What makes a poem great?

Respond to the following poems As you are introduced to a selected group of poems consider:  How the poem makes you feel?  Whether you like it.  Whether or not you understand it.  What, if anything, it means to you? Then:  On a scale of 1-5 evaluate the poem: 1. Awful 2. Not Bad 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent.

1. Awful 2. Not Bad 3. Good. 4. Very Good 5. Excellent Because I could not stop for Death He kindly stopped for me The Carriage held but just Ourselves And Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For his civility. We passed the School, where Children strove At recess in the ring We passed the fields of gazing grain We passed the setting sun. Or rather, he passed us The dews drew quivering and chill For only Gossamer, my gown My tippet only tulle. We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the GROUND The roof was scarcely visible The cornice in the ground. Since then 'tis centuries and yet Feels shorter than the DAY I first surmised the horses' heads Were toward eternity.

1. Awful 2. Not Bad 3. Good. 4. Very Good 5. Excellent. Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow, Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado. But he grew old-- This knight so bold-- And o'er his heart a shadow Fell as he found No spot of ground That looked like Eldorado. And, as his strength Failed him at length, He met a pilgrim shadow- "Shadow," said he, "Where can it be-- This land of Eldorado?" "Over the Mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied-- "If you seek for Eldorado!"

1. Awful 2. Not Bad 3. Good. 4. Very Good 5. Excellent. Cold, wet leaves Floating on moss-coloured water, And the croaking of frogs – Cracked bell-notes in the twilight.

1.Awful 2. Not Bad 3.Good. 4.Very Good 5.Excellent Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

1.Awful 2.Not Bad 3.Good. 4.Very Good 5.Excellent. I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America.

Poems  I. Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson  II. Eldorado by Edgar Allen Poe  III. The Pond by Amy Lowell  IV. Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost  V. I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

In groups discuss the following: 1. Why you gave this poem the highest rating. 2. What feelings did it evoke in you? 3. How did it evoke this or these feelings? 4.What other aspects of the poem did you like? 5. Did you understand it? 6. What did it mean to you? 7. Did it mean the same thing to all of the group members? 8. Discuss anything else you feel essential to understanding why this poem “spoke” to you.

Answer the Aim:  How do you define poetry?  What makes a poem great?

Homework 1. Write a paragraph that reflects what you discussed in your groups. The paragraph must be based on the talking points introduced in class. 2. Read hand-out on Prose v. Poetry. Be prepared to discuss the following next class:  1. Use of line structure  2. Special use of language  3. Use of sound  4. Appeal to the reader  5. Poetic Subject  6. Complete Comprehension