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MYP unit planner
Unit title
Poetry, the perfect means of expression
Teacher(s)
Mr. Shirley
Subject and grade level
English A –/MYP1 MYP2
Time frame and duration
Term 1 and 2 - 4 weeks
Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit
question
Area of interaction focus
Significant concept(s)
Which area of interaction will be our focus?
Why have we chosen this?
What are the big ideas? What do we want our
students to retain for years into the future?
Human Ingenuity –
Understanding the magnificent scope of
poetry as a precise means of expression.
Because the aim of the unit is on
appreciation of a creative process and by
deepening understanding improving
enjoyment of said process
Understanding how meaning is transmitted
through sounds, words and patterns
MYP unit question
What is it about poetry?
Assessment
What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit question?
What will constitute acceptable evidence of understanding? How will students show what they have understood?
(Formative) -Complete poetry workbook 1 – knowledge input, identifying and applying knowledge.
(Formative) – create own examples for posters on wall of literary terms
(Formative) - Presentation of annotated poem to the rest of the class in pairs
(Formative) – matching of literary terms to their definitions
(Formative) – completion of poetry work sheet in which students have to identify literary terms in poems
they read
(Summative) - Written poetry explication essay
(Summative) – Written test with open question with various level questions.
Year 7 and 8 Poetry Unit – Campus Des Nations
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Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?
 appreciate and comment on the language, content, structure, meaning and significance of both
familiar and previously unseen pieces of age appropriate writing.
 begin to develop a critical appreciation of a range of age-appropriate written texts.
 use language to narrate, describe, explain, argue, persuade, inform,
 express feelings and begin to analyse.
 compare age-appropriate texts
 begin to express an informed personal response to literary texts and demonstrate the ability to
approach age-appropriate works independently.
 understand many of the connotations within a language in order to interpret the author’s or speaker’s
intentions.
 express ideas with clarity and coherence in both oral and written communication
 structure ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing, in a logical way and support them with
relevant examples.
 use and understand an appropriate range of vocabulary and idiom.
 use correct grammar with appropriate and increasingly varied sentence structure.
 show an increased awareness of the need for an effective choice of register suited to the audience in
both oral and written communication.
Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?
Written test: A
Poetry explication essay : A B C
Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning
activities through inquiry
Content
What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit
question?
What (if any) state, provincial, district, or local standards/skills are to be addressed? How can they be unpacked to develop the
significant concept(s) for stage 1?
A selection of literary terms (see workbook)
Presentation and essay writing skills (review)
Annotation of poem
Reading a selection of poetry (students’ choice)
Points 1 to 3 above will give students a deeper understanding of how poetry works and its power,
and how this is achieved
Approaches to learning
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How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?
Note taking
Planning a presentation
Poem annotation
Planning and writing an essay
Studying for a test
Learning experiences
How will students know what is expected of them? Will
they see examples, rubrics, templates?
How will students acquire the knowledge and practise
the skills required? How will they practise applying
these?
Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will
we know?
Teaching strategies
How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback
during the unit?
What different teaching methodologies will we employ?
How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? How have
we made provision for those learning in a language other than their
mother tongue? How have we considered those with special
educational needs?
Students start with poetry interdisciplinary
project
Students read poetry as fun to get into the
swing of things
Bring and share poetry from the past and
discuss prior knowledge of literary terms – this
will provide teacher with basic level of
knowledge of the class
Show student work from last year,
1.
Checking of exercises in workbook - have all
students completed the workbook successfully
– address points of difficulty
2.
creating posters as classroom resources
3. Example of poem annotation by teacher – to be
done afterwards by kids – feedback from teacher
and peers
independent learning – workbook and poetry reading
log, evaluation, writing essay
Workbook providing, choose your favourite
definition of poetry, information and exercises,
examples poems, poetry log sheet, literary
terms check sheet, poetry explication rubric,
evaluation sheets, example of a poetry
explication.
pair work – annotating an presenting a poem
Teacher example of presentation and
annotation of poem
Oral as well as written poetry
Presentations in class – in pairs, peer feedback
on annotations
Large print for dyslexia
Tasks differentiated according to ability – personal
choice of poems to read, choice of essay and more
challenging poems to annotate and write about.
