1. Poetry
Mrs. Tuttle

2. Directions
You are going to analyze theme and tone in poetry. Examine the slides on this powerpoint and then write one paragraph for each piece of writing found in the powerpoint:
“The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
Lineage-Poetry
Snowmen-Poetry
Paragraph one-What is the tone and theme of “The Climb”?
Paragraph two-What is the tone and theme of “Lineage”?
Paragraph three-What is the tone and theme of “Snowmen”?
For all three—use EXAMPLES from the text to support your responses!
Type these responses into a MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT!

3. Author’s tone (attitude)
The author’s attitude is expressed through the words and details he or she selects.
Tone is expressed through the words and details the author selects. To determine the author’s tone, you must notice how these words and details are used within the writing.
A subjective tone uses words that describe feelings, judgments, or opinions. The details are likely to include experiences, senses, feelings, and thoughts.
The objective tone is matter-of-fact and neutral.

4. Theme/Author’s message
Theme is:
• the central, underlying, and controlling idea or insight of a work of literature.
• the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the writer’s view of the world or a revelation about human nature.

5. Theme in a song
Stories are not the only things that contain a theme. Theme can also be found in movies and songs!
Take a look at the song “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
What do you think the theme of this song is?
What is the attitude of the writer in this song?
See the song on the next slide!

6. The Climb (Adapted) Miley Cyrus
I can almost see it. That dream I'm dreaming, but There's a voice inside my head saying You'll never reach it Every step I'm takin' Every move I make Feels lost with no direction, My faith is shakin' But I, I gotta keep tryin' Gotta keep my head held high There's always gonna be another mountain I'm always gonna wanna make it move Always gonna be an uphill battle Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose Ain't about how fast I get there Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing The chances I'm taking Sometimes might knock me down, but No I'm not breaking I may not know it, but These are the moments that I'm gonna remember most, yeah Just gotta keep goin', And I, I gotta be strong Just keep pushing on, 'cause There's always gonna be another mountain I'm always gonna wanna make it move Always gonna be an uphill battle Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose Ain't about how fast I get there Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side It's the climb

7. Theme in poetry
Now lets look at two poems. Can you identify the theme and tone in the following two poems?

8. Lineage
by Margaret Walker
My grandmothers were strong. They followed plows and bent to toil. They moved through fields sowing seed. They touched earth and grain grew. They were full of sturdiness and singing. My grandmothers were strong. My grandmothers are full of memories Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay With veins rolling roughly over quick hands They have many clean words to say. My grandmothers were strong. Why am I not as they?

9. came to Kashmir from Samarkand carrying a bag of whale bones.
Snowmen
By Agha Shahid Ali
My ancestor, a man
of Himalayan snow,
came to Kashmir from Samarkand
carrying a bag
of whale bones.
His skeleton
carved from glaciers, his breath
arctic,
he froze women in his embrace.
His wife thawed into stony water,
Her old age a clear
evaporation.
This heirloom,
his skeleton under my skin, passed
from son to grandson,
generations of snowmen on my back.
They tap every year on my window,
their voices hushed to ice.
No, they won’t let me out of winter,
and I’ve promised myself,
even if I’m the last snowman,
That I’ll ride into spring
on their melting shoulders.
My grandmothers were strong.

10. Lineage
What is the message/theme that the author is trying to convey in this poem?
What is the tone/attitude of this poem?

11. snowmen
What is the message/theme that the author is trying to convey in this poem?
What is the tone/attitude of this poem?