unit 2: lyric poetry 1

MEETING 5: lyric poetry quiz

The goal of the beginning of our class today is for you to build as a group an interpretation of a lyric poem. This will be your group’s first attempt at a cooperative quiz, a 40-minute-long assessment of your ability to work as a unit to construct a shared interpretation of how the speaker’s perception changes throughout the poem.

During this process, my involvement will be limited. I’ll be at the board, taking notes on anything I think is helpful (HINT: If I’m writing, you’re probably on the right track.), but I might also chime in from time to time if you’re struggling. You’ll be assessed on your class’s final interpretation of the poem, your ability to productively struggle without my intervention, your cooperation, your active listening, your equitable turn-taking, and your limited domination or withdrawal.

At the end of the class, I’ll share with you my sample thesis about the poem. We’ll also have time to look at sample openers and closers of great process essays.

Homework:

Independent work to be getting on with: Iliad essay, V/SC preparation, The Remains of the Day reading

MEETING 4: two wilbur poems

Before turning to “The Writer” and “The Death of a Toad”, let’s discuss pattern 4: a compound sentence with an explanatory statement. We can use sample [C] in the Anatomy of 50 Great Sentences Packet as a example.

I’d also like to use part of our time today to discuss openers and closers of longer process essays. What is the function of each? We’ll have plenty of examples to turn to.

What are the formal features of each of the two Wilbur poems? How do the formal features of each build the speaker’s evolving perception of the topic at hand? With “The Writer” we can use FIDS; with “The Death of a Toad” we can use the three elements of style.

Homework:

Independent work to be getting on with: Iliad essay, V/SC preparation, The Remains of the Day reading

MEETING 3: lee, “a story”; oppen, “from a photograph”

During our first two classes in this unit, we used our FIDS to explore two lyric poems in which a speaker recalls and pays tribute to a maternal figure in his life. Today we’ll look at two short lyrics about fathers and sons: Li-Young Lee’s “A Story” and George Oppen’s “From a Photograph.” We’ll build an interpretation of each poem and aim to find a thematic connection between them.

Homework:

(1) Read and annotate two Richard Wilbur poems: “The Writer” and “The Death of a Toad”. Mark each up as we’ve been doing in class.

MEETINGs 1/2: “green chile” and “mother country”

What is a lyric poem? How does poetry differ from prose? These are the two questions we’ll try to answer today, diving into two poems: Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “Green Chile” and Richard Blanco’s “Mother Country”.

“Green Chile”: (1) One sign of a poet’s skill and command is the artistic concentration of language. With an image, a figure, a symbol, or a detail, a writer makes abstract ideas concrete: images evoke sensory experience; figures transfer something intangible to something tangible; symbols pack a noun with plurality of meaning; details root meaning in the concrete world of the poem. Find at least one of each in the poem. (2) “JSB’s “Green Chile” is a [adjective] [noun]…”

“Mother Country”: (1) Enjambment generates meaning, often contrast, by breaking a sentence into multiple lines. Identify one example. (2) “RB’s “Mother Country” dramatizes the conflict between…”