Different colour pens to highlight various aspects
Class work focussed on dissecting poetry and
understanding its beauty
Resources
What resources are available to us?
How will our classroom environment, local environment and/or the community be used to facilitate students’ experiences during
the unit?
Varied selection of poetry books
Poetry workbook 1
Smartboard with different colour pens for annotation
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Internet so that poems can be listened to
Ongoing reflections and evaluation
In keeping an ongoing record, consider the following questions. There are further
stimulus questions at the end of the “Planning for teaching and learning” section of
MYP: From principles into practice.
Students and teachers
What did we find compelling? Were our disciplinary knowledge/skills challenged in any way?
What inquiries arose during the learning? What, if any, extension activities arose?
How did we reflect—both on the unit and on our own learning?
Which attributes of the learner profile were encouraged through this unit? What opportunities were there for student-initiated
action?
Possible connections
How successful was the collaboration with other teachers within my subject group and from other subject groups?
What interdisciplinary understandings were or could be forged through collaboration with other subjects?
Assessment
Were students able to demonstrate their learning?
How did the assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate the learning objectives identified for this unit? How did I make
sure students were invited to achieve at all levels of the criteria descriptors?
Are we prepared for the next stage?
Data collection
How did we decide on the data to collect? Was it useful?
Students and teachers
Students are really interested and keen to get up on the board to share their knowledge.
Students were better able to identify and produce examples of literary techniques in a more controlled
environment than recognising them in a poem.
Reflection was ongoing, positive results for teacher. Students find metaphors and metre (section on metre
has been revised) difficult.
Communicating their feelings about a poem is quite challenging as they have to be very precise and use
direct references to the text. – rather than make vague general statements. They do succeed provided they
are goaded.
Attributes of the learner profile encouraged:
Inquiry – figuring out what makes up the poem and how this has an effect
Knowledge – acquiring knowledge of literary techniques – deepens understanding of something rather
abstract but also helps to identify manipulation of language in other areas – media for example.
Thinkers - learning to understand the deeper meanings of poetry – looking beyond the words
Communicators – they have to communicate their understanding explicitly
Principled – they provide good feedback and accept feedback given – learning from this
Open-minded – they accept other people’s interpretations of poems even though they may not agree
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Caring – they are supportive of each other and help each other when necessary
Balanced –
Reflective – students will be able to gage their ability to analyse poetry and identify their strengths and
weaknesses
Possible connections
Excellent introduction to the project through interdisciplinary module with Dutch A/B and Visual Arts,
introduced to raise awareness of poetry In kinderboeken week – was a natural cross into poetry units in
Language A.
Knowledge shared and acquired in two subjects should strengthen learning and understanding.
Assessment
Workbook assignment provided good overview of the students’ understanding, as did the presentations for
the class – each time the level of difficulty rising – students picked up on feedback.
Students were able to achieve at all levels of the descriptors due to the graded level questions in the
content test and. The task specific criteria for the explication essay were discussed with the class and
cross-referenced with the interim objectives
Data collected
I tried to look for a selection of information and poetry that I thought was meaningful and fun as well as
providing the opportunity for differentiation in terms of complexity and structure of the task. I also tried to
choose subjects I though the kids would be interested in. I think the choice of materials was successful,
may need amending for a future class to meet their needs and interests
Figure 12
MYP unit planner
Year 7 and 8 Poetry Unit – Campus Des Nations
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Poetry Workbook I
Unit question:
What is it about poetry?
AOI: Human Ingenuity
Name: _________________ MYP2 2008/2009
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Poetry Workbook I
Unit question: What is it about poetry?
AOI: Human Ingenuity
Why and how do we create?
What are the consequences?
Which one of the following definitions of poetry do you like best?
‘Poetry
‘Poetry
Moore
‘Poetry
‘Poetry
is a way of taking life by the throat.’ Robert Frost
is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.’ Marianne
is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.’ Carl Sandburg
is as precise as geometry.’ Gustave Flaubert
Explain your choice:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
In order to better understand how beautiful and clever poetry can be, you
are going to study a number of literary techniques used by poets (and
others) to enhance their writing. By the end of this module you will be
able to, explain, identify and apply these literary terms.
