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POETRY HOMEWORK

DO NOT LOSE -- Packet worth 750pts!

Name __________________________

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Nothing Gold Can Stay By Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

ANALOGIES Riddle of the Sphinx – means Connection to NGCS Carpe Diem – means Connection to NGCS Optimism – means Connection to NGCS Pessimism -- means Connection to NGCS

FOR ↓ O Captain My Captain (next page)

Separate into 6 even groups to answer the following questions

Grp#1: Who is the captain, father? Why does the speaker use both titles for the person in the poem? Grp#2: What things are mentioned on shore? Make a list of them and try to explain why they are there. HINT: there is more than one reason. Grp#3: This group has to talk about each stanza of the poem (3) and draw pictures (sketches) of the scene in each. How are the scenes different? What is happening in each? The sketches should only show what is told in that stanza, don’t add anything based on opinion. Grp#4: Based on the wording of the poem, what do you think the trip was that the ship is returning from? Look at each line carefully…see if you find a pattern. What imagery (pictures) come into your head? Grp#5: Why do you think the poet keeps repeating the lines “fallen cold and dead” in each stanza? HINT: there IS a reason. Think about why people repeat themselves…. Grp#6: The speaker in the poem seems to go through different moods throughout the poem, or has different feelings. Explain, in each stanza, what it is you think the speaker is feeling and why.

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O Captain My Captain by Walt Whitman

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores, and ring O bells! But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

1. In Frost’s poem, what color does the speaker say is nature’s first green? 2. How long does the early leaf remain a flower? 3. In Whitman’s poem, to whom is Abraham Lincoln compared? 4. What does the narrator see on the deck of the ship? Brainstorm about the two names the narrator calls the captain. What do these two names have in common? Note the similarities below. Captain compared to _____________

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VOCABULARY CONNECTIONS Your knowledge of familiar words can often help you figure out a word that, at first, may seem completely unfamiliar. Use your familiarity with the underlined words in the sentences below to figure out what other words mean. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line.

____ 1. “So dawn goes down to day …”

By thinking about what dawn is, you can figure out that a dawning realization is one that

is

A. confusing B. completely obvious

C. hard to understand D. just beginning to be understood

____ 2. “While follow eyes the steady keep…”

By thinking about what steady means, you can figure out that steadfast love is love that is

A. temporary B. very romantic

C. new and exciting D. unchanging and constant

____ 3. “For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths…”

By thinking about what a wreath is, you can figure out that if clouds wreathe the

buildings, the clouds

A. rain on them B. encircle them

C. lie above them D. hide them completely

____ 4. “My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still…”

A pallid face is one that

A. lacks color B. looks friendly

C. looks healthy D. is recognizable

____ 5. “My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will.”

A pulsating noise is one that

A. echoes B. is quite pleasant

C. has a rhythmic beat D. can barely be heard

____ 6. “The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done…”

When something has reached closure, it has been

A. sent away B. concluded

C. found to be useful D. made understandable

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Spelling Pattern: Commonly Misspelled Words

Some words are particularly difficult to spell. Words like comb and thumb are hard because they

contain silent letters. Words like peal and peel are hard because they sound the same but are spelled

differently. Learn the spellings of the following words to avoid common spelling errors in your writing.

Accept bugle grief rhythm

Anchor ceiling hour separate

Answer exulting mourn spaghetti

Autumn familiar necessary weight

Bouquets flower numb wreaths

A. Complete each group of words by adding a spelling word from the list above

that fits into the group.

1. macaroni, pizza, ________________ 2. reply, respond, __________________

3. sorrow, sadness, _________________ 4. cry, regret, ______________________

5. spring, winter, __________________ 6. horn, trombone, __________________

7. sail, oar, _______________________ 8. minute, second, __________________

9. height, length, __________________ 10. needed, required, ________________

11. well-known, famous, ____________ 12. floor, wall, _____________________

B. Write the spelling word that sounds like the word shown.

1. our _________________ 2. morn ____________________

3. flour ________________ 4. wait ____________________

5. sealing _______________ 6. except __________________

C. Proofread these sentences for spelling errors. In the space after each

sentence, write each misspelled word correctly. Each sentence may contain

more than one error.

1.The home crowd was exsulting in their team’s exciting victory.

2.The teacher found it nesessery to seperate the two children.

3. That tune seems familar, but the rythem seems slightly off.

4 Rosa felt num with grief when her cat disappeared.

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JABBERWOCKY

By Lewis Carroll (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

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Grammar: Identify Common Parts of Speech Your group will concentrate on a specific stanza of the poem “Jabberwocky”. While reading through your stanza, try to decipher which words fit into each of the following categories: PN = Proper Noun pr = pronoun n = noun v = verb adj. = adjective adv. = adverb c = connecting word a = article In the blank next to each category, write all the words from the stanza that fit the description of that part of speech. PN ___________________________________________________________________ pr ___________________________________________________________________ n ____________________________________________________________________ v _____________________________________________________________________ adj. ___________________________________________________________________ adv. ___________________________________________________________________ c _____________________________________________________________________ a _____________________________________________________________________ ** You may find it useful to write the basic definitions of each part of speech and an example next to the codes at the top of the page. You may also want to write the codes above each word in the stanza to make sure you haven’t missed any that fit into the categories.

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We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

THE POOL PLAYERS SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.

