Poetry Cycles/Deportee

AGENDA:

Morning reflection:
Deportee and "Everyday We Become More Illegal"

How can someone get “more illegal”? What are the feelings of the people in the poem? How does the poem relate to the song? What relevance does the poem have today? Is it the same or different from the relevance of Guthrie’s song?

Brockport welcomes migrant community
http://en.elmensajerorochester.com/community-faith/features/migrant-workers-welcomed-in-brockport/

Work on poetry cycles--completed poetry cycles are due on Friday

Billy Collins poems

Arts & Lectures event this Thursday 7:30  Downtown Presbyterian Church--Roxane Gay

http://www.roxanegay.com/

Billy Collins

AGENDA:

Continue working on poetry cycles

HMWK:  Read to pg. 82 in Billy Collins

Have a wonderful thanksgiving break!

Upcoming Events

Coffeehouse Readings:   Thursday, 7 pm , 11/19, in Ensemble Theatre

Master Class with Lauren Acampora:  Periods 3/4    11/20 in Ensemble Theatre

http://www.wab.org/

http://www.laurenacampora.com/

Linebreaking/Enjambment

AGENDA:

Work on poetry cycles.

Read the following:

Do the line break exercise on the handout.  Cut and paste the passage onto a word document.

EXERCISE:

http://english202-childers.blogspot.com/2010/09/line-break-exercise.html

Also read:

http://mrbchs.wikispaces.com/line+break+exercise

The Poetic Line

What is a poetic line?

A line is a unit of words in a poem, and it can vary in length.  According to Oliver (1994), "The first obvious difference between prose and poetry is that prose is printed (or written) within the confines of margin, while poetry is written in lines that do not necessarily pay any attention to the margins, especially the right margin" (35).

An example

Here are three lines from Robert Creeley's poem "The Language":

Locate I

love you some-

where in

SOURCE: OLIVER, M. (1994). A POETRY HANDBOOK. ORLANDO: HARCOURT BRACE & CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Lineation

What is lineation?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, lineation is "an arrangement of lines."  Coulson and Temes (2002) elaborate on this definition: "[T]here is an interplay between the grammar of the line, the breath of the line, and the way lines are broken out in the poem--this is called lineation" (para. 12).

An example

Here is an example of  "an arrangement of lines," spanning two stanzas, from Robert Creeley's poem "The Language":

Locate I

love you some-

where in

teeth and   

eyes, bite   

it but

SOURCE: COULSON, J & TEMES, P. (2002) HOW TO READ A POEM. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.POETS.ORG/VIEWMEDIA.PHP/PRMMID/19882 & CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Enjambment

What is enjambment?

Estess and McCann (2003) tell us: "Enjambment means breaking a line but not ending the sentence, that is carrying over a sentence from one line to the other" (p 140).

An example

There are multiple examples of enjambment in these lines from Robert Creeley's poem "The Language." Notice how this single sentence is carried over from one line to the next and over multiple stanzas, and all the lines break abruptly.

Locate I

love you some-

where in

teeth and   

eyes, bite   

it but

take care not   

to hurt, you   

want so

much so   

little.

SOURCE: ESTESS, S. & MCCANN, J. (2003). IN A FIELD OF WORDS: A CREATIVE WRITING TEXT. UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ: PRENTICE-HALL & CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Robert Creeley and The Line

One of the masters of enjambment and the line is the poet Robert Creeley.  As you can see above, Creeley's line breaks are often startling and unexpected.  To find out more about Creeley's unique use of the line (or breaking the line), read the section on "The Line" in How to Read A Poem, which you can find here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19882

You can also find a brief biography of Robert Creeley and his poems here:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/184

SOURCE: POETS.ORG FROM THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETRY

Robert Creeley's "The Language"

Here is the complete poem of Robert Creeley's "The Language":

The Language

Locate I

love you some-

where in

teeth and   

eyes, bite   

it but

take care not   

to hurt, you   

want so

much so   

little. Words   

say everything.

I

love you

again,

then what   

is emptiness   

for. To

fill, fill.

I heard words   

and words full

of holes   

aching. Speech   

is a mouth.

SOURCE: CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Robert Creeley's "The Language": An Animated Version

An animated poem of Robert Creeley's "The Language" read by Carl Hancock Rux:

open player in a new window

SOURCE: POETRY FOUNDATION

"Creeleyizing" A Poem

Assignment Task:

Select a poem that you have written.  For the purposes of this assignment, it is best if the poem consists of lines at least ten syllables in length and/or heavily end-stopped lines (meaning that punctuation appears at the end of the line). 

After you have selected a poem, "Creeleyize" your poem.  In other words, rewrite your poem by breaking your lines at unexpected moments (like Creeley does in a number of his poems), creating frequent enjambment and short lines.  

Assignment Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to revise the lineation of your poem, exploring ways in which your changes in line breaks and line length open up new meanings and points of emphasis in the poem.  It might also suggest possibilities for further revision to imagery and sound.

