- GO TO THE LIBRARY WIKI! You can locate more poetry sources by clicking ONLINE LESSONS ENGLISH POETRY

Transcription

1 POETRY ASSIGNMENT LIBRARY RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The students will be able to complete research on a poet from a selected list, using print and online sources. The students will write an informative piece on the analysis of their poem, and focus on how the author s life and background affected their writing. THINK ABOUT IT! Everything that happens in your life affects you in one way or another. Do you believe that these experiences also affect your writing?! It has been found that good writers put part of their own emotion down on the page so every experience you have will find its way into your writing! Let s spend some time focusing on a poet and finding out how the experiences in their personal lives shaped their poem. TASKS: 1. Choose a poem/poet from a selected list. 2. Read the poem and complete the poem summary sheet provided using the step-by-step format discussed in class. 3. Peruse online databases and print sources about your poet using the Pottsgrove High School Library resources. 4. Write an informative piece on how the poet s life affected the theme/content of their poem. POTTSGROVE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY RESOURCES: - FIND A BOOK ON YOUR POET! Go to Click on the Catalog tab. Author search. - GO TO THE LIBRARY WIKI! You can locate more poetry sources by clicking ONLINE LESSONS ENGLISH POETRY - THOMPSON GALE DATABASES password pl2695 Scribners Writers Series - POWERLIBRARY RESOURCES Literature Resources STANDARDS: Common Core Reading Standards Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. Reading Standards Analyze the impact of the author s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). Writing 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

2 SELECTED LIST OF POETS TRULY AFFECTED BY LIFE S TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS Anne Bronte lost mother when 1 year old, very sick her whole life, siblings were also writers. The Bronte children s lives have been sentimentalized, their psyches psychoanalyzed, and their home life demonized. In truth, their lives and home were strange and often unhappy. Emily Bronte - She has been cast as Absolute Individual, as Tormented Genius, and as Free Spirit Communing with Nature; the trio of sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne have been fashioned into Romantic Rebels, as well as Solitary Geniuses. Their lives have been sentimentalized, their psyches psychoanalyzed, and their home life demonized. In truth, their lives and home were strange and often unhappy. Thomas Chatterton English poet that committed suicide e.e. cummings Among the most innovative of twentieth- century poets, e.e. cummings changed the grammar and style of poetry. Emily Dickinson - the Dickinson family tradition had prepared the poet for a life of political activity and public service, only to deny her that life because of her sex. (feminist) John Keats lost both parents when he was a teenager and than died himself at the early age of 25 Jack Kerouac King of the Beat Generation went to the army but was discharged for being accused of being an accessory to murder...life of infidelity hard life of alcoholism Boris Pasternak - Sylvia Plath Plath was set back by a miscarriage, and infidelity she committed suicide Edgar Allan Poe- lost his mother at a young age grew up to be an alcoholic and drug addict.w Aleksandr (Sergeyevich) Pushkin Russian poet banished from town due to his political poems married to wife who was unfaithful unhappy relationships T.S. Elliot went to Harvard feelings of alienation from both of the regions he called home Arthur Rimbaud the supreme child genius in the history of poetry then shot by his gay lover and stopped poetry all together Anne Sexton - diagnosed with postpartum depression, suffered her first mental breakdown, and was admitted to a neuropsychiatric hospital she would repeatedly return to for help. In 1955, following the birth of her second daughter, Sexton suffered another breakdown and was hospitalized again; her children were sent to live with her husband's parents. That same year, on her birthday, she attempted suicide.. Dylan Thomas - Thomas was a neurotic, sickly child who shied away from school and preferred reading on his own had a life of alcoholism died at 39. Oscar Wilde Imprisonment for homosexuality was a particularly tragic end for an artist who believed that style in life as well as art was of utmost importance.

