engl 468 poetry lp

8/14/2019 Engl 468 Poetry Lp

1/15

A Poem of Possibilites


2/15

BELLRINGER: Day 1

Respond to the following statement in completesentences.

DO YOU SET YOUR OWN COURSE? If life is a JOURNEY, then whos driving? Some

people feel that they make their own choices aboutwhere to turn and how far to drive, while othersfeel they are simply following a course set bysomeone else.


3/15

Role-Play ActivityImagine that you are applying for a job or preparing

for a college interview.

In small groups, take turns interviewing one anotherabout your life goals.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?In 10 years?In 15 years?

When answering these questions, explain whatchoices you may have to make in order to achievethese goals.Use the pre-writing hand out to guide you in these

discussions.


4/15

Name:_______________________

Date:________________________Block #:_____

Role-Play Activity / PrewritingWhere do you see yourself in five years? Name and

describe a specific place.What are you doing with your life in five years? How

do you see yourself spending your 9-5 day?What is the biggest physical change in you from your

high school self? IN other words, at your high school

reunion, what will people notice first about you?What is your general attitude toward life? Are you

happy? Depressed? Confused? Dissatisfied?What do you miss most about your high school self

and/ or your high school life?


5/15

Poetic Form

Adramatic monologue is a poem in whichthe speaker addresses a silent or absent listener,as if engaged in a private conversation. Thespeaker often reveals his or her own feelings,attitudes, motivations, and character traits in a

moment of high intensity or deep emotion. TheSeven Ages of Man is an example of a dramaticmonologue; it is delivered by a character inShakespeares playAs You Like.


6/15

Literary Analysis: Meter Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed

syllable in a line of poetry. Rhythm that follows a

regular pattern from line to line is called meter. Why bother to use meter?

For the same reasons that a songwriter bothers to usemusic: it sounds nice, its easy to remember, and itallows for extra emphasis of words or phrases.

As you read the following poems aloud tap your foot asyou go. Then ask yourself these questions:

Is the meter obvious or subtle? It is close to normalspeech?


7/15

The Seven Ages of ManWilliam ShakespeareAll the worlds a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many

parts,5 His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurses arms;And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchelAnd shining morning face, creeping like snailUnwillingly to school. And then the lover,

10 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful balladMade to his mistress eyebrow. Then a soldier,Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,Seeking the bubble reputation

15 Even in the cannons mouth. And then the justice,In fair round belly with good capon lined,With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts20 Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wideFor his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

25 And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,That ends this strange eventful history,Is second childishness and mere oblivion,Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.


8/15

Change is thelaw of life. Andthose who look

only to the pastor present arecertain to miss

the future.--John F. Kennedy


9/15

The Road Not TakenRobert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.


10/15

BELLRINGER: Day 2 Respond to the following statement in complete

sentences.

SO FAR HAVE YOU TAKEN THEROAD LESS TRAVELLED?

After reading Robert Frosts poem The Road NotTaken would you say that so far you have takenthe road less travelled or have you followed alongwith the crowd? Do you want to continue withwhat you have done, or would you like to change?


11/15

The Ex-Basketball PlayerJohn Updike Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,

Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off Before it has a chance to go two blocks, At Colonel McComsky Plaza. Berths Garage Is on the corner facing west, and there, Most days, you'll find Flick Webb, who helps Berth out.

Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps

Five on a side, the old bubble-head style, Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low. Ones nostrils are two Ss, and his eyes

An E and O. And one is squat, without A head at allmore of a football type.

Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards.

He was good: in fact, the best. In 46 He bucketed three hundred ninety points, A county record still. The ball loved Flick. I saw him rack up thirty-eight or forty

In one home game. His hands were like wild birds.

He never learned a trade, he just sells gas,

Checks oil, and changes flats. Once in a while, As a gag, he dribbles an inner tube,

But most of us remember anyway.

His hands are fine and nervous on the lug wrench. It makes no difference to the lug wrench, though.

Off work, he hangs around Maes Luncheonette. Grease-gray and kind of coiled, he plays pinball,

Smokes those thin cigars, nurses lemon phosphates.

Flick seldom says a word to Mae, just nods

Beyond her face toward bright applauding tiers Of Necco Wafers, Nibs, and Juju Beads.


12/15

Prewriting: A Poem of Possibilities

We have done a series of prewriting

questions to get you to think about who,where, and what you will be in five years

Using the material generated from thesequestions and class discussion, write apoem about yourselfthe person you areand the life you lead in FIVE YEARS.


13/15

A Poem of Possibilities:A Letter to Myself Be sure your poem is very specific in terms of where

you are, what you do, what you look like, what you

feel, etc. Try to show how this future self compares and

contrasts with the self you are today. Also, remember the following:

You may choose any poetic style you like that you feelbest reflects the ideas you want to write about. You must write about yourself in the third person.

Refer to yourself by name and by the pronoun he orshe.


14/15

A Poem of Possibilities:A Letter to Myself The thing that will make this letter matter:

You will hand in one copy of your poem to be graded.

You will also print a second copy of the poem and dothe following:

Put one copy of the poem in an envelope

Seal the envelope well

Dont worry with a stamp, they will go up repeatedly bythe time this is mailed (blame technology/email)

Address the envelope to a location where it can bereceived in five years


15/15

Poem of Possibilities:Questions for ReflectionAnswer the following questions reflecting on the

assignment you just completed:

What pleases you most about your poem? Why?What details in the piece is exactly right? Why?What part of the poem are you still dissatisfied with?

Why?Where could you include some more specific details?

What was the best piece of advice you got from yourresponse group?Explain why you chose the poetic structure you did.What did you say about yourself that surprised you?In writing this piece, what did you discover about

yourself as a writer? As a person?

engl 468 poetry lp

Documents