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Introduction to Poetry Handout 1Journal Activity – Think about the following questions as we begin our unit on poetry and be ready to discuss them: What is poetry to you? What do you think makes a piece of writing a “poem?” What makes a poem different from a story?A working definition of poetry: Poetry Vocabulary ListInstructions – Fill in the definitions AND examples for each of these words. You may use outside sources! Connotation – Meaning beyond the literal, the feelings or emotions words carry, often created by figurative language, sound elements, and imagery “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” – Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 – The summer’s day has the connotation of gentleness and beauty, so in comparing the subject to a summer’s day, the speaker is giving her a positive connotationDenotation – Example – Irony – Example – Metaphor – Example –Personification –Example –Simile – Example – Sonnet – Example – Theme – Example – Tone – Example –Volta – Example -- Teacher’s Guide to Handout 1Introduction to Poetry Handout 1Journal Activity – Think about the following questions as we begin our unit on poetry and be ready to discuss them: What is poetry to you? What do you think makes a piece of writing a “poem?” What makes a poem different from a story?A working definition of poetry: Poetry is a genre of writing that places emphasis on the sounds and meaning of words, utilizes figurative language, and is often broken into lines. Poetry VocabularyConnotation – Meaning beyond the literal, the feelings or emotions words carry, often created by figurative language, sound elements, and imagery “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” – Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 – The summer’s day has the connotation of gentleness and beauty, so in comparing the subject to a summer’s day, the speaker is giving her a positive connotationDenotation – The dictionary definition of a word, its literal meaningExample –Summer is literally the season between spring and fall Irony -- a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the wordsExample -- “Water, water, everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink.” – “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Coleridge. This is an example of irony because there is water everywhere, so it’s expected that the speaker will not go thirsty. However, because it is salt water, he is unable to drink it. Metaphor – A type of figurative language that makes a comparison between two unlike things that is implicitExample -- “She is all states, and all princes, I.” – John Donne – This example compares the richness of the speaker and his beloved’s love to all the riches in the states and princes, showing how great and powerful it is. Personification – A type of figurative language that gives an idea, thing or animal human qualitiesExample -- “Have you got a brook in your little heart, / Where bashful flowers blow,” – Emily Dickinson. This is an example of personification because the flowers are being described as bashful, which is a human emotion.Simile – A direct comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” Example -- “O my Luve’s like a red, red rose / That’s newly sprung in June;” This is a simile because the speaker is directly comparing his love to a rose to describe how lovely she is.Sonnet – a poetic form that has 14 fourteen lines and is written in iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables. It has a specific rhyme scheme and a “volta” or a specific turn.Example –“London, 1802” by Wordsworth.Theme – The underlying meaning of a literary workExample – In the poem “London, 1802” mentioned above, the theme of this poem is the importance of patriotism over individualism.Tone – The attitude of the author towards the subject or audienceExample --“I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence: / Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost, “The Road Less Traveled” The tone in these lines can be described as unhappy or regretful because of the author’s choice of word, especially “sigh”Volta – A turn of thought or argument in a sonnetExample – “I grant I never saw a goddess go; / My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. / And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare.” Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130. The turn here is in the last two lines, which turns from describing the mistress in negative terms to more positive, though realistic. Poetry Handout 2San AntonioNaomi Shihab Nye, 1952Tonight I lingered over your name, the delicate assembly of vowelsa voice inside my head.You were sleeping when I arrived.I stood by your bedand watched the sheets rise gently.I knew what slant of lightwould make you turn over.It was then I felt the highways slide out of my hands.I remembered the old menin the west side cafe,dealing dominoes like magical charms.It was then I knew,like a woman looking backward,I could not leave you,or find anyone I loved more.From Is This Forever, or What? Poems and Paintings from Texas by Naomi Shihab Nye. Copyright ? 2004 by Naomi Shihab Nye..Read this poem and describe your initial reaction to it. What does is this poem saying, and what does it mean to you?TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis WorksheetTITLE: Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________PARAPHRASE: Translate the poem line by line into your own words on a literal level. Look for completethoughts (sentences may be inverted) and look up unfamiliar words. (Do this on the text of the poem)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________CONNOTATION: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative language, imagery, and sound elements.