lesson reading 2 poetry - henry county schools / overview · first stanza in three quatrains with...

Reading

Poetry

Lesson

2

Although poems are often short in length, they are long on meaning. Poets carefully

choose each word and take full advantage of the layers of meaning made possible through effective use of language.

Twentieth-century political philosopher Hannah Arendt described poetry elegantly: “Poetry, whose material is language, is perhaps the most human and least worldly of the arts, the one in which the end product remains closest to the thought that inspired it.” Actively participating in understanding a poem’s meaning is like engaging in a conversation with the poet. Readers strive to know the deeper thoughts and feelings

behind the relatively few words used to express them.

This lesson includes a poem by Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753–1784), an enslaved African American woman. She was highly regarded both in America and abroad for her poetry. The second poem is by Amy Lowell (1874–1925). Born into a life of privilege ninety years after Wheatley’s death, Lowell enjoyed similar esteem for her work.

These two very different women shared a common belief in the importance of free will and a free spirit. As you read, notice their word choice and use of imagery and figurative language.

Lesson 2 • Reading Poetry 27

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Consider

1 Thy various works, imperial queen, we see, How bright their forms! How deck’d with pomp by thee! Thy wond’rous acts in beauteous order stand, And all attest how potent is thine hand.

5 From Helicon’s1 refulgent heights attend, Ye sacred choir, and my attempts befriend: to tell her glories with a faithful tongue, Ye blooming graces, triumph in my song.

Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies,10 Till some lov’d object strikes her wand’ring eyes,

Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, And soft captivity involves the mind.

by Phillis WheatleyOn Imagination

What special gifts do poets have?

How important is imagination?

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Personification is the author’s treatment of an abstract concept as a person. In line 1, Wheatley personifies imagination as a queen. Why is this a powerful way to explore an abstract, creative ability? As you read, highlight phrases that make the “queen” come to life for you.

STRUCTURE Quatrains are four-line stanzas used to structure poetry. Wheatley structures the first stanza in three quatrains with an aabb rhyming scheme. How does the rhythm of these stanzas add to the feeling that these are verses in a song of praise?

ALLUSION Authors often allude to, or reference, other literary works, myths, or beliefs. Wheatley makes several references to Greek and Roman mythology. As you read, circle the allusions Wheatley makes. Why might she make these connections?

Whole Class

1Mount Helicon a place loved by the muses in Greek mythology, goddesses of the arts and sciences. A spring on the mountain was a source of poetic inspiration.

28 Lesson 2 • Reading Poetry

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Whole Class

Imagination! Who can sing thy force? Or who describe the swiftness of thy course?

15 Soaring through air to find the bright abode, Th’ empyreal palace of the thund’ring God, We on thy pinions can surpass the wind, And leave the rolling universe behind: From star to star the mental optics rove,

20 Measure the skies, and range the realms above. There in one view we grasp the mighty whole, Or with new worlds amaze th’ unbounded soul.

STRUCTURE An ode is a poem that opens with quatrains and shifts to longer verses of ten lines, written in praise of something or someone. Wheatley uses this structure in lines 1–22. Why does she choose the ode format?

CENTRAL IDEA A central idea, what the text is mainly about, appears throughout a poem. Underline words that reveal the central idea in the third and fourth stanzas. What does Wheatley indicate about how people can be freed from whatever enslaves them?

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Wheatley opens the fourth stanza with a poetic device known as an apostrophe, which is a direct address to the subject of the ode. What is the effect of this device?

Patterns of Word ChangesDifferent suffixes can change a word’s meaning and part of speech. When you come across an unknown word, break it into its parts to determine its meaning.

beauteous captivity unbounded

disclose expanse

Vocabulary Strategy


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Though Winter frowns to Fancy’s raptur’d eyes The fields may flourish, and gay scenes arise;

25 The frozen deeps may break their iron bands, And bid their waters murmur o’er the sands. Fair Flora may resume her fragrant reign, And with her flow’ry riches deck the plain; Sylvanus2 may diffuse his honours round,

30 And all the forest may with leaves be crown’d: Show’rs may descend, and dews their gems disclose, And nectar sparkle on the blooming rose.

Such is thy pow’r, nor are thine orders vain, O thou the leader of the mental train:

35 In full perfection all thy works are wrought, And thine the scepter o’er the realms of thought. Before thy throne the subject-passions bow, Of subject-passions sov’reign ruler thou; At thy command joy rushes on the heart,

40 And through the glowing veins the spirits dart.

CENTRAL IDEA A poet develops and expands on central ideas throughout the poem. What reference to captivity can you find in the fifth stanza? How does this help you understand what Winter represents to Wheatley?