Alliteration, Assonance and Consonance
Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in neighbouring words.
Examples:
Molly met Mandy at the market
Pretty Polly picked pears for preserves
Underline the alliteration in the following sentences:
1. Puny puma pit their skills against zebras
2. Handsome Harry hired tomatoes to take to town
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Finish the following sentences with alliterative words
Doodling daughters ______________
Prickly pears _________________
Studious students ________________
Make up your own alliterative sentences:
1
___________________________________________________________
2.
___________________________________________________________
3.
___________________________________________________________
Assonance is the repetition of identical vowel sounds in nearby words.
The repetitions are usually close together in order to create euphony.
Examples:
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain
The child of mine was lying on her side
Identify assonance in the following lines:
Mindy and Milly missed being silly
Ana and Sander sat together at Pat’s
Create your own examples of assonance.
1.
___________________________________________________________
2.
___________________________________________________________
3.
___________________________________________________________
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Consonance is the repetition of identical consonant sounds in nearby
words
Example:
A mime imitated my manner impishly on Monday morning.
Lapping up his dripping iron
Identify the examples of consonance in the following sentences:
Diddle daddle doo
Silly Molly has a dolly
Create your own examples of consonance
1.
___________________________________________________________
2.
___________________________________________________________
3.
___________________________________________________________
Figurative Language
Figurative language is a name given to a class of literary conventions
that are not meant to be interpreted literally; they are to be interpreted
imaginatively. It is used to create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind, in
order to make writing emotionally intense. It is used to state ideas in new
and unusual ways, to satisfy the reader’s imagination.
Three types of Figurative Language:
Similes
Metaphors
Personification
Simile
A simile is a comparison using like or as. It usually compares two
dissimilar objects.
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Example: Ms Foley’s feet are like boats. The size of feet are compared to
boats.
Identify the similes in the following excerpt:
Willow and Gingko (Eve Merriam) (excerpt)
The willow is like an etching,
Fine-lined against the sky.
The gingko is like a crude sketch,
Hardly worthy to be signed.
The willow’s music is like a soprano,
Delicate and thin.
The gingko’s tune is like a chorus
With everyone joining in.
Write down three of your own similes
1._________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________
3._________________________________________________________
Metaphor
A metaphor states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison
that uses the verb to be.
Example: Her hair is silk. (Hair is compared to silk)
Find the metaphors in the poem below and explain what is being
compared.
Dreams (Langston Hughes)
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
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Frozen with snow
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Personification
Personification is giving human qualities, feelings, action, or
characteristics to animals or objects.
Example: The window winked at me (window is the object, winking is a
human quality)
Write down the object being personified and the meaning of
personification.
1. The wind sang her mournful song through the falling leaves.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. The microwave told me it was time to turn my TV dinner.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. The video camera observed the whole scene.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Create your own examples of personification:
1._________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________
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Imagery
Imagery is the use of vivid description, usually rich in sensory words, to
create sense experiences in the reader’s mind. Sensory images include:
Sight (visual imagery)
Sound (auditory imagery)
Taste (gustatory imagery)
Smell (olfactory imagery)
Touch (tactile imagery)
The art to creating exact and powerful imagery is detail, detail, detail.
Examples:
The tree
The tree in spring
The willow tree in spring
The weeping willow tree in spring with leaves
The weeping willow tree in spring, with young, delicate, light green leaves
dancing in the wind
The smell of dog poo
The smell of fresh Great Dane dog poo
The smell of fresh Great Dane dog poo who had three pounds of rotten
fish heads for breakfast
A cat lick
The cat licked my hand
The cat licked my hand, I could feel its rough tongue on my finger
The Red Wheelbarrow (Ezra Pound)
So much depends
Upon
A red wheel
Barrow
Glazed with rain
Water
Beside the white
chickens
Now create some of your own imagery:
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Think of three words for each sense and then create imagery for an
element of nature:
The sea, a brook, a tree, a river, an animal etc.