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ATTITUDE/TONE: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________SHIFTS: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation._____________________________________________________________________________________TITLE: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________THEME: Briefly state in your own words what the poem is about (subject), then what the poet is sayingabout the subject (theme)._____________________________________________________________________________________Adapted from TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis Worksheet (Teacher’s Guide)TITLE: Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.I think the poem will be a love poem to the city of San AntonioPARAPHRASE: Translate the poem line by line into your own words on a literal level. Look for completethoughts (sentences may be inverted) and look up unfamiliar words. (Do this on the text of the poem)Tonight I lingered over your name, -- “lingered” = to pause, so she read the name carefullythe delicate assembly of vowels – She is paying particularly close attention to the soundsa voice inside my head. – Reading them silently to herselfYou were sleeping when I arrived. – Pretty literal. The subject is unaware of her presence I stood by your bed – Watching attentively – she must really love this personand watched the sheets rise gently. – Noticing even his/her breathI knew what slant of light – Maybe the moonlight streaming in through the window?would make you turn over. -- AwakeningIt was then I felt – Again, pretty literal, but the image of the person is powerful to the speakerthe highways slide out of my hands. – Letting go of the city? Shifts to figurativeI remembered the old men – Remembering an image of the cityin the west side cafe, -- a particular placedealing dominoes like magical charms. – Dominoes = a game, comparing them to something magicalIt was then I knew, -- A realization about the city and the personlike a woman looking backward, -- looking backward = memories, maybe? Feeling regret or sadness I could not leave you, = Can’t forget the city or the personor find anyone I loved more. = A declaration of love for bothCONNOTATION: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative language, imagery, and sound elements.Figurative language = extended metaphor of the beloved person to the beloved city – “the highway slid out of my hands” is where we see this metaphor initially.ATTITUDE/TONE: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?The speaker is clearly in awe throughout the poem. In the beginning – “I lingered over your name” indicates a reverence and awe“I stood by your bed / and watched the sheets rise gently” – Suggests loveThe last two lines – “I could not leave you, / or find anyone I loved more” sums up the speaker’s feelings towards both the city and the person.SHIFTS: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation.Volta = the shift from the literal person to the figurative city in line 10TITLE: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.I still think it’s a love poem to the city, but also to a memory or a past experience of love there. THEME: Briefly state in your own words what the poem is about (subject), then what the poet is sayingabout the subject (theme)Memories of love are hinged to place, and you can’t erase or forget themHomework Assignment #2 – Read the poem “Pleaides” by Barney and complete a TPCASTT analysis of it.The Pleiades By William BarneyThere is a tarnish slurring that abyss.More honestly, the reek of city menthat fogs our billion-leagued, our vaulting look,and glazes the most willing eye. Time comes whenyou slip that pall and find a country air,you see the Pleiades, the sisterhood. Lying at ease by night under the stare of unobstructed stars, you know the hour the Pleiades arise, in all their sevenness.Nothing has been added: when the city five or faintly, six, your eye will blink and guessat eight and even nine. There is no endto Pleiades, once in their element,no limit how the mind with fire is streakedclear of that cloud, that sloven cataract.TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis WorksheetTITLE: Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________PARAPHRASE: Translate the poem line by line into your own words on a literal level. Look for completethoughts (sentences may be inverted) and look up unfamiliar words. (Do this on the text of the poem)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________CONNOTATION: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative language, imagery, and sound elements.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ATTITUDE/TONE: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________SHIFTS: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation._____________________________________________________________________________________TITLE: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________THEME: Briefly state in your own words what the poem is about (subject), then what the poet is sayingabout the subject (theme)._____________________________________________________________________________________Handout 3Describe three characteristics of the poem “Pleiades” that stood out to you as a reader. Why did you choose these characteristics? Be ready to discuss them as a class.1.2. 3.What did you learn about the poem “Pleiades” today, after listening to the podcast? What did you learn about the reading and understanding of poetry? How might you use this knowledge in approaching poems in the future? ................
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