Poetry

**Poetry Blog Assignment** **November, 2011** **Mr. Scott** In this assignment, you will practice the fundamentals of critical thinking, close reading, and intellectual and academic discourse in the context of a technology-based community. In this first round of poem responses (you'll do another round in the spring), you are responding to the poems primarily on a personal level. For each response, you should write a healthy paragraph or two that examines what you notice about the poem, what you liked or didn't like, what you could relate to, what confused you, and perhaps what the poem means to you. Absolutely ask questions to which I and your class mates can respond. When possible, make use of the literary terms we're learning in class. These are not meant to be super-personal, soul-searching responses, just your critical responses to the poems you read and/or post.

__**Respond to at least five poems by Thursday, December 1**__. I will post a few topics with poems and guiding questions, but you are not restricted to those; browse your poetry text, other poetry books, or the attached websites and respond to poems that interest you. I __f you introduce a new poem, please start a new thread.__ __**Have fun**__. Poetry is largely what you make it. Don’t be a bore.

In the spirit of community and in order to sharpen your analytical and persuasive skills through conversation, you should comment on the entries of your classmates. You may:
 * consider a question posed by your classmates (eg., “Frank, I saw that passage as highlighting the underlying tension between the human and the natural....”)
 * respond to a comment with a further comment (“Frank, I agree with your interpretation of the poet's use of birds. I also saw elements of flight in lines....”)
 * offer a question that complicates or challenges a question posed by your classmates (eg., “Frank, I see your point about the negative diction in this poem. Do you also, then, think the overall tone is pessimistic or could you argue that there's an element of hope there?”)
 * disagree (respectfully) with your classmates (“Frank, I disagree with your assertion that the poet depicts nature as completely passive. For instance, on line....”)

**Make sure that in each post you provide textual support and that you are attentive to what each poet does to create the effect you are examining.**

**Assessment**

I will be checking the wiki daily to respond to you and to determine that you: >  At the end of the project, you will receive __**a quiz grade**__ for the work you have done online.
 * post a minimum of five times by December 1
 * engage respectfully with the poems and with each other
 * use textual support (ie., quotes) in each response
 * <span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">demonstrate an effort to engage with the poems and respond to them thoughtfully
 * <span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">consider that your audience is a formal academic one; use language and sentence structures appropriate to the occasion.
 * <span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">correctly and appropriately incorporate poetry/literary terms as you learn them over the course of the semester

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">If you respond in detail to me or your classmates several times, initiate your own interpretation/comment/poem post at least once, use textual support for all your responses, and are consistent in thoughtfully considering the poems, you will probably earn an A.

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">If you post the minimum number of times, offer cursory answers to questions, post only clarifying questions, neglect to include textual support, or fail to consider literary aspects of the poems, you are unlikely to earn much better than a D.

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">Useful poetry websites to consider using when browsing for poems:

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">__**Poets.org**__ comes from the Academy of American Poets and provides the text of many poems as well as biographies, audio files, and video files for many of the poets. They group poems by interesting themes and subjects, so if, for instance, you're looking for a poem about shoes or sports, or about love or family, you can find some here. You can also sign up to get e-mailed a poem of the day.

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">__**Poetry Out Loud.org**__ There are lots of poems here, and they are in part organized in terms of requirements for the contest (fewer than 25 lines or pre-20th century, for instance).

<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT,serif;">__**Poetry Foundation.org**__ This site has lots of poems you can search by category (for instance, time, summer, funerals) or by poet. It posts lots of new poets and also has lots of video and audio clips. **Questions for Responding to Poetry**


 * 1) Who is the speaker? Is it possible to determine the speaker's age, sex, sensibilities, level of awareness, and values?
 * 2) Is the speaker addressing anyone in particular?
 * 3) Who do you respond to the speaker? Favorably? Negatively? What is the situation? Are there any special circumstances that inform what the speaker says?
 * 4) Is there a specific setting of time and place?
 * 5) Does reading the poem aloud help you to understand it?
 * 6) Does a paraphrase reveal the basic purpose of the poem?
 * 7) What does the title emphasize?
 * 8) Is the theme presented directly or indirectly?
 * 9) Do any allusions enrich the poem's meaning?
 * 10) How does the diction reveal the meaning? Are any words repeated? Do any carry evocative connotative meanings? Are there any puns or other forms of verbal wit?
 * 11) Are figures of speech used? How does the figurative language contribute to the poem's vividness and meaning?
 * 12) Do any objects, persons, places, events, or actions have allegorical or symbolic meanings? What other details in the poem support your interpretation?
 * 13) Is irony used? Are there any examples of situational irony, verbal irony, or dramatic irony? Is understatement or paradox used?
 * 14) What is the tone of the poem? Is the tone consistent?
 * 15) Does the poem use onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, or alliteration? How do these sounds affect you?
 * 16) What sounds are repeated? If there are rhymes, what is their effect? Do the rhymes contribute to the poem's meaning?
 * 17) Do the lines have a regular meter? What is the predominant meter? Are there significant variations? Does the rhythm seem appropriate for the tone of the poem?
 * 18) Does the poem's form—it's overall structure—follow an established pattern? Do you think the form is a suitable vehicle for the poem's meaning and effects?
 * 19) Is the language of the poem intense and concentrated? Do you think it warrants more than one or two close readings?
 * 20) Did you enjoy the poem? What, specifically, pleased or displeased you about what was expressed and/or how it was expressed?
 * 21) How might biographical information about the author help to determine the central concerns of the poem?
 * 22) How might historical information about the poem provide a useful context for interpretation?
 * 23) To what extent do your own experiences, values, beliefs, and assumptions inform your interpretation?
 * 24) What kinds of evidence form the poem are you focusing on to support your interpretation? Does your interpretation leave out any important elements that might undercut or qualify your interpretation?
 * 25) Given that there are a variety of ways to interpret the poem, which one seems the most useful to you?

Source: Meyer, Michael. //Poetry: An Introduction//. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995.