Poetry Continued

Homework Due January 20

1. Write your own Concrete Poem (Visual Poem) 

Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on.

2. Write your own poem where you experiment with line breaks and white space, or they can revisit a poem they wrote earlier in the unit and revise it with line breaks and white space in mind.  This can be a shape poem or a poem in stanza form.

3. Complete the Lesson and Activities on "Identity" below.

Sample Lesson: Identity

Focus Question: How do poets express themes of self and identity in their work?

Teaching Point: To learn how to deconstruct, understand, compare and contrast two poems that speak of what it means to be an American.


Materials Needed:
 “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman - http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/waltwhitman/13228 
 “I, Too Sing America” by Langston Hughes http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15615 

Copies of Venn Diagram

The Audrey Lorde poem "Hanging Fire," that we read in class, dealt with a personal and individual sense of identity, the two poems introduced today speak to a broader understanding of identity – the American identity.

Background about the two poems and poets: 
 Walt Whitman lived from 1819-1892 and lived some of his life in Brooklyn and Manhattan; Langston Hughes lived from 1902-1967 and spent some of his life in Harlem. Walt Whitman, incidentally, was one of Langston Hughes’ favorite poets. 

As you read:
 Listen for how the speaker in each poem adds to the meaning of the poem. Remember,  speaker and author/poet are different. The speaker in the poem is a persona, or character, the author pretends to be in the poem.  The author of the poem is the person who wrote the poem

Directions:
1. Read aloud the Whitman poem first. 
2. Answer the following using complete sentences:

• Who does the speaker represent?
  
• What does the speaker care about?
  
• What is the tone of the poem?
  
• How does the speaker feel about the America he hears singing?
  
• Who is the America that Whitman hears? Who is not included?
  
• Can you relate to this poem? Why or why not?
  
• If you could visualize the poet speaking what would that look like/sound
  like? 

3. Read the Langston Hughes poem aloud. 
4. Answer the same questions posed above. 
5.  Complete a Venn Diagram noting how the two poems are alike or different: http://www.math-aids.com/cgi/pdf_viewer_10.cgi?script_name=venn_2set_graphic.pl&lines=1&language=0&memo=&answer=1&x=89&y=19

 6.  Write a poem about what you  think it means to be an American