Analyzing Author’s Craft

In the poem “We Real Cool”, Brooks writes using a particular style. Look carefully at the poem and make at least 5 observations of her writing style. List your questions below. Then go back and look at the poem again to try to answer your questions. WHY would she (do whatever you noticed)? What is the purpose of that? How does it help to convey the message of the poem? 1. I noticed that… WHY? 2. I noticed that…

WHY?

3. I noticed that…

WHY? 4. I noticed that… WHY? 5. I noticed that… WHY?

AFTER they have all answered these independently…

6. Based on what you noticed above, what inferences can you make about the ‘Pool

Players Seven”? For each answer, explain why (citing detail from the text)

A.

B.

C.

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7. Brooks’s use of repetition helpful in determining theme in this poem. Support this

statement with evidence from the text.

8. Short Answer:

Based on evidence, argue what you believe could be one of Brooks’s themes for

this poem. You only have to argue for one specific theme (name it) and provide

evidence.

Follow up:

The following class, exchange papers with a partner and critique their chosen

theme based on the evidence presented (while they critique your theme as well).

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Analyzing Concrete Poetry Look carefully at the concrete poem “Track Star”. Write a paragraph explaining

what it means and why Rowe wrote (drew) it the way she did. How does the appearance

of the poem help you to understand the point?

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What do you think the title of this poem is/should be? ___________________

_____________________________________________ By Eve Merriam

Steps to properly reading poetry! Step #1: Translation of lines (look up words you don’t know) Step #2: Look for patterns and note them either next to poem or in notebook Step #3: Determine the basic meaning of the poem (one author obviously intended) Step #4: Think of analogies that fit the basic meaning of the poem Step #5: Decide if you agree or disagree with the basic meaning Step #6: Open your mind to other interpretations (opinions) of the poem

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POETRY TERMS:

Inspiration – what caused author to write poem to begin with (why)

Basic meaning – the point author wanted to get across to the reader (what) OBVIOUS

meaning the author wants you to understand, very clear

Analogy – another way of saying what you learned from it (explaining or exploring an

idea using a parallel idea that is more familiar to us – MUST be significant features

in the parallel a common link between 2 things that helps you understand them.

Interpretation – what did you learn from it (in your own words) What you or anyone else

thinks the message is. This can be anything as long as there is evidence to support

your theory in the text, and as long as there isn’t anything in the text to refute your

theory

Vague – lack of definition or clarity. This is what allows poetry to be seen differently

by many people. You have the general meaning, but beyond that there are countless

possibilities. A poem can’t possibly explain enough to have it only fit into one

possible meaning.

Background – any information received or known that isn’t directly from the words of the

text. You may have research or personal knowledge of the author, time period,

subject or text that give you deeper insight into the meaning of the poem

Rhyme – like sounding words, usually found at the end of a verse line. This, in a poem,

usually has a rhyme pattern (every line, every other line, aba…)

Rhythm – a pattern of sounds made up of stressed syllables – it resembles a “beat” at

equal intervals

Pattern – something that is repeated enough to be significant in decoding meaning

(sounds, categories of words, topics, tone, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, theme)

Flow – how one thing connects to another (logic, rhythm, rhyme, topic, shape)

Alliteration – the repetition of the same sounds in words that are close together

“little old lady got mutilated late last night”

Personification – referring to something inhuman as if it were human (giving human

qualities)

Onomatopoeia – words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to

Translation – putting authors thoughts into more common language (your own words)

so you understand it without changing the meaning!

“Your kicks are fly.” Interpretation – what you think the author is getting at – your opinion

Play ‘operator’ game with students to understand interpretation vs. translation

Definitions:

A poem – a thought put into poem form that accurately describes an experience, vision,

sound, feeling or event – in order to communicate it

Concrete poetry – a poem that forms a picture out of the typed words – generally the

picture corresponds with the theme of the poem

Acrostic poetry – a poem in which initial letters of each line can be read vertically – to

spell something significant to the theme of the poem

Free verse – does not have to rhyme or have rhythm

Blank verse – does not have to rhyme, but has rhythm

Rhymed verse – rhymed and has rhythm

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"Who Am I . . . Friend or Foe?"

by : Marigrace Iodice

I am more powerful than the combined armies of any continent, Myself & the forces of law know how many lives I have spent!

I have destroyed more homes than all the wars among creation,

I've caused millions of accidents & wrecked more lives Than all the floods, tornadoes, hurricanes & earthquakes

Put together from this nation.

I am the world's slickest thief I steal billions of dollars each year

I find my victims among the strong & the weak The young, the old, the rich & the poor

Because of me, they feel no fear.

I appear and loom up to such proportions I cast a shadow over every field of occupations

By my 'overcoming sensations' I am taken everywhere . . . even on vacations.

I am unpredictable, inconsiderate, and relentless

I come in different colors & different smells I'm affordable to most, but to others - - I am PRICELESS!

I am everywhere

- - On the sea - - In the air - - In the office - - On the streets

- - & even in your own home. I am mostly a 'crowd-pleaser'

But can be enjoyed when you're alone.

I give NOTHING . . . But take ALL! I am your worst enemy!

Did you figure me out yet?

I am ____________________!

Read the poem above and make an educated guess about what this poem is about. Fill in the blank ↑ with your answer.

How many different valid responses can you come up with? (Be prepared to explain why your answer is valid.)