Download Algebra of the Heart Poems

ALGEBRA OF THE HEART POEMS
J. Turner
English 9 Honours
“Poetry is the algebra of the heart.” – e.e. cummings
The following poems were identified by Grade 9 Honours students as “Algebra of the heart”
poems according to e.e. cummings’ definition of poetry.
Period 3
“For Anne” by Leonard Cohen (p. 93)
“Fire Gardens” by Gwendolyn MacEwen
(p. 72)
“Reading Poetry” (p. 7)
Period 6
“The World’s Shortest Pessimistic Poem”
by Robert Zend (p. 126)
“The Act” by William Carlos Williams (p.
74)
“Balance” by Susan Zimmerman (p. 6)
“First Person Demonstrative” by Phyllis
Gotlieb (p. 89)
VOCABULARY
Simile
Metaphor
Lyric
STUDY QUESTIONS
“For Anne” by Leonard Cohen (p. 93)
1. How do these few, short, end-stopped lines create a sense of voice?
2. What would you describe as the tone of that voice?
3. What emotions come through here?
4. This is a very simple and short poem. Is it still a powerful one?
5. Can you relate to the sentiment expressed? Explain.
6. What might the speaker say to compare Annie’s eye to the morning sun?
7. Who or what do you miss?
8. How might you convey your own feelings of missing someone (or some thing or
place)? Write down an idea for a poem.
“Fire Gardens” by Gwendolyn MacEwen (p. 72)
1. Who are the two people in this poem? What lines give you clues as to their
relationship?
2. Which of the images in this poem are meant to be understood as good things? Which
are bad things? Which are ambiguous to you?
3. There are many metaphors and similes in this poem, and even similes within
metaphors and metaphors within similes. Try to interpret some. What might they
refer to in reality?
4. This poem is difficult to make sense of—it seems like a chaotic jumble of mixed
images. Is there any reason for this chaos?
“Reading Poetry” (p. 7)
1. This poem is a series of similes describing how the speaker reads poems? What does
she mean? Try to explain each one as simply as possible. (“In other words, I read a
poem ________________.”) What different aspects does she describe?
2. What kind of person is Mary McIver? How does she live? Describe her.
3. What emotions does this poem describe?
4. What makes this poem intense?
5. Idea for a poem: Choose something that you love to do, or do often, and write a
poem like McIver’s. (E.g. I blow bubble gum bubbles the way I take notes, separating
and classifying the parts and putting headings at the top of lists, and brushing the
eraser bits off the page. / I blow bubble gum bubble the way balloonists inflate
balloons with enough food for weeks stored in the bottom of the basket, carefully
gauging the progress and preparing ballast and ropes. )
“Balance” by Susan Zimmerman (p. 6)
1. This poem features two examples, one actual and one theoretical. Which is which?
2. What is the lesson she has learned from her mother?
3. What is the effect of the two short lines in the middle stanza?
4. Try to think of a third example where this lesson might be relevant.
“First Person Demonstrative” by Phyllis Gotlieb (p. 89)
1. The speaker is so vehement! What is her problem?
2. What does “gristle gripes my guts” mean?
3. What is “the message”?
4. How would you describe the tone? How do the line breaks help to create that tone?
“The World’s Shortest Pessimistic Poem” by Robert Zend (p. 126)
1. What is the tone of this poem? Is it an appropriate one given the content?
2. How is tone created in this poem?
3. Why rhyme? How does the rhyme help produce the tone?
4. Does this poem imply anything about pessimism or pessimists?
“The Act” by William Carlos Williams (p. 74)
1. Describe the speaker. What evidence supports your description?
2. Describe the person who cuts the roses. What evidence supports that description?
3. How is rhythm created in this poem?
4. Is there any relationship between the spoken rhythm of the poem and the ideas in it?
5. How many clear images are there in this poem?
6. Imagining these images in your head, what emotions are meant to accompany what
you see?