“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver 1. Read it three times 2. Write down all the words you don’t know, then look up and write the definitions gleaming – shiny, bright oblivion – the state of being entirely forgotten 3. Summarize each stanza – tell what is going on (paraphrase or give the short version – do not worry about interpreting / greater meaning) 1. a black snake on the road got hit by a truck and died 2. speaker stopped car and carried snake to bushes 3. description of snake – speaker leaves snake’s body 4. speaker drives away thinking about death 5. under reason burns a brighter fire that says, “Not me!” 6. the brighter fire sent the snake flowing forward 4. Write down words that seem important (underlined/bolded/italicized, repeated words, words that change the poem’s direction, or words that stand out) > death > brighter fire > light 5. Fill in the chart with ALL that you can find
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: Poem Type: Imagery: Symbol: Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Hyperbole: Other: Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: Imagery: Symbol: Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Hyperbole: Other: Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: Symbol: Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Hyperbole: Other: Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Hyperbole: Other: Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Hyperbole: Other: Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: “looped and useless as an old bicycle tire” “as cool and gleaming as a braided whip” “as beautiful as a dead brother” Metaphor: “It (a brighter fire) is the story of endless good fortune” “It (a brighter fire) is the light at the center of every cell Personification: “It (a brighter fire) says to oblivion, not me!” Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: “looped and useless as an old bicycle tire” “as cool and gleaming as a braided whip” “as beautiful as a dead brother” Metaphor: “It (a brighter fire) is the story of endless good fortune” “It (a brighter fire) is the light at the center of every cell Personification: “It (a brighter fire) says to oblivion, not me!” the snake’s body is empty and lifeless the snake’s body is beautiful and intricate The snake is connected/related to the speaker Something in living things thinks that good will always happen Something in living things keeps them going day to day Something in living things makes them think that they will live forever Alliteration: Assonance: Consonance: Inversion: Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: “looped and useless as an old bicycle tire” “as cool and gleaming as a braided whip” “as beautiful as a dead brother” Metaphor: “It (a brighter fire) is the story of endless good fortune” “It (a brighter fire) is the light at the center of every cell Personification: “It (a brighter fire) says to oblivion, not me!” the snake’s body is empty and lifeless the snake’s body is beautiful and intricate The snake is connected/related to the speaker Something in living things thinks that good will always happen Something in living things keeps them going day to day Something in living things makes them think that they will live forever Alliteration: “flowing forward” “lies looped” Assonance: “brighter fire” Consonance: Inversion: “death, that is how it happens” Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver Found everything you can? Read back through everything you wrote!
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver 1. Read it three times 2. Write down all the words you don’t know, then look up and write the definitions gleaming – shiny, bright oblivion – the state of being entirely forgotten 3. Summarize each stanza – tell what is going on (paraphrase or give the short version – do not worry about interpreting / greater meaning) 1. a black snake on the road got hit by a truck and died 2. speaker stopped car and carried snake to bushes 3. description of snake – speaker leaves snake’s body 4. speaker drives away thinking about death 5. under reason burns a brighter fire that says, “Not me!” 6. the brighter fire sent the snake flowing forward 4. Write down words that seem important (underlined/bolded/italicized, repeated words, words that change the poem’s direction, or words that stand out) > death > brighter fire > light 5. Fill in the chart with ALL that you can find
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: “looped and useless as an old bicycle tire” “as cool and gleaming as a braided whip” “as beautiful as a dead brother” Metaphor: “It (a brighter fire) is the story of endless good fortune” “It (a brighter fire) is the light at the center of every cell Personification: “It (a brighter fire) says to oblivion, not me!” the snake’s body is empty and lifeless the snake’s body is beautiful and intricate The snake is connected/related to the speaker Something in living things thinks that good will always happen Something in living things keeps them going day to day Something in living things makes them think that they will live forever Alliteration: “flowing forward” “lies looped” Assonance: “brighter fire” Consonance: Inversion: “death, that is how it happens” Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: Theme Statement:
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver Identify the theme (single word – primary subject) and write a theme statement (complete sentence containing the message of the poem).
“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver General Devices Figurative Lang. Interpretation of f.l. Sound Devices Stanzas: six – four lines each Speaker: thoughtful and caring, thinks a lot Poem Type: lyric – focusses on the thoughts and feelings of the speaker Imagery: “the black snake flashed onto the morning road” Symbol: snake – represents all living things Allusion: Syllable Pattern: Simile: “looped and useless as an old bicycle tire” “as cool and gleaming as a braided whip” “as beautiful as a dead brother” Metaphor: “It (a brighter fire) is the story of endless good fortune” “It (a brighter fire) is the light at the center of every cell Personification: “It (a brighter fire) says to oblivion, not me!” the snake’s body is empty and lifeless the snake’s body is beautiful and intricate The snake is connected/related to the speaker Something in living things thinks that good will always happen Something in living things keeps them going day to day Something in living things makes them think that they will live forever Alliteration: “flowing forward” “lies looped” Assonance: “brighter fire” Consonance: Inversion: “death, that is how it happens” Onomatopoeia: Repetition: Rhyme/Rhyme Scheme: Theme: death Theme Statement: Although intelligence allows living things to know they will die, something within forces them to believe that they will live forever.