Element of nature:
Touch
Smell
Taste
Hear
See
Now use these words to write about your object
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Onomatopoeia
Is the term for a word that sounds the same as what it is describing.
Example: cuckoo, bang, whisper.
Underline the examples of onomatopoeia in the following sentences:
The
The
The
The
locomotive chugged down the track
arrow whistled through the air
soldiers snapped to attention
voice droned on monotonously
Think of five examples of onomatopoeia yourself:
1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
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4. ____________________________
5. ____________________________
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is when two words with opposite meaning a placed
together.
Pretty ugly
Exact estimate
Think of a couple of your own examples:
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
Symbol
__________
Fill in the definitionof the symbol:
Danger of fire – Women – Danger
– Men - Radiation – Nuclear
disarmament
______________
______________
______________
_____________
_____________
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_
Design your own symbols for:
Homework and Break
______________________
______________________
Symbols often used in writing are an apple, a tree, spring, a rose.
What do you think they symbolise?
Apple____________________________________________________
Tree ____________________________________________________
Spring ___________________________________________________
Rose_____________________________________________________
Rhyme
Is the same sound, usually in the final syllable or group of syllables in
lines of poetry.
Perfect rhyme
The last syllable of two words sound the same.
Example: true/blue; mountain/fountain
Underline the rhyming words in the verse below:
Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
End rhyme
The rhyme is at the end of a line.
Is the perfect rhyme in the verse above end rhyme? ____
Underline end rhyme in the verse below:
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Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow
Is this perfect rhyme? _____
Internal rhyme
Rhyme that occurs within a line or passage
Underline the internal rhyme in the verse below:
A heavenly paradise is that place,
Wherein all pleasant fruits do flow.
These cherries grow, which none may buy
Till “Cherry Ripe” themselves do cry.
Half rhyme
These rhymes are close but not exact: lap/shape.
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
Underline the half rhyme in the stanza above.
Eye rhyme
Is based on spelling and not sound for example: lost/move
Underline the eye rhyme in the verse below
Letters only spelled the same on paper
Are false notes that jar the genuine ear,
Skilless discords the true listener won’t bear,
Where real rime is to be beauty’s shaper.
Rhythm, scansion, meter and feet
As you know, poems often have a particular rhythm. This rhythm is
referred to as meter. We can find out what the meter is by scanning the
poem. More about feet later.
We’ve Got Rhythm (Anitra L. Freeman)
“The time has come,” the Poet said,
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“To speak of many things;
Of metaphors and similes,
And whether Feet have Wings;
How cummings lost his shift key,
And parody that stings.”
Poetic Podiatry (feet)
A ‘foot’ is a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables. There are many
varied possibilities.
Stressed syllables are denoted as:
’
Unstressed syllables are denoted as:
˘
Five combinations are often found in English poetry:
/˘ ’/
Trochee: stressed followed by unstressed syllable: /’ ˘/
Anapest: unstressed unstressed stressed /˘ ˘ ’ /
Dactyl: stressed unstressed unstressed /’ ˘ ˘ /
Spondee: stressed stressed /’ ’/
Iamb: Unstressed followed by stressed syllable:
Each one of the above patterns is called a foot.
lines of poetry with particular number of feet are referred to as:
one foot: monometer
two feet: dimeter
three feet: trimester
four feet: tetrameter
five feet: pentameter
six feet: hexameter
Iambic
The most common form in the English language is the iambic meter
Iambic pentameter
/˘
’/˘
’/ ˘ ’/˘
’/ ˘ ’ /
When I have fears that I may cease to be
/˘
’/˘
’/ ˘ ’
/˘
’/ ˘
’ /
Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain
John Keats
Iambic tetrameter
/˘
’/ ˘
’/ ˘
’/˘
’/
Come live with me and be my love
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/˘
’/˘
’/˘ ’/ ˘
’/
And we will all the pleasures prove
C. Marlowe
Iambic monometer
/˘
’/
/˘
’/
One girl
One boy
/˘
’/
One phone
/ ˘ ’/
No joy
Anita Freeman
Iambic pentameter – very much used by Chaucer, Milton and
Shakespeare. Iambic pentameter that does not rhyme is called blank
verse. Verse with neither rhyme nor meter is called free verse.
