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8th Grade Language Arts:

Poetry Unit & Poetry Café

Name: ______________________________

Part One: Introduction to Poetry

Structure, Rhyme and Meter

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January

By John Updike

The days are short The sun a spark Hung thin between The dark and dark. Fat snowy footsteps Track the floor, And parkas pile up Near the door. The river is A frozen place Held still beneath The trees’ black lace. The sky is low. The wind is gray. The radiator Purrs all day.

How many lines are in this poem?

How many stanzas are in this poem?

What type of stanzas are they?

Analyze the rhyme scheme of the poem by marking the end of the lines with “a”, “b”, “c”, etc.

IAMB: ________________________

How many “feet” are in the first stanza?

Analyze the meter of the first two stanzas by marking stressed and unstressed syllables as shown in the explanatory page.

The different meter in the second stanza has some symbolic meaning. Can you discern what it might be?

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The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

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.

How many lines are in this poem?

How many stanzas are in this poem?

Analyze the rhyme scheme of the poem by marking the end of the lines with “a”, “b”, “c”, etc.

How many “feet” are in the first stanza?

Analyze the meter of the first stanza by marking stressed and unstressed syllables as shown in the explanatory page.

ANAPEST: ___________________________

What is the effect of the one anapest inside of the iambic feet?

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Part Two: Sound Devices

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Figurative Language: Describing one thing or comparing two things in ways that are not meant to be taken literally.

Type Definition You Write One (not the one in the book) Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Analogy

Allusion

Sound Devices: Using the sounds of words to contribute to or strengthen the meaning of a poem.

Type Definition You Write One (not the one in the book) Alliteration

Consonance

Assonance

Repetition

Onomatopoeia

Connotation

What does the word “cowboy” connote?

Denotation

What does the word “cowboy” denote?

Tone

What words could you use to create a celebratory tone?

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

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4 February 1968: “The Drum Major Instinct” (Mark 10:35) http://mlk-‐kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_the_drum_major_instinct/ Every now and then I guess we all think realistically (Yes, sir) about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning. If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes) I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen) I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes) And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes) I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord) I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.

If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, Then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, If I can spread the message as the master taught, Then my living will not be in vain.

Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, (Yes) not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

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Answer Critical Thinking Questions, 1-‐4 on a separate sheet of paper, in complete sentences.

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Complete the chart with examples of sound devices. Not all sound devices are used in each poem.

The Drum Ring Out, Wild Bells Thumbprint Alliteration

Onomatopoeia

Rhyme (Internal/External)

Meter (Rhythmic patterns)

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Part Three:

Figurative Language

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Terms for the next three poems:

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What is the main simile?

List three ways that she compares the two unlikely things to one another:

1.

2.

3.

What is her main point?

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What is the metaphor?

Write your own metaphor to describe the stars:

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Answer the above Critical Thinking questions on a separate sheet of paper, in complete sentences.

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Part Four: Lyric and Narrative

Poetry

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Terms for the next three poems:

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

She told the story, and the whole world wept

At wrongs and cruelties it had not known

But for this fearless woman’s voice alone,

She spoke to the consciences that long had slept;

Her message, Freedom’s clear reveille, swept

From heedless hovel to complacent throne.

Command and prophecy were in the tone

And from its sheath the sword of justice leapt.

Around two peoples swelled the fiery wave,

But both came forth transfigured from the flame

Blest be the hand that dared be strong to save,

And blest be she who in our weakness came –

Prophet and priestess! At one stroke she gave

A race to freedom and herself to fame.

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Form:Lyric or Narrative

What characteristics make it lyric or narrative?

How does the form help the poet achieve his or her purpose?

Colossus

Revere’s Ride

Stowe

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Colossus Revere Stowe Line(s) from the poem

Basic Information

Your paraphrase of the meaning

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Part Five: Favorite Poem Project

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Poetry, America and Family Experience: Project Overview

This project will conclude with a poetry reading, recitation time on Thursday, March 28.

Test Grade Composition:

I. Participation 10%

II. Packet on Favorite Poems Videos 30%

III. Family Background Research and Summary (due 3/7) 30%

IV. Poem (due 3/12) and Creative Presentation (due 3/15) 30%

There will also be several homework checks along the way, both regarding Vocabulary Unit 10 and checking your progress on the project.

Explanation of Grades:

Participation: This element is the portion of your grade that depends on you being on task and ready to listen and to work. I know that poetry can feel awkward or deep, but you are mature enough to begin to learn the process of appreciating poetry.

Packet on Favorite Poems Videos: We will be watching several short videos and then analyzing the videos both in terms of the poetry that is read and the effect of the poetry on the reader of the poem in the video. You will be graded based on how thoroughly and thoughtfully you attempt to answer the questions in the packet. Some questions are straightforward and some require more analysis and critical thinking. If you need to re-‐watch the videos at night to refine your answers, please do so!

