Basic Guidelines & Directions:

Your task is to become experts on your poet and poem(s) and share this expertize with the class in an engaging and visual presentation.

Please treat this as your opportunity to lead the class in a meaningful discussion regarding poetry. You will have up to 20 minutes of class time, so please plan carefully.

Your presentation must:

be highly visual

offer biographical information on the poet and the poet’s literary contribution

o Beyond the typical biographical information, try to imagine what life was like for your poet. Which writers influenced your poet? What events would have had greatest impact? What themes dominate your poet’s poems?

explicate the selected poem(s)

reference literary critics and what they have written on your poem

o Common sense reminder: literary criticisms and biography must come from a reputable source and not just the first thing you find on a google search.

include a Works Cited page (the last slide of your PowerPoint/ Prezi)

o Follow standard MLA guidelines for citations

o Please print out a Works Cited page for me as well

Reminder: you are only limited by your own creativity. Provided it is appropriate, you are welcome to show brief clips, songs, art work, etc in connection with your poem.

English IVAP Mrs. Dorety

Poetry Presentations

Reference links to consider:

Academy of American Poetswww.poets.org/index

Poetry Society of Americawww.poetrysociety.org

Poetry Magazine

www.poetrymagazine.org

Poetry Dailywww.poems.com

Favorite Poem Projectwww.favoritepoem.org

Poets you may want to consider*Taken from the AP suggested reading list.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Collected Poems by Philip Larkin

Collected Poems by William Butler Yeats

Collected Poems, 1943-2004 by Richard Wilbur

Collected Poems, 1948-1984 by Derek Walcott

The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes

The Complete English Poems by George Herbert

The Complete Poems of John Keats by John Keats

The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop

Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Poems and Tales

Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

John Donne's Poetry by John Donne

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Lord Byron: Poems by George Gordon, Lord Byron

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

Mortal Beauty, God's Grace by Gerard Manley Hopkins

On the Bus with Rosa Parks by Rita Dove

Poems by Seamus Heaney

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Paterson by William Carlos Williams

Picture Bride by Cathy Song

The Poems of Marianne Moore by Marianne Moore

Poems of W.H. Auden

Poetry for the Spirit compiled by Alan Jacobs

The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems by Alexander Pope

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Robert Browning's Poetry by Robert Browning

Roots by Edward Kamau Brathwaite

The School Among the Ruins: Poems 2000-2004 by Adrienne Rich

Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks

Shelley's Poetry and Prose by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko

"To His Coy Mistress" & Other Poems by Andrew Marvell

The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

William Wordsworth — the Major Works: Including the Prelude by William Wordsworth

Works of Anne Bradstreet by Anne Bradstreet

Yellow Light: Poems by Garrett Hongo

Poetry Explications: More infoThe Basics

Read the poem and look for any of the following literary devices or features:

Language: tone, style, diction (word choice) Conventions: unusual punctuation, grammar, poetic forms Devices: imagery, metaphor, symbols, repetition, and more Design: structure, organization of content (e.g., stanzas, past-to-present) Themes: big ideas that run throughout the poem Connections: how might this relate to the other works we are reading, conversations we are having in class lately? Purpose: is the poet trying to explain? Define? Persuade? What, why, and how do they do this?

A Thorough Guide from Betsy Draine of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

A good poem is like a puzzle--the most fascinating part is studying the individual pieces carefully and then putting them back together to see how beautifully the whole thing fits together. A poem can have a number of different "pieces" that you need to look at closely in order to complete the poetic "puzzle." This sheet explains one way to attempt an explication of a poem, by examining each "piece" of the poem separately. When I ask you to “explicate” a poem, know that I am asking you to write an essay (not necessarily a long essay, but always complete and thorough) which explains how all of the elements in a poem, which you as the reader find important, work together to achieve what you believe was the poet’s meaning and intent.

  Examine the situation in the poem:

Does the poem tell a story? Is it a narrative poem? If so, what events occur? Does the poem express an emotion or describe a mood? Poetic voice: Who is the speaker? Is the poet speaking to the reader directly or is the poem told through a fictional

"persona"? To whom is he speaking? Can you trust the speaker? Tone: What is the speaker's attitude toward the subject of the poem? What sort of tone of voice seems to be appropriate

for reading the poem out loud? What words, images, or ideas give you a clue to the tone?

Examine the structure of the poem:

Form: Look at the number of lines, their length, their arrangement on the page. How does the form relate to the content? Is it a traditional form (e.g. sonnet, limerick) or "free form"? Why do you think the poem chose that form for his poem?

Movement: How does the poem develop? Are the images and ideas developed chronologically, by cause and effect, by free association? Does the poem circle back to where it started, or is the movement from one attitude to a different attitude (e.g. from despair to hope)?