Trochees
Trochaic tetrameter
/ ’ ˘/ ’
˘ / ’ ˘/ ’/
Piping down the valleys wild
/ ’ ˘/’ ˘/ ’ ˘ / ’ /
Tyger Tyger burning bright
Trochaic dimeter
/’
˘ /’ /
Sound the flute
/’
˘/’ /
Now it’s mute
Anapest
Anapestic tetrameter
/˘
˘
’/˘ ˘ ’/˘
˘ ’ /˘ ˘
’ /
When the voices of children are heard on the green
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Spondees
Spondees are used in the middle of another meter for a specific effect:
/’
’/
Hot dog
Confused? Confusion is better than ignorance, or not? You have many
years to master the art of scansion. For now, remember: Rhythm is an
important aspect of poetry which adds to tone, mood and meaning.
Other literary techniques include:
Puns:
A play on words eg:


"You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless of
course, you play bass." —Douglas Adams
(Bass is a homographic pun on the identical spelling of /beɪs/
(low frequency), and /bæs/ (a kind of fish). Tuna is a play on
"tune a".).
Euphony
is soothing pleasant sounds
Example:
O star (the fairest one in sight)
cacophony
is harsh, discordant sounds
example:
Player Piano
My stick fingers click with a snicker
And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys;
Light footed, my steel feelers flicker
And pluck from these keys melodies.
My paper can caper; abandon
Is broadcast by dint of my din,
And no man or band has a hand in
The tones I turn on from within.
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At times I'm a jumble of rumbles,
At others I'm light like the moon,
But never my numb plunker fumbles,
Misstrums me, or tries a new tune.
-John UpdikeNew Yorker 1954
Re-write one of the stanzas from the poem above and make it
euphonious.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Hyperbole
is exaggeration or overstatement.
Examples:
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
He’s as big as a house.
Think of two of your own examples of hyperbole
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
Mood:
is the emotional attitude the author takes towards his subject
Tone:
is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious,
humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective
Note: Mood and tone in a poem are often obvious, however, often also the
most difficult to support with examples from the text.
Look at the following lines:
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‘I love you it’s true but is there anything in that?
I loved baked potatoes and cheese,
Nice ripe red tomatoes and salad cream.’
How could you describe the tone or mood, how do you know?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Cliché
Expression that has lost its originality because it has been used so often e.g.
'busy as bees'.
Stanza
One or more lines that make up the basic units of a poem - separated
from each other by spacing. A stanza containing 2 lines is referred to as a
couplet. A stanza with 4 lines as a quatrain.
Syntax:
The words are put together in a sentence.
Aside from terms and techniques we use to talk about a poem in detail,
we also have terms and words to help us talk and write about the poem as
a whole. This is referred to as a poetry explication.
Diction:
Is the choice of words a poet/author has made.
Allusion:
Is an indirect reference to something.
For example: a poem by Robert Frost with the title Out Out alludes to
concepts expressed in Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare.
Reference:
Is when something is said about something else.
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Repetition:
When words or lines are repeated for an intended effect.
Now complete the following worksheet:
Check your knowledge
Check your knowledge: Fill in the correct term for each definition (in
pencil
1. Oxymoron
2. Onomatopoeia
3. Symbol
4. Allusion
5. Assonance
6. Consonance
7. Alliteration
8. Rhyme
9. Rhythm
10.
Repetition
11.
Imagery
12.
Similes
13.
Metaphors
14.
Syntax
15.
Voice
16.
Tone
17.
Stanza
18.
Scansion
19.
Dramatic situation
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
Blank verse
Pun
Free verse
Couplet
Quatrain
Diction
Personification
Mood
Euphony
Cacophony
Hyperbole
Cliché
Theme
Figurative language
setting
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1.
2.
is using an object or action that means something
more than its literal meaning
is putting two contradictory words together.