Some Questions to Consider After Your Revision:

• Does the change in lineation help reinforce the rhythm of the poem? Or does it seem distracting?
• Is the change in lineation appropriate for the meaning of the poem? In other words, does this new form enhance the content of the poem?
• What words and phrases stand out to you in this revision that did not stand out before?  How does this change the poem?
• What additional ways might you revise the poem to explore other possibilities for making meaning, sound or word play?

Billy Collins/More poems

AGENDA:

Test on Thomas and Beulah

Work on poetry cycles

READ:

"The Lanyard"   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EjB7rB3sWc

Response Poems:
http://faculty.gvsu.edu/kanekot/coursedocs/responsepoem.htm 

Responding to poetry

1. A Framework for Responding to Poetry

Introduction:

• Briefly introduce the title of the poem and name of the poet.
• Try to classify the type of poem it is e.g. sonnet, ballad, haiku, acrostic, shape, lyric, ode, limerick, elegy, dramatic monologue etc. 
• Briefly explain the subject of the poem.

Point One: Explore the Themes of the Poem

• Try to group the ideas in the poem is there a story that the poem tells?
• What do you think the poem is about?

Point Two: Imagery used to express themes

• What are the pictures in the poem?
• Are metaphors/similes used to explain ideas?
• Are the five senses used to evoke certain reactions in the reader?

Point Three: Form and Structure

• How is the poem organised e.g. lines, verses, layout and shape.
• Why has the poet decided to structure the ideas in this way e.g. the sequence of ideas, length of lines, patterns etc.

Point Four: Rhyme and Rhythm

• How does the poem rhyme? E.g. abab or aabb etc.
• What is the rhythm of the poem when read aloud?
• Why has the poet chosen this rhyme and rhythm to express these ideas?

Point Five: Language Patterns

• Think about the sound of the poem and choice of words
• The poet uses specific words because they have a certain association in the reader's mind.
• Look out for alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, personification, symbolism. How has the poet grouped words to achieve a desired effect?

Conclusion: Poet's message

• What is the poet trying to communicate to the reader?
• How effective are the devices/language that he uses?
• What is your response to the poem?

This poetry handout was found  at www.englishresources.co.uk

                       
                                   2 .  Writing About Poetry

What is the poem about? Summarise what the poem is about in two or three sentences.
Write about the verse form of the poem. If the poem is rhymed verse, what is the rhyme scheme? Why do you think the poet chose this verse form?
Choose three or four interesting descriptive words or phrases in the poem. Say what they mean and why you found them interesting.
Choose a comparison (for example, simile, metaphor or personification) from the poem. Explain why you liked it.
Write about the tone and mood of the poem. Is it funny, sad, happy, angry, bitter, peaceful, serious? Use quotes to prove your point.
What did the poem make you think of, or feel? Try and give reasons for your opinion and quote from the poem to show what you mean.
Did you like the poem? Give reasons for your answer.
                              
                         
                             3. How to analyse a poem.
1. Brief summary of poem - What is the story?
2. Diction - language/words/vocabulary poet uses
3. Theme -  the ideas the poetry expresses/what seems to be important to the poet.
4. Imagery - language used to convey sense impressions
        (create the experience in our imagination)
5. Figurative language - has the poet used any  similes, metaphors or personification and why?
6. Rhyme -   Is there a rhyme scheme and does it help with structure?
7. Tone   -    What tone of voice is used?

IMAGERY -

This term covers all the various types of image in a piece of writing. An image is a mental picture created by the words that a writer chooses for effect. Images create “a picture in the mind.” Images are usually either metaphors or similes. In Ogun the carpenter’s knuckles are described as “silver knobs of nails”. This suggests the work-worn hands of the carpenter and the polished highlights of his skin.

TONE -

This tells us the attitude of the poet to the subject. Tone may change. Not necessarily the same all the way through the poem.
e.g.     What is the tone?
 I have had playmates, I have had companions
 In my childhood days, in my joyful school days.
 All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
       (Charles Lamb)
 A thousand years you said
 As our hearts melted.
 I look at the hand you held
 And the ache is hard to bear.
From T. Wells

New England Young Writers Conference deadline 11/24

Website:

http://sites.middlebury.edu/neywc/

Billy Collins

AGENDA:

EQ: How are the two sections of the cycle interrelated?  What do the poems show about the relationship between Thomas and Beulah?

READING:  Get Billy Collins poems and read to pg. 18

Billy Collins website:

http://www.billy-collins.com/

TED talk:

http://blog.ted.com/2012/02/28/poems-in-motion-billy-collins-at-ted2012/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BXZjTETLQM  

Everyday Moments Caught in Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddw1_3ZVjTE 

SPEAKING and LISTENING: Review Thomas and Beulah handout enotes.  Test on Friday

WRITING:  Work on poetry cycles.