Syntax: How many sentences are in the poem? Are the sentences simple or complicated? Are the verbs in front of the nouns instead of in the usual "noun, verb" order? Why?

Punctuation: What kind of punctuation is in the poem? Does the punctuation always coincide with the end of a poetic line? If so, this is called an end-stopped line. If there is no punctuation at the end of a line and the thought continues into the next line, this is called enjambement. Is there any punctuation in the middle of a line? Why do you think the poet would want you to pause halfway through the line?

Title: What does the title mean? How does it relate to the poem itself?

Examine the language of the poem:

Diction or Word Choice: Is the language colloquial, formal, simple, unusual? Do you know what all the words mean? If not, look them up. What moods or attitudes are associated with words that stand out for you? Allusions: Are there any allusions (references) to something outside the poem, such as events or people from history,

mythology, or religion? Imagery: Look at the figurative language of the poem--metaphors, similes, analogies, personification. How do these

images add to the meaning of the poem or intensify the effect of the poem?

Examine the musical devices in the poem:

Rhyme scheme: Does the rhyme occur in a regular pattern, or irregularly? Is the effect formal, satisfying, musical, funny, disconcerting?

Rhythm or meter: In most languages, there is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a word or words in a sentence. In poetry, the variation of stressed and unstressed syllables and words has a rhythmic effect. What is the tonal effect of the rhythm here?

Other "sound effects": alliteration, assonance, consonance, and repetition. What tonal effect do they have here?

Has the poem created a change in mood for you--or a change in attitude? How have the technical elements helped the poet create this effect?

Optional Explication Charts of the Gimmicky Variety

TP-CASTT Title Ponder the title before reading the poem

Paraphrase Translate the poem into your own word s

Connotation Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal (Interpretation)

Attitude Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude (tone, diction, images, mood, etc.)

Shifts Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes (are there changes?)

Title Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level

Theme Determine what the poet is saying

TP-CASTT

Title Ponder the title before reading the poem

Paraphrase Translate the poem into your own words

Connotation Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal

Attitude Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude

Shifts Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes

Title Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level

Theme Determine what the poet is saying

SIFT

Symbol examine the title and text for symbolism

Images identify imagers and sensory details

Figures of Speech analyze figurative language and other devices

Tone and Theme discuss how all devices reveal tone and theme

TWIST

Tone

Word Choice

Imagery and detail

Style

Theme

Presentation Schedule & Assignment SelectionDate Group Poetry SelectionMonday, 2/29 Estelle, Alice, Shaily Maya Angelou “Caged

Bird”Tuesday, 3/1 Yvonne, Ashley, Kshama Lang Leav “And Then”,

“Tell Me”, “A Way Out”Tuesday, 3/1 Kailyn, Soverno, Jade TS Elliot “Prufrock”Wednesday, 3/2 Madeline & Kain Lord Byron “She Walks

in Beauty”Wednesday, 3/2 Alex, Jess, David Emily Dickinson “Love”

XXIMonday, 3/7 Grace & Madlyn Cathy SongMonday, 3/7 Blaise, Adam, Eric E.E Cummings “I Carry

Your Heart”Monday, 3/7 Alex, Kelly, Jenny Tennyson “Charge of

the Light Brigade”

Poetry Presentation/Explication Rubric

up to 15 points up to 20 points up to 23 points up to 25 points

Interpretation PoorInterpretation of poem is superficial and/or faulty; shows only minimal insight and reflects insufficient time spent with the poem.

FairInterpretation of poem has some depth and insight; reflects sufficient time spent with the poem.

GoodInterpretation of poem shows much insight and reflects a substantial amount of time spent with the poem.

ExcellentInterpretation of poem shows original insight and reflects a persistent reading/pondering of the text.

Understanding:Poetry AnalysisHandout/Visual

PoorWeak understanding of uses of figurative language, poetic terms and literary elements in the poem.

FairSome understanding of uses of figurative language, poetic terms and literary elements in the poem.

GoodStrong understanding of uses of figurative language, poetic terms and literary elements in the poem.

ExcellentFlawless understanding of uses of figurative language, poetic terms and literary elements in the poem.

Explication:Research—SecondarySources

PoorExplication is weak, confused, unclear and lacking in precise connections to the text.

FairExplication is somewhat weak, somewhat confused, sometimes unclear and lacking sufficient precise connections to the text.

GoodExplication is strong, clearly articulated and makes precise connections to the text.

ExcellentExplication is very strong, superbly clear and rife with precise connections to the text.

Universality Unearthed:Connect to Prompt

PoorNo attempt made to transcend the parameters of the poet's words.

FairSome attempt made to look beyond the parameters of the poet's words and make a connection to the outside world.

GoodClear and successful discussion of the ways in which the poem has universal meaning; thematic discussion.

ExcellentFluid movement between the words of the poet and universal importance; overt references to universal themes and critical perspectives.