1. Tone and Meaning
Day 11

2. What poetic devices do poets use? How do we make Meaning from Poetry?
Today
Goals
Focus questions
Examine how tone and meaning are conveyed though the poet’s word choice
Understand how critical word choice is to poets
What poetic devices do poets use?
How do we make Meaning from Poetry?

3. Brainstorm
list as many words as you can that convey a strong meaning, aka, Tone words.

4. More on tone We have all heard a variety of tones when people speak.
An angry tone, a frightened tone, a happy tone is simple to distinguish in speech (when someone is talking).
Voices and tone in poetry, however, are relayed in print and since we do not witness the poet or speaker using his/her voice, tone and body language to communicate, we must infer by reading the words.
Tone is revealed most often in diction (speech, pronunciation), but also through images, cadence (tempo), rhythm, or other techniques such as font size, spacing, and capitalization.

5. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke
As you listen to this poem being read aloud:
Complete the template for Tone
Hint: This poem can be interpreted in several different ways
The interpretation should be based on ooking at diction, considering the rhythm and other techniques for conveying tone.

6. My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

7. 2nd reading Beat time on my head Romped Scraped waltzed
Word or phrase from poem
What tone do words suggest
Connotation: + − =
Beat time on my head
Romped
Scraped
waltzed

8. Group Work In your groups, you must take on a role:
Transcriber: write down annotations from the group’s observation
Tone Relayer: Complete Tone Chart for the group
Discussion leader: Leads the group through the activity
Timerkeeper: Interacting with group w/ poem, but also watching time
Presenters/speakers: You will read your poem aloud, and attempt to convey the tone in your voice, then explain your information
Everyone complete all information on worksheet and turn in when finished

9. 2nd reading Word or phrase from poem What tone do words suggest
Connotation: + − =