3.
is the comparison of two unlike things using like or as
4.
7.
is the usually humorous use of a word in such a way
as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the
meaning of another word similar in sound.
is the emotional attitude the author takes towards his
subject
is the person using the words (not necessarily the
poet)
is a unified group of lines in poetry
8.
is what is happening in the poem
9.
is another word for exaggeration
10.
is giving human qualities to animals or objects.
11.
is harsh, discordant sounds
12.
is a name given to a class of literary conventions that
are not meant to be interpreted literally, they are to
be interpreted imaginatively.
is the general idea or insight about life that a writer
wishes to express
is four lines of verse, which usually rhyme and are of
the same length
is an indirect reference to a person, event, or place,
real or fictitious, or to a work of art.
is using a word or line more than once in order to
create a specific effect
is the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary
choices and style of expression
5.
6.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
is the order of the words, or sentence structure
19.
is a phrase, expression, or idea that has been
overused to the point of losing its intended force or
novelty
20.
is where the poem takes place
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21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or
character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic,
satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective
is a way to identify and mark the metrical patterns of
a line of poetry
is the repetition of consonant sounds
is the correspondence of sound, usually in the final
syllable or group of syllables in lines of poetry.
is soothing pleasant sounds
28.
a pair of lines of verse, which usually rhyme and are
of the same length
is poetry which does not rhyme nor have a specific
sense of rhythm
Is lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter
29.
is the repetition of vowel sounds
30.
is the variation of the length and accentuation of a
series of sounds.
is a word that imitates the sound it represents
27.
31.
32.
33.
34.
comparison of two unlike things using the verb "to
be"
is language that evokes one or all of the five senses:
seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching
is the repetition of initial sounds in neighbouring
words.
Now let’s read some poetry. Choose a wide range of poetry to read
and fill in the form below. Make sure to include all the information.
The main aim of this assignment is for you to read a wide range of
poetry.
Book/website Poem Title
Poet
Year 7 and 8 Poetry Unit – Campus Des Nations
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Literary
technique
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Year 7 and 8 Poetry Unit – Campus Des Nations
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Poetry Explication
The key to a poetry assignment is analysis. Analysis means examining to
understand how things work. It’s exactly like taking apart a piece of
machinery to see how it works. By analyzing poetry, you learn valuable
critical thinking skills that can be applied to science, geography, and other
subjects too.
It’s a good idea to break down your examination of a poem into separate
steps in order to take each element of the poem into consideration and to
better understand how these elements fit together.
Generally we can break up our poem discussion into 9 parts:
Paragraph 1
1. Title and the Poet (What the poem is called and who wrote it)
2. The dramatic situation: what is happening in the poem - can be
split into: speaker/voice, who s/he is talking to, the addressee, and
why, where and when.
Paragraph 2
3. Theme: what is the general idea/message expressed in the poem?
Paragraph 3
4. Structure: what does the poem look like, how many lines, how long
are the lines etc?
5. Imagery, figurative language and literary devices (techniques)
Paragraph 4
6. Rhyme scheme and meter
7. the significance of the title
Paragraph 5
8. Tone/ mood: What attitude, emotional attitude is the author
showing?
9. language/diction: what kind of language is used? Is it simple, lots
of difficult words, and how do these affect the poem. Are there any
puns, oxymoron, hyperbole etc.
Paragraph 6
10.
Conclusion: sum up your basic ideas above.
Note: paragraph structures are an indication. You can adapt this to best
suit the poem and your ideas. You may also wish to discuss the relevance
of the title in another, relevant, paragraph.
Basic Comprehension
Before you can begin a deeper analysis of the poem, you need to make
sure you understand the basic situation and ideas being presented in the
poem:
1. Read the poem silently, then out loud (quietly).
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Do this to familiarize yourself with the poem, including the meter and
rhyme scheme of the poem, if any.
2. Paraphrase the poem.
Write a paragraph in which you sum up, in your own words, what the
poem is about. (Sometimes it might help to paraphrase the poem line by
line). Make sure to look up any words that you don’t understand in the
dictionary.
