1. “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at the author’s name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. they begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.

2. Questions
In the first line, the speaker says, “I ask them to take a poem.” Who do you suppose “them” is? Who do you suppose the speaker is?
How does the speaker describe the poem? What are some figures of speech that he uses and images that he creates? (Select one interesting description, write it down, and explain what you think it suggests about the poem.)
In the first line of the sixth stanza (line twelve), the speaker says, “But all they want to do.” Who do you suppose “they” is? According to the speaker, what do “they” want to do to the poem?
What do you think the speaker’s attitude toward the poem is? Why? What do you think the speaker’s attitude toward “them” and “they” is? Why?
Why do you think we read and write poetry? Is poetry important in our lives?
*Please answer these questions in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper. Thank you!

3. Question: Why do we read and write poetry?
Answer: “We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for” (John Keating, played by Robin Williams, in Dead Poets Society, 1989). “Understanding Poetry” from Dead Poets

4. Mining a Poem for Meaning
Yes, poetry mining is hard work, but my friends and I have found many riches while mining poems. Join us and see what you can find!
Step #1: As you read the poem, circle unfamiliar and/or important words, look up the meaning of words you don’t know, and write the definition of the words in the margin.
Step #2: Locate examples of poetic devices (figurative language and musical devices) and label them according to a color-code key that you create. Look for figurative language (e.g., hyperbole, imagery, metaphor, personification, simile, and symbolism) and musical devices (e.g., alliteration, assonance, consonance, meter, onomatopoeia, parallelism, and rhyme).
Step #3: Analyze each stanza or small parts of the poem. Write your observations and interpretations in the margin next to the stanza or the part of the poem you analyze. Consider how diction and poetic devices affect mood, tone, and theme.
Step #4: Summarize what you have discovered about the meaning of the poem.
A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom! (Robert Frost)
Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles!
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself!
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common!
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
I celebrate myself, and sing myself! (Walt Whitman)
You may have the grace to look up and out . . .
Here on the pulse of this new day
And say simply
Good morning! (Maya Angelou)
Very Simply
With hope—
I am monarch of all I survey!
(Henry David Thoreau)
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life! (Henry David Thoreau)

5. Close Reading
Consider the small details and the larger ideas those detail evoke or suggest!
Analyze not only what a piece of literature means but also how that meaning is developed and expressed!
Begin with the larger ideas and use the smaller details to support your interpretations!
Make observations and ask questions that will lead to interpretations!
Read several times!

6. Things to remember when analyzing a poem . . .
Summary is telling succinctly.
Paraphrasing is telling word for word.
Analyzing is explaining and interpreting.
Analyze, don’t just summarize and paraphrase.
Use summarizing and paraphrasing only to support your analysis.
Analyze how style, tone, and theme interrelate. In other words, analyze how style helps to express tone and theme.

7. Walt Whitman When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
Sounds like a student
in a university lecture
hall.
Why “unaccountable” ?
Does he physically leave,
or is he daydreaming?

8. Walt Whitman When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
Color Code
Diction (Bold)
Passive Voice (Bold)
Active Voice (Bold)
1st Person (Bold)
3rd Person (Bold)
Alliteration (Bold)
Parallelism (Bold)
Walt Whitman
Initial interest followed by a sense of inactivity created by word choice (e.g., heard and sitting), parallel structure (like rows), and the use of passive voice (e.g., “were ranged” and “was shown”).
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
Sense of imprisonment; a feeling of being overwhelmed
Active voice (e.g., “I wander’d” and “look’d”)
Notice the shift in diction and syntax , which signals a shift in tone, which possibly affects meaning!
Sense of freedom and wonder
This poem places an emphasis on learning through personal experience and taking time to think and reflect in “perfect silence.” While the first stanza emphasizes passive learning, the second stanza emphasizes active leaning. It also has a romantic tone, emphasizing intuition and emotion over reason and logic—what can be perceived emotionally through instinct and intuition (the sixth senses) rather than what can be perceived physically through the five senses. The speaker’s mind definitely appears to have evolved from “third-rate” to “first-rate”!

9. Writing an Effective Thesis Statement
Authors use literary devices to establish tone and express theme.
What literary devices are being used to establish tone and express theme?
How are these literary devices being used to establish tone and express theme?
Thesis Patter: Topic (Title and Author) + “Sexy” Adjective + Literary Device (2 or 3) + Strong Action Verb + Shifts in Tone + Theme.
Let’s take a look!

10. Thesis Statements
In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” Walt Whitman uses parallel structure and a shifting voice.
In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” Walt Whitman uses parallel structure and a shifting voice to illustrate the importance of active learning and the power of intuition.
In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” Walt Whitman uses parallel structure and a shifting voice to illustrate the importance of active learning and the power of intuition, proving that the truly enlightened mind is one that seeks its own answers.

11. “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the plowboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
Whitman published nine volumes of Leaves of Grass, which is the poet’s epic journey toward something divine. Whitman wrote a “new brand of poetry,” which Ezra Pound referred to as breaking “new wood.” While some of his poetry such as “O Captain! My Captain!” has a distinct meter and rhyme scheme, Whitman was the first well-known poet to write exclusively in free verse, which helped to illustrate and express the subject matter, tone, and thematic content of his poetry.

12. “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
Whitman writes in free verse, which illustrates the freedom and liberty associated with the American experience.
Whitman uses musical devices such as alliteration and parallelism to make his poem “melodious,” thus giving it a sense of unity despite its free-verse style.
“I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
One who works with stone or brick
Diverse; different
Carefree, amiable
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
5 The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the plowboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
10 The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
Each person sings his own unique song.
Strong, healthy, vigorous
At night, people come together to continue singing their songs,
possibly to set aside differences.
Color Code
Alliteration (Bold)
Parallelism (Bold) Vocabulary (Bold)
Summary
Whitman uses an extended metaphor to compare America to a chorus. While each person—like each singer in a chorus—sings his or her own song, a beautiful melody is created in the end. In other words, each person contributes something unique to make America strong and keep America unified.

13. “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes
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.

14. Now it’s your turn!
Write a poem titled “I Hear Cary-Grove Singing.” Use Whitman’s poem and Hughes’ poem as examples. If you prefer, you can write a song.
Your poem or song needs to be at least twelve lines in length, and it must have examples of parallelism, alliteration, simile or metaphor, imagery, and symbolism.
I would like you to upload your poems or songs to the class Wiki on the appropriate page. Please illustrate your songs or poems as well.
Poems or songs will be shared in class on Tuesday, September 3rd. We will have a “poetry slam” in class that day.

15. The Jena Six

16. “I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world” from Dead Poets Never be afraid to “sound your barbaric yawp”!

17. Poetry Video Links
“Carpe diem,” Dead Poets “Understanding poetry,” Dead Poets “Finding your voice,” Dead Poets “I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world,” Dead Poets

18. Some other strategies for analyzing a poem . . .
TPCAST
Title
Paraphrase
Connotations
Attitude (tone)
Shifts in attitude (tone)
Theme
DIDLS
Diction
Imagery
Details
Language
Syntax
QCPEQR
Question
Comment
Pause to reflect
Evaluate
Quotations
Recognize