: what is the author calling attention to with the alliteration?

1. What does the alliteration in the line, “On a pile of broken dishes by the house” emphasize? Words: broken, by This emphasizes the fact that the dishes are broken, and they are outside, by the house. Dishes are a necessity, used daily, packed carefully when moving, etc. The fact that the dishes are broken, as well as their unusual location (outside, on the ground), is unexpected, and makes the reader wonder, “What happened?”

Words: good, God-fearing 1. What does the alliteration in the line, “In an upstairs room, and a good, God fearing man” emphasize? Words: good, God-fearing Emphasis: both of these words describe the farmer’s character – the author is emphasizing that he was a good, religious person.

1. In the first stanza, line 5, the poet describes “the Bible with a broken back”. The poet most likely chose this description to help the reader: understand that the man who lived in the farmhouse worked endlessly and looked for comfort and answers to his troubles in the Bible understand that the man who lived in the farmhouse was careless with his possessions understand that the man who lived in the farmhouse spent all his time reading the Bible when he should have been farming understand that the man in the farmhouse disliked religion and therefore threw the Bible onto the floor

2. Which line from the poem supports the claim that the people who once inhabited the farmhouse were impoverished? “ Its toys are strew in the yard like branches after a storm” “on the floor below the window, dusty with sun” C. “money was scarce, says the jars of plum preserves” D. “It was lonely here, says the narrow country road”