Family Background Research and Summary: Over the course of several days, you will be responsible for interviewing your parents or other family members according to the outline / questions provided. You will be graded based on the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your answers. You will also be graded on how well developed your summary essay is (topic sentence, description of the event that your relative participated in, thoughtful analysis of the impact of that event)

Poem and Creative Presentation: You will write a poem based on your family background research. Your poem will be graded based on your use of the required elements (which will be provided) and based on creativity and evident effort. You will summarize your research in a 4 – 5 slide PPT which will tell the story that you chose to write about and which will include your poem, too.

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Name: ____________________________ Poetry, America, and Family Experience All Videos can be found at www.favoritepoem.org/videos.html Settling By Denise Levertov I was welcomed here—clear gold of late summer, of opening autumn, the dawn eagle sunning himself on the highest tree, the mountain revealing herself unclouded, her snow tinted apricot as she looked west, Tolerant, in her steadfastness, of the restless sun forever rising and setting. Now I am given a taste of the grey foretold by all and sundry, a grey both heavy and chill. I've boasted I would not care, I'm London-‐born. And I won't. I'll dig in, into my days, having come here to live, not to visit. Grey is the price of neighboring with eagles, of knowing a mountain's vast presence, seen or unseen. Where is Levertov living when she writes the poem? What mountain in Seattle is so breathtakingly beautiful to both Levertov and the reader? How does she use personification in this poem? How does being “London-‐born” affect the poet in her new home? Why is the poem important to the reader? What does she see as its meaning to her?

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Minstrel Man By Langston Hughes Because my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long? Because my mouth Is wide with laughter, You do not hear My inner cry? Because my feet Are gay with dancing, You do not know I die? What is the job of a minstrel? If you don’t know, look it up and write the definition of a minstrel below. Who was Pol Pot? Why did people in Cambodia flee him? Where is the poem’s reader from? Give a short summary of some of the hardships of her life. Tell why this poem is so significant to the reader and to her experience of being an immigrant to the U.S.

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A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist Tell me not, in mournful numbers, "Life is but an empty dream!" For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-‐morrow Finds us farther than to-‐day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,-‐-‐act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing

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Learn to labor and to wait. Mark the meter and rhyme scheme of this poem (see part one of the packet). What simile does Longfellow use to describe the heart? What is the effect of this simile on the poem? What metaphor does Longfellow use to describe life? What is the effect of the metaphor on the poem? Where is the reader of this poem originally from? What were his parents’ experiences, as immigrants like? What was his childhood like? What is his profession? Why was the trip he had to take with his mother at the end of her life significant to him? What is the basic meaning of the poem and why is it so encouraging to him, both in thinking about his life growing up and in thinking about his profession and his life now?

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Merry Go Round By Langston Hughes Where is the Jim Crow section On this merry-‐go-‐round, Mister, cause I want to ride? Down South where I come from White and colored Can't sit side by side. Down South on the train There's a Jim Crow car. On the bus we're put in the back— But there ain't no back To a merry-‐go-‐round! Where's the horse For a kid that's black?

What significant period of history did the reader of this poem live through himself? What does he believe about the current progress of Civil Rights and the future of Civil Rights? What is striking or disturbing about the idea of a Merry Go Round and Jim Crow Laws? Why is the contrast effective in the poem? What do you think is the main point of the poem? How does it relate to the reader’s strong feelings about the future?

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The Emigrant Irish by Eavan Boland Like oil lamps, we put them out the back, of our houses, of our minds. We had lights better than, newer than and then a time came, this time and now we need them. Their dread, makeshift example. They would have thrived on our necessities. What they survived we could not even live. By their lights now it is time to imagine how they stood there, what they stood with, that their possessions may become our power. Cardboard. Iron. Their hardships parceled in them. Patience. Fortitude. Long-‐suffering in the bruise-‐colored dusk of the New World. And all the old songs. And nothing to lose. Re-‐read the first five lines of the poem. What is the simile and what does it mean? (“I don’t know” is not an answer. Give it a shot…who is like an oil lamp? Why did we put them out? Why was their example “dread?”) What life experience changed the reader’s appreciation for this poem? What character qualities of the immigrants do we need in our lives, too? How is the metaphoric image of a “bruise colored dusk” a fitting image for this poem?

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“I’m nobody! Who are you?” By Emily Dickinson I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us -‐ don't tell! They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog! What is the life story of the reader of this poem? What does the reader feel that the world (her parents, her teachers, her sister, everyone) expects of her? How does the poem encourage the reader of the poem? According to the poem, why is being a “somebody” so unappealing? What does the simile of a frog make you think about when you read this poem?

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Part Six: Writing the American

Experience in your Family

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Family Background Research and Summary

Name: __________________________________

The goal is to hear about and then tell a family story – some piece of personal history that corresponds with United States and world history.

