1. AP Literature East of Eden Poetry/Art Presentation K. Matteson

2. The Sestina
is divided into 6 sestets (six line stanzas) and 1 triplet called an envoi
is usually unrhymed and works by repeating the end words of each line.
The envoi contains, in any order, all of the six end-words. The catch is that one has to be buried in each line and another must be at the end of the line.
The pattern for repeating the words is like this: (stanza A) , (stanza B) This pattern is how each of the "next" stanzas are made.

3. An Example
Here in this bleak city of Rochester, Where there are twenty-seven words for "snow," Not all of them polite, the wayward mind Basks in some Yucatan of its own making, Some coppery, sleek lagoon, or cinnamon island Alive with lemon tints and burnished natives,
And O that we were there. But here the natives Of this grey, sunless city of Rochester Have sown whole mines of salt about their land (Bare ruined Carthage that it is) while snow Comes down as if The Flood were in the making. Yet on that ocean Marvell called the mind
An ark sets forth which is itself the mind, Bound for some pungent green, some shore whose natives Blend coriander, cayenne, mint in making Roasts that would gladden the Earl of Rochester With sinfulness, and melt a polar snow. It might be well to remember that an island
Was blessed heaven once, more than an island, The grand, utopian dream of a noble mind. In that kind climate the mere thought of snow Was but a wedding cake; the youthful natives, Unable to conceive of Rochester, Made love, and were acrobatic in the making.
Dream as we may, there is far more to making Do than some wistful reverie of an island, Especially now when hope lies with the Rochester Gas and Electric Co., which doesn't mind Such profitable weather, while the natives Sink, like Pompeians, under a world of snow.
The one thing indisputable here is snow, The single verity of heaven's making, Deeply indifferent to the dreams of the natives, And the torn hoarding-posters of some island. Under our igloo skies the frozen mind Holds to one truth: it is grey, and called Rochester.
No island fantasy survives Rochester, Where to the natives destiny is snow That is neither to our mind nor of our making.

4. Your turn… ;)
Decide upon six words that are your candidates for the words that will repeat. I recommend concrete nouns (e.g., wool, chimney, lozenge, floor) and active verbs (e.g., climbs, opens).
On a large blank sheet of paper, write the end words for the first stanza, leaving space to complete the line. Do the same for the second sestet and so on.
Now write the stanzas, using the stepping stones provided by the chosen words.
The envoi should follow this pattern:

5. Requirements
Your six words must relate to a theme or major element of Streetcar
Your sestina MUST be about a theme from Streetcar, a character, or a symbolic segment of the plot.
You must include at last five of the following: Metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, allusion, imagery, or hyperbole (You are required to LABEL these on the second copy)
You must follow the sestina form exactly.
You must place your typed poem in the middle of a “word collage” of your 6 words. Your end result will be a piece of poetic art worthy of framing.

6. The grade… I will be grading on…
the inclusion of the required devices.
Your adherence to the sestina form
Artistic effort (word collage). I don’t want you to grab a piece of poster board and write your words all over it in pencil and markers. BE CREATIVE. To get full credit in this category, you must exceed my expectations.
Your poem’s connection to Streetcar (Is it obvious? It should be!)
Your poem’s depth. Surface, “top 40 lyrics” poetry will not earn you full credit.
This project will be worth 150 points.