3. Identify the speaker and the intended audience.
What can you tell about the speaker based on the content of the poem? Is
the speaker male or female, young or old? Is the speaker addressing
anyone in particular? Be sure to make notes about how you were able to
infer this from the poem. (How do you know?)
4. Identify the specific setting of time and place.
Does the poem offer any information about the setting in which the
poem’s action or situation is occurring? This can be concrete information
such as “in the JFK airport in 1986,” or it can be abstract information like
“at the bedside of the speaker’s father as he is dying.”
5. Consider the poem’s title.
Does the title emphasize a particular idea, situation, or theme that may
help give you insight into the meaning of the poem? What does the title
refer to?
6. Language Analysis
Consider the poem’s diction.
Think about the poem’s word choice. Are there any plays on the meaning
of a word or any puns in the poem? Are any words used in such a way
that their meaning is uncertain—do any words appear to mean two things
at the same time?
Identify any figures of speech.
Think about how words or phrases in the poem may have both literal and
figurative meanings. Is there imagery in the poem? Does the poem make
use of metaphor or simile? How do these metaphors or similes give
further insight into the poem’s message? Are there any important symbols
in the poem?
9. Consider the tone of the poem.
Think about how the poem’s language and the context in which it’s written
create a tone—is the tone angry, sad, thoughtful, jubilant? How might this
contribute to the poem’s meaning?
(adapted from Blinn College—Bryan Writing Center Poetry Explication
Online Handout Spring 2006)
Don’t forget that all your knowledge about essay writing (brainstoriming,
planning, editing, paragraph structures etc.) apply to this essay too.
Don’t forget to use quotations.
Good words to use when writing about what the poet says, to avoid saying
says all the time:
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dramatizes
presents
illustrates
characterizes
underlines
asserts
posits
enacts
connects
portrays
contrasts
juxtaposes
suggests
implies
shows
addresses
emphasizes
stresses
accentuates
enables
Annotating a poem:
Annotating a poem means that you scribble in the margins to help you
understand and identify certain aspects of a poem (before writing about
it). We will do this is in class for several poems below.
I'm Nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you -- Nobody -- Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise -- you know!
How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!
How public -- like a Frog -To tell one's name -- the livelong June -To an admiring Bog!
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
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And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky
Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.
Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
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that clearly would not be a treat,
for you'd be forced to smell your feet.
Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.
Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.
Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place-be glad your nose is on your face!
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Annotation assignment:
Now that we have been practising annotation, it’s time for you to do this
yourself. In pairs, select one of the poems below. Annotate them. Be
prepared to share your findings with the class.
The Dolphins
(Carol Ann Duffy)
World is what you swim in, or dance, it is simple.
We are in our element but we are not free.
Outside this world you cannot breathe for long.
The other has my shape. The other's movement
forms my thoughts. And also mine. There is a man
and there are hoops. There is a constant flowing guilt.
We have found no truth in these waters,
no explanations tremble on our flesh.
We are blessed and now we are not blessed.
After travelling such space for days we began
to translate. it was the same space. It is
the same space always and above it is the man.
And now we are no longer blessed, for the world
will not deepen to dream in. The other knows
and out of love reflects me for myself.
We see our silver skin flash by like a memory
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of somewhere else. There is a coloured ball
we have to balance till the man has disappeared.
The moon has disappeared. We circle well-worn grooves
of water on a single note. Music of loss forever
from the other's heart which turns my own to stone.
There is a plastic toy. There is no hope. We sink
to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows.
There is a man and our mind knows we will die here.
A Healthy Meal
(Carol Ann Duffy)
The gourmet tastes the secret dreams of cows
tossed lightly in garlic. Behind the green door, swish
of oxtails languish on an earthen dish. Here are
wishbones and pinkies; fingerbowls will absolve guilt.
Capped teeth chatter to a kidney or at the breast
of something which once flew. These hearts knew
no love and on their beds of saffron rice they lie
beyond reproach. What is the claret like? Blood.
On table six, the language of tongues is braised
in armagnac. The woman chewing suckling pig
must sleep with her husband later. Leg,
saddle and breast bleat against pure white cloth.