For ONE of the three prompts below, connect your family’s history to the common American experience by recording answers to questions that are given. Record your answers in complete sentences. Then, write a summary paragraph about their experience and how it impacted either THEM or YOU.

Immigration to this Country….

Do you know when one of your ancestors first came to this country? If so, who was it and when did they come?

Do you know the story of that person’s or your family’s immigration here? If so, what was it?

What did your ancestors who immigrated do for a living before they arrived? What about after? Was that change hard for them?

Where did your ancestors live before? What was hard to adjust to about American culture?

How has their experience impacted your other family members?

What are some words / images to describe the experience?

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Intersection with History…

Did someone in your family have a unique experience that intersected with American history? (experience with meeting a famous figure, fighting in a war, participating in a significant event, etc?) If so, what was it?

Describe the experience.

What was meaningful about the experience?

What was surprising about it?

What was painful or joyful about it?

Did the experience give your relative a different perspective about being an American?

What are some words /images to describe the experience?

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Participation through Vocation…

Or, did someone in your family participate in one of the major “building” activities of this country (as a farmer, as a factory worker, as a business owner, as a public servant, etc.?) If so, what was it?

Describe their experience.

What was meaningful about their vocation?

What was surprising about it?

What was painful or joyful about it?

Did the activity/vocation give your relative a different perspective about being an American? How?

What are some words/images to describe the vocation?

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SUMMARY ESSAY:

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Writing Your Poem:

Your poem is an artistic expression of an experience or event in one of your family member’s lives. It is open to your creativity and thoughtfulness.

The goal of the poem is to express feelings, experiences, or impressions your family member had as they walked through that particular experience.

The only formal requirements for your poem are as follows:

1. It must be at least two stanzas. 2. It must be at least 10 lines. 3. It needs to use some form of figurative language (metaphor, simile, or personification) 4. It needs to use some form of a sound device (rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.)

Brainstorming Event #1:

What you want to do is paint the reader a picture of the event or experience that's made up of many other, much smaller images. Remember that an "image" doesn't have to be just something that you see, but also what you can taste, touch, hear, and smell. Images can be emotional or factual. Begin by making a list about the experience. Perhaps you will want to include what, when, where, why, and how. Or, you might just write down whatever comes to mind about your topic. Once you have a decent-‐sized list, take a look. Are there any items that go together? Or any that don't go together? Do you recognize a pattern in your list that may point to a theme for you poem?

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What event or experience are you writing about?

Using the questions below, fill in the blank with the experience or event and then brainstorm from the questions…

What things look like _______________?

What things sound like _________________?

What things smell like _________________?

How does ___________________ make someone feel?

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Pick any three of the words or phrases off of the lists above that you like the most, then fill in the chart below

Word or Phrase # 1

___________________

Word or Phrase # 2

___________________

Word or Phrase # 3

____________________

3 – 4 synonyms for that word

Does that word rhyme with

any other words?

Does that word remind you

of any other objects or

everyday experiences?

Can you describe anything

more about that word?

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Part Seven: Biblical Poetry

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Name: ______________________________ Biblical Poetry: This lesson will examine the forms of poetic language used in the Bible and look at specific types of biblical poems. The Language Poets Use: Even if you’ve never written a sonnet or haiku, you use poetry all the time. You speak of the sun rising, of juggling your schedule, of running to the grocery store. Every day, you use poetic idioms, just as poets do. 1. Using a dictionary, define idiom:

In your own words, what does it mean?

If everyone uses the same words, what, then, is poetry? It is the specialized use of language to convey figurative, rather than literal, meaning. It is language condensed, heightened, and patterned for aesthetic effect.

2. Using a dictionary, define aesthetic:

In your own words, what does it mean?

Roughly one-‐third of the Bible is written in poetic form. Here are some of the key ingredients you’ll find in the Bible’s poetry:

• Imagery: The use of words to paint pictures, evoking a concrete sensory experience of people, places, and things: “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:1).

• Simile: A comparison between two things that uses “like” or “as” — A is like B: “They are like trees planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3).

• Metaphor:A comparison between two things that forgoes “like” or “as” to say that A is B: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).

• Personification: Endowing a non-‐human subject with human attributes or actions: “Let the hills sing together for joy” (Psalm 98:8).

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Let’s look at a biblical poem to identify the elements of poetic language it uses. Read Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.

Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your

staff—they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup

overflows.

Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the

Lord as long as I live.

3. In Psalm 23, what is the central metaphor in the Psalm? What do you think the psalmist is trying to say

about God through that metaphor?

4. In that Psalm, what images does the poet use to reinforce the metaphor and what it means? (name at least three)

The effect of the poem is not only to paint a picture of a world of natural beauty that is fraught with hidden perils — darkness and evil — but also to reassure and comfort us with images of stability and sustenance.