3 (Entire list of poets online on wiki WHAT DOES THIS POEM MEAN?! POEM SUMMARY TITLE OF POEM: *poetry titles are quoted (EX: Red, Red Rose ) POET S NAME: READ YOUR POEM! WHAT IS THE THEME OR THE MAIN IDEA OF THE POEM?: Does the poetry deal with themes related to love, death, war, or peace? What other themes show up in the poem? Are there particular historical events that are mentioned in the poem? What are the most important concepts that are addressed in the poem? WHAT IS THE GENRE OF THE POEM?: What kind of poem are you looking at? Is it an epic (a long poem on a heroic subject)? Is it a sonnet (a brief poem, usually consisting of fourteen lines)? Is it an ode? (a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject)a satire? (the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices) An elegy? (a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.) A lyric? KNOW YOUR AUTHOR! (Knowing a little about your author may really help you in deciphering what the poem is really about and help with understanding the tone of the poem! Is your author American? British? Male? Female? What time period did they grow up in? Were they rich or poor? Were they sick? Did they commit suicide? Were they in love? Tell about their life!

4 WRITE A SUMMARY OF THE POEM: (in your own words) LITERARY ELEMENTS: CAN YOU FIND any literary terms throughout your poem?: metaphor: comparison between two unlike things simile: comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as" metonymy: one thing stands for something else that is closely related to it (For example, using the phrase "the crown" to refer to the king would be an example of metonymy.) personification: a non-human thing is endowed with human characteristics litotes: a double negative is used for poetic effect (example: not unlike, not displeased) irony: a difference between the surface meaning of the words and the implications that may be drawn from them

5 POETRY INFORMATIVE ESSAY CHECKLIST HAVE YOU: Completed the POETRY SUMMARY SHEET Completed the CITATION/WORKS CITED SHEET Typed your essay Double spaced your essay IN YOUR ESSAY DID YOU: Introduce your poet and the name of your poem? o (Poem titles throughout your writing should be quoted! Ex: "Red, Red Rose" Did you organize your paragraphs to include: o Introduction (introduce poet and title of poem, introduce three main personal points about poet) o Body Paragraph 1 (Biographical information, Poetry Lines, Analysis) o Body Paragraph 2 (Biographical information, Poetry Lines, Analysis) o Body Paragraph 3 (Biographical information, Poetry Lines, Analysis) o Conclusion (restate introduction) List at least three (3) ways and referenced your author s life and how these personal influences affected his or her writing. o (For instance, were they living during the Revolutionary War?, the Great Depression? Were they poor or rich aristocrats? Were they sick? Did they lose someone they cared about? Were they in love? Cite at least 2-3 lines of the poem to prove your point o Use the lines of the poem to prove your statement

6 CITATION EXAMPLE SHEET *For this assignment, you must cite lines of your poem so that you can analyze the meaning behind the lines, and truly discover if the author s life and personal influence affected the poem! *You must CITE AT LEAST 3 SOURCES! (print or online) EXAMPLE of how to cite a poem from a large anthology: Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best- Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover, Print. EXAMPLE of how to cite a poem from the author s book of poems: Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems. New York: Dover, Print. What information do you need to cite a website: Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. TAKE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU CAN IF AVAILABLE! EXAMPLE of website: Emily Dickinson. The Poetry Foundation. Chicago: Poetry Foundation, Web. 24 Jan IN- TEXT CITATIONS In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what is known as parenthetical citation. This method involves placing relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase. You can use the authors name in the sentence or in the citation. Either way is appropriate as long as you make note of the page number. Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

7 If taken from web use author s name or title of webpage. From Emily Dickinson. The Poetry Foundation. Chicago: Poetry Foundation, Web. 24 Jan Emily Dickinson did not have a very good relationship with her parents. In one of her first letters to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, she spoke cryptically of both parents, describing them in far from complimentary terms: "My Mother does not care for thought and Father, too busy with his Briefs to notice what we do He buys me many Books but begs me not to read them because he fears they joggle the Mind ( Emily Dickinson ). CITATION/WORKS CITED SHEET In the space provided below. Write the bibliographic information necessary to cite your book. Author/Editor of book. Title of Poem. Title of Book. City: Publisher, CopyRight Date. Page Numbers. Print. Author/Editor of article. Name of Site. Database/Website. City: Publisher, CopyRight Date. Web. Access Date. BOOK or PRINT SOURCE 1: BOOK or PRINT SOURCE 2: BOOK or PRINT SOURCE 3: