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"When you read a poem, you should feel as if the top of your head was just blown off."
Emily Dickinson
2. Print out or type a copy of the lyrics, and submit them for approval if you think they are questionable.
Have your lyrics in class with you on _____________.
I. Analyze your lyrics verse by verse. Look up any unfamiliar words that show up in your lyrics.
Write the meaning of each verse on your lyrics sheet on the right side; try to create 2
columns.
List and label at least 3 examples of figurative language/poetic devices you can find.
Then write a paragraph describing what is the song’s deeper meaning and what you’ve
learned by taking a closer look at this song. We’ll be practicing in class, so you’ll get a
better idea of what to do.
II. On the same sheet of paper as your poetic devices, answer the following question in a paragraph: Do
you consider these lyrics to be poetry? Why or why not?
III. Present your lyrics to the class (3 minutes). You do not need to present the poetic devices, but you
do need to verbally analyze the songs meaning and discuss why you think it is poetry. Do you like the song
more or less now after analysis? Use the screen to post you lyrics. Also, play 1 minute of your song.
Come prepared with a brief outline or note cards.
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Appropriate Song Turned In On Time
0 4
Written portion
Typed and labeled (This means you read and followed directions)
0 1 2 3 4 5
Lyrics Analysis—Stanza by Stanza: describes the deeper meaning
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3 Examples of Poetic Devices—Accurate explained?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Explanation—Is this poetry?
0 1 2 3 4 5
Presentation
Present and read song; give overall analysis, and explain why it is/isn’t poetry.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Incorporates good speaking skills.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CHORUS:
Ends
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Sells the shirt off his back, shoes off his feet
He's losing all his teeth now he's out in the street
But he's from business school and he's nervous with a tool
For the
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and feel the walls for a light switch.
1. Underline, circle, highlight, or otherwise indicate poetic devices. Label what device is used in the margin.
2. Draw pictures in the margins of the images this poem brings to mind.
4. Write the definitions of words whose meanings you aren’t sure of.
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5. we are drama queens and kings. Read the poem aloud with great exaggeration. Act it out. Be loud. Be obnoxious.
Weep. Scream. Run around the room. Laugh your pants off. FEEL!
1. You have been given an object. Study it and jot down some ideas about how this object can connect to your own
life. (Remember, poetry involves capturing a different way of looking at something that may usually seem
somewhat ordinary.)
2. Write a five-line autobiographical poem that mentions your object in each line. The poem should NOT be about
the object. It should somehow tell a story of your life or a part of your life. You can use your object as a point of
comparison or symbolism, but the poem must be about you and not the object. You MUST use at least one of the
poetic devices used in class. You will be assigned which one you must use, but you can use as many as you like!
An Example:
The Watch
On July 1, 1974, I wasn’t wearing a watch. Time was an unopened gift that I’d been given.
As I grew older, it was a necessity, the watch—making sure I never missed what came next.
Sometimes I wish the watch would stop, but then I couldn’t move forward.
Title:______________________
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Langston Hughes(February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967)
Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes was a member of an abolitionist family. He was the great-great-
grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black American to be
elected to public office, in 1855. Hughes attended Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, but began writing poetry
in the eighth grade, and was selected as Class Poet. His father didn't think he would be able to make a living at
writing and encouraged him to pursue a more practical career. He paid his son's tuition to Columbia University on
the grounds he study engineering. After a short time, Langston dropped out of the program with a B+ average; all
the while he continued writing poetry. His first published poem was also one of his most famous, "The Negro
Speaks of Rivers", and it appeared in Brownie's Book. Later, his poems, short plays, essays and short stories
appeared in the NAACP publication Crisis Magazine and in Opportunity Magazine and other publications.
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
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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.
2. How does knowing biographical information about the author add meaning to the poem?
Sometimes the notes are ferocious,
skirmishes against the author
raging along the borders of every page
in tiny black script.
If I could just get my hands on you,
Kierkegaard, or Conor Cruise O'Brien,
they seem to say,
I would bolt the door and beat some logic into your head.
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a bird signing near their window,
or the sunlight that illuminated their page-
anonymous men catching a ride into the future
on a vessel more lasting than themselves.
e. e. cummings
------------------------------------------------------------------
When You Are Old
W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)
Time does not bring relief
I, Too.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
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"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
Sleep
Head on my pillow
Wanting what I am lacking
To hit snooze again
Now it is your turn to try! You are going to create 4-5 haiku or tanka poems (make sure
you try both forms), and we’re going to have a tournament tomorrow. They can be about
whatever you want as long as your topics are classroom appropriate. Prepare ahead of
time, and practice reading them aloud.
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