When we talk about poetic idiom, we are discussing the content of poetry. The form in which it is presented, however, is just as important as the language that is used.

Not Rhyme, but Parallelism…

We know we are looking at a poem the moment we see it on a page. While prose is written in sentences, poetry is written in lines that do not ordinarily run all the way to the right margin. Often in English verse, poetic lines end in rhyme, reinforcing such features of the poem Here is a sample of a traditional lie of poetry: (from Samuel Coledridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner):

Water, water everywhere, And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.

Although the Bible’s poetry somewhat resembles English poetry, generally biblical poets do not use rhyme or meter as many English poets do. Instead, the poetry of the Bible is written in “thought rhyme” — two or more consecutive lines that express similar thoughts in different ways, though usually in similar grammatical form.

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We call this construction “parallelism.”

5. In your own words, based on what you just read, what is parallelism?

6. What poetic device is parallelism a substitute or replacement for?

You’ll find two types of parallelism used most frequently in biblical poetry: synonymous and antithetic parallelism. We will look at synonymous parallelism.

Synonymous Parallelism -‐ Lines A and B say the same thing in similar grammatical form:

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (Psalm 1:5)

Antithetic Parallelism -‐ Lines A and B say the same thing in contrasting ways:

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:6)

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength;

an ever-‐present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

He lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

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Come and see what the Lord has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

He burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

7. Circle three examples of synonymous parallelism in the Psalm above. Then, beside each pair of lines that you circle, tell what point you think. the Psalmist is trying to make by using parallelism.

Kinds of Poetry in the Bible: The Psalms

Lyric Poetry: Psalms, The Song of Solomon, Proverbs, Lamentations . . . The Bible is full of poetry. Vast sections of the prophetic or visionary parts of the Bible are written in poetic form, as is the Book of Job, a drama. Still, when we speak of a “poem” in the Bible, we generally mean a lyric poem. A lyric is a brief poem containing the thoughts or feelings of a speaker, usually intended to be sung aloud. It is condensed, self-‐contained, and packed with meaning. Lyric poems typically have a single theme that unifies the poem. The theme appears throughout the poem in variations. After the introduction, the poet develops the theme using one or more of the following formats:

• Repetition: Restating the theme • Contrast: Presenting an opposite emotion or phenomenon as counterpoint the theme • Listing or catalog: Delineating specific aspects of the theme • Association: Elaborating on the theme using related ideas

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Typically, lyric poetry is personal. The poet expresses his or her thoughts and feelings directly, capturing an intense emotional moment. Also, a lyric poem is not directed to us, the general reader, but to a specific audience — God, the nation, the starry night sky. We are merely eavesdropping on the poet’s moment of thought or feeling.

8. From the summary of biblical lyric poetry you just read, what are four defining characteristics of this type of poetry?

Most of the Psalms are lyric poems. Psalm means “song of praises.” The Old Testament Book of Psalms is a Temple collection, which means that the poems were used at the Temple in Jerusalem to lead worship. The Psalms express a whole range of human emotion -‐ from lamentation and grief to joy, love, and awe. In his commentary on the Book of Psalms, John Calvin called the Psalter “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.”

Within the Psalms, these are the main types of lyric:

• Lament psalms (or complaint psalms) • Praise psalms • Nature psalms • Worship psalms (songs of Zion)

A psalm may be either private or communal, and each has its own characteristics. A praise psalm testifies to the worthiness of God, either God’s activity on a given occasion or an attribute or quality that God possesses always. It is written in a three-‐part format:

o A formal call to praise (which may include a command to praise, the naming of the group to whom the command is uttered, and the naming of the mode of praise, such as voice or lyre)

o The development of praise (a listing of the praiseworthy acts or attributes of God) o The conclusion of praise (often a brief, final prayer or wish)

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Similarly, a psalm of lament has five main parts — an invocation to God, a definition of the crisis (the lament or complaint itself), a petitioning of God to act, a statement of confidence in God, and a vow to praise God.

9. Name the four types of lyric poetry found in the Psalms:

10. What was the purpose of the Psalms during Old Testament times?

Here are some examples of each poetic genre we’ve mentioned. Using a Bible from the shelf, read each of the Psalms and answer the corresponding questions:

• Lament psalm: Psalm 10

11. Name three things that the psalmist is sad about.

12. Give one example of parallelism in this Psalm. • Praise psalm: Psalm 100

13. List three things that the psalmist is praising God about (his character or his actions)

• Worship psalm: Psalm 84

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14. Describe, in 3-‐4 sentences how the psalmist feels about getting to be in the house of God worshipping?

• Nature poem: Psalm 104

15. List 12 elements of nature that the psalmist mentions.

16. How does the Psalmist feel about nature as it relates to God?

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