Alter calf to veal in four attempts. This is
the power of words; knife, tripe, lights, charcuterie.
A fat man orders his rare and a fine sweat
bastes his face. There are napkins to wipe the evidence
and sauces to gag the groans of abattoirs. The menu
lists the recent dead in French, from which they order
offal, poultry, fish. Meat flops in the jowls. Belch.
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Death moves in the bowels. You are what you eat.
Poetry explication assignment
Now using your notes for one of the poems by Carol Ann Duffy, The
Dolphins or A Healthy Meal write a poetry explication.
Reflection assignment:
What has impressed you most about how poetry is written so far?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Why do you think people write poetry?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
How do you feel about analysing poetry?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Look back the definitions of poetry at the beginning of this module. Do
you still like the definition you chose best? Explain.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Poetry explication essay rubric
Criterion A – Content (receptive and productive)
10 -9
- I have included all
the aspects of the
poem we have
discussed.
- I always support
my ideas with direct
references to the
text.
- I have shown a
deep an thorough
understanding of the
text
10-9
- My essay is
consistently well
organised.
- My use of
paragraphs and
paragraph structure
is excellent.
- My essay is
coherent,
paragraphs are
always in a logical
order.
10-9
- My use of register
is academic – my
tone is professional.
I have tried to use
more than one new
word.
- My sentences are
varied (simple,
complex,
compound) and my
use of punctuation is
mostly correct.
- I have made very
few spelling errors.
8-7
- I have included
most the aspects of
the poem we have
discussed.
- I mostly support
my ideas with direct
references to the
text.
- I have shown a
good understanding
of the text
6-5
- I have included
some the aspects of
the poem we have
discussed.
- I have sometimes
supported my ideas
with direct
references to the
text.
- I have shown
some understanding
of the text
4-3
- I have included
some the aspects
of the poem we
have discussed.
- I have
sometimes
supported my
ideas with direct
references to the
text.
- I have shown
some
understanding of
the text
Criterion B - Organisation
8-7
6-5
4-3
- My essay is mostly - My essay is
- My essay shows
well organised.
sometimes well
the beginnings of
- My use of
organised.
organisation.
paragraphs and
- I have made an
- I have made an
paragraph structure
obvious attempt to
attempt to
is very good.
structure my
structure my
- My essay is
paragraphs.
paragraphs.
coherent,
- My essay is fairly
- I have tried to
paragraphs are
coherent,
order the my
mostly in a logical
paragraphs are
paragraphs
order.
sometimes in a
l;ogically.
logical order.
Criterion C Style and Language Mechanics
8-7
6-5
4-3
- My use of register
- My use of register
- My use of register
is mostly
is sometimes
is rather informal. I
appropriate. I have
appropriate. My
have used the same
tried to use at least
vocabulary use is
words I normally
one new word.
good; I could have
use.
- My sentences are
tried to use a new
- My sentences are
varied. I have made
word.
mostly simple and I
some errors in
- I have sometimes
have tried to use
punctuation but
varied my
correct punctuation.
these do not make
sentences. I have
- I need to focus on
my writing difficult
made some
my spelling.
to understand.
punctuation errors.
- I have made few
- I have made some
spelling errors.
spelling errors.
2-1
- I have included
very few aspects of
the poem we have
discussed.
- I have hardly
supported any of
my ideas with direct
references to the
text.
- I have shown very
little understanding
of the text
2-1
- My essay shows
little organisation
- I have used few
paragraphs.
- My essay is not
very coherent,
paragraphs need
ordering.
2-1
- My use of register
is informal.
- I have used
mainly simple
sentences without
paying much
attention to
punctuation.
- I have paid very
little attention to
spelling.
Teacher comments:
___________________________________________________________
Student reflection:
Student goals:
___________________________________________________________
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Acknowledgements
Much of what is in this unit, I have taken from a wide range of excellent
Internet resources. Unfortunately, in my busy teaching life, I did not keep
a careful record of these sources. It is not my intention to offend anyone
or to claim any of this work as originally my own. Should you find or know
any of the original resources used please include them in this document.
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