ELA6 SB U6 L7
Introduction and Objective
Words, words, words! So many words!
Actually, poems don’t usually use many. At least when compared to novels. Did you know that the average length of a novel is approximately 80,000 words? Meanwhile, some poems have all of three lines. A haiku is exactly seventeen syllables – which means that it’s never over seventeen words!
Seventeen versus 80,000+. The point is that poems pack a ton of meaning into a very small space.
So few words. So much meaning! How can anyone figure out what those poets are trying to say? How can seventeen (or seventy or seven hundred) words every really convey anything?
Today 's lesson objective is:
• Students will demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English when speaking based on grade 6 level and content.
Take a moment to consider this lesson’s objective. What do you already know about poetry and its conventions? Are you familiar with fiction and historical texts for meaning? How can you use that knowledge in this lesson? Think about songs that you listen to on the radio – how do you decipher their meaning? How will that ability help you today?
Open your digital notebook and jot down a few learning skills you might use to achieve these objectives. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Poem_to_his_Sacred_Majesty_on_the_Plot_written_by_a_Lady_of_Quality_1679.jpg [DOK 1: Types of Poems]
In a paragraphs, describe the elements you learned regarding poetry from your textbook (beginning on page 450). For example, how does your book discuss “defining poetry,” poetic subgenres and kinds (and discussing what’s been discussed), syntax and language, etc… One way to look at this assignment is to create a “recap” of notes from the chapter, by highlighting the important points of chapter. Another way to approach this question is to discuss parts of a poem, or ways to deconstruct a poem.
Poetry in some way, shape or form, gives realistic ideas to even objects that reflect upon a part of life by using symbolism and personification.
In order to appreciate a poem properly, care must be taken to analyze and understand many different facets of the work. Poems are often very complex and require a great deal of thought in order to arrive at the intended meaning. At the very least, three particular items of information must be uncovered during the reading of poetry. An experienced reader of poetry will always determine the identity of the speaker, the occasion of the speech, and the central idea of the poem.
A poet hopes that people would appreciate their poem in a way that it is not mistreating the work’s value. In the poem “Introduction to poetry” Billy Collins describes his desires on how students should connect with poems. Collins states that students try to force out meanings out of poems instead of diving in to understand its true nature. The author creates a sensitive yet aggressive tone to convey two ways of poetry appreciation through his use of diction, personification and metaphor.
This poem takes a simple subject and adds a very interesting perspective to the way we look at it. Even the name is unusual “Introduction to Poetry” it sounds like a chapter in one of our literary books. We get this classroom feeling from the title all the way to the last stanza it sounds like a teacher speaking to another teacher, telling them how their poetry lesson went. This poem takes into account how linear people can be when it comes to poetry usually they don’t care for the detail they just want the meaning of the poem and be done with it. But poetry is meant to be experienced and along the way we may find a meaning to the poet’s words.
Poetry, what first comes to mind? If your anything like me, poetry can seem somewhat monotonous, rather like a locked door exclusive, complicated, and hard to understand. I think poetry tends to be a big game of “Guess what I’m thinking!” and I hate that game. I’m not a mind-reader. I think a lot of people who get excited about poetry are really pretentious. This possibly comes from believing that they actually can guess what other people are thinking. When we think poetry, we tend to know poetry by it’s traditional forms of having sonnets, ballads, often rhyming (but not always) and they tend to have a specific and symmetrical structure (APA). Throughout this essay I wanted to consider poetry through different explorations and how subverting the traditional conventions of poetry might be an effective way of engagement or in an opposing way of demotivating the reader.
Today 's lesson objective is: Students will explain how the author’s use of similes and/or metaphors contributes to the meaning and tone of the poem.
The second lesson is similes and metaphors. Where are they in this poem? How do they work? Why did the author choose these? Explore.
“Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins takes a whimsical approach to discuss the act of reading and understanding poetry. This poem serves as an outlet for Collins to express the ways he wishes his students would read poetry, as well as voice his frustration for his student’s narrow view of poetry. The descriptive method Collins takes suggests that to pursue an interest in poetry can be enjoyable but involves a treacherous journey to find the true meaning. Still, not all students are interested in undertaking the trek towards knowledge and will make efforts to take a shortcut. Collins use of similes and metaphors and imagery throughout the poem brings readers along on a journey to experience the same feelings as he does.
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by
Yet, these two poems have differing styles, and vastly different messages. Collins’ use of repetition and simple imagery and diction puts the reader’s focus on his message, and the juxtaposition between how Collins entreats readers towards simple enjoyment of poetry, and the grim, fastidious fashion in which readers want to scrape meaning from the rind of a poem. Lux’s minimal use of repetition, careful diction, and powerful, manifold metaphors demonstrates to his reader what their own internal voice is and how it colors and shapes the way that they view and experience poetry. The contrasting styles of these two poems underscores the basic tools that both poets use, and how the emphasis of one tool, such as complex metaphor, can result in a more opaque poem, or in Collins’s case, an easily accessible poem whose focus is on the message, and less on the style in comparison to Lux. In a similar vein, there are a finite amount of ways to tell a story. There are only 26 letters, after all. So the style becomes a choice between overly portentious writing, and friendly, more accessible, albeit shorter style. I think the latter is more effective in conveying a message, while the former is more adept at giving an experience to the
For as long as it can be remembered people have used multiple forms of literature in order to gain knowledge, entertain, and even express a certain idea. Poetry is in fact one of those forms of literature, and before people began to write it, it was known to be told verbally by many. A person would tell a tale and those who listened would memorize it, what eventually caused poetry to spread around. Still to this day, many come to fall in love with the magic poetry possesses. It is the writer’s decision to either have a specific rhythm to it or just have a simple list of words. This essay argues that poetry is a creative way of expressing one's emotions and that it should be, not only preserved, but celebrated, even by those who have not considered themselves poetry fans in the past.
People are drawn to poetry because it uses words to express emotions that most people
Poetry is a reduced dialect that communicates complex emotions. To comprehend the numerous implications of a ballad, perusers must analyze its words and expressing from the points of view of beat, sound, pictures, clear importance, and suggested meaning. Perusers then need to sort out reactions to the verse into a consistent, point-by-point clarification. Poetry utilizes structures and traditions to propose differential translation to words, or to summon emotive reactions. Gadgets, for example, sound similarity, similar sounding word usage, likeness in sound and cadence are at times used to accomplish musical or incantatory impacts.
In my preparation for this essay I thought that there was going to be very little that I would learn about the elements of poetry. This is not because I am an expert and have nothing new to learn, but rather the opposite. I have never really spent the time to break down and appreciate poetry. One of the reasons I think that I haven’t spent the time on poetry is due to my reading habits. I usually read to gather information and poetry is on the other end of the spectrum. Fredrick Gruber sums this up, “Poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.” (Gruber) Having said all of this though, I did see a couple of things that I could apply to my own writing. I will first start off with some elements of poetry that I