SENSORY LANGUAGE Poets often use words that appeal to the senses to help the reader visualize a scene or feel an emotion. In the fifth stanza, underline words that help you see, hear, smell, and feel elements of the scene. Explain the effects of these words.

WORD CHOICE Authors care-fully choose words to evoke a specific meaning or tone. In the sixth stanza, what words does Wheatley choose to emphasize the power of imagination? How do they contribute to the poem?

2Sylvanus the Roman god of the forest, groves, fields, and flocks

CHECK IN Make sure you understand what you have read so far by answering the following question: Summarize the most important ideas and details. How do they support the central idea?


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Whole Class

Fancy might now her silken pinions try To rise from earth, and sweep th’ expanse on high: From Tithon’s bed now might Aurora rise3, Her cheeks all glowing with celestial dies,

45 While a pure stream of light o’erflows the skies. The monarch of the day I might behold, And all the mountains tipt with radiant gold, But I reluctant leave the pleasing views, Which Fancy dresses to delight the Muse;

50 Winter austere forbids me to aspire, And northern tempests damp the rising fire; They chill the tides of Fancy’s flowing sea, Cease then, my song, cease the unequal lay.

AESTHETIC IMPACT Authors often structure a text to heighten its meaning. In this poem, Wheatley ends with the longest verse, which is thirteen lines. How does this choice indicate a build in momentum?

TONE The tone of a poem is the poet’s feelings or attitude toward the subject of the poem. The tone can shift as the subject changes, so it is important to pay attention to a poet’s word choice, which helps indicate the poet’s feelings. Read lines 50–53. How does the tone of the poem shift at the end as Winter takes over?

3Tithon . . . Aurora In a Roman myth, Tithonus, sometimes called Tithon, was a mortal loved by Aurora, goddess of the dawn. She married him and pleaded that he might be given immortality to remain with her forever. Her wish was granted, but she forgot to ask that he also be given eternal youth. So Tithonus never stopped aging. He wasted away in his bed in a room to which Aurora confined him.


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Whole Class

Copy the following chart on a separate sheet of paper. Complete the chart with words or phrases from “On Imagination” that use sensory language. Then, choose one idea from the poem and describe it with your own sensory language, providing an example for each sense.

Sight Hearing Taste Smell Touch

“On Imagination”

Idea:

Try It

Engaging LanguageThe foundation of poetry is language, so poets must apply the ultimate artistry to

the language they use. The best poets devise fresh, new ways to describe people, feelings, or things. In these lines, Wheatley describes the moment when something “catches your fancy” in a unique way so that you pay attention to it.

Till some lov’d object strikes her wand’ring eyes, Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, And soft captivity involves the mind.

At thy command joy rushes on the heart, And through the glowing veins the spirits dart.

Her cheeks all glowing with celestial dies, While a pure stream of light o’erflows the skies.

Poets also seek to capture our imaginations by appealing to our senses. This way, the readers can experience what is being described. How does Wheatley engage your imagination with these lines from “On Imagination”?

Finally, poets may strive to move readers with the sheer beauty of the words they choose. They combine word choice, rhyme, and rhythm to create lovely, lyrical lines. Take this example from “On Imagination”:


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Whole Class

Vocabulary Strategy

Patterns of Word ChangesCertain suffixes can change a word’s meaning and part of speech. Read the definition of each word below. Use what you know about patterns of word changes to write the part of speech and a definition for each word related to the vocabulary word. Then write a sentence using the vocabulary word. (You may use a separate sheet of paper if you run out of room below.)

1. beauteous (adjective) lovely, fair

beauty

2. captivity (noun) the state of being taken and held

captivate

3. unbounded (adjective) being or seeming to be without limits

unboundedly

4. disclose (verb) to make known

disclosure

5. expanse (noun) a wide space or area

expand

Comprehension CheckAnswer these questions about the selection you have just read. Use details from the selection to support your responses.

1. Many odes feature nature prominently. How is this true of “On Imagination”?

2. At age seven, Phillis Wheatley was captured by slave traders in Africa and taken to Boston, where the Wheatley family bought her to serve in their household. They taught Phillis to read and write, privileges most slaves did not have, and she was a gifted student. How does knowing her background help you understand the poem?

3. What examples in the poem show that imagination is important to Phillis?


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Small Group

Consider

1 I walk down the garden paths, And all the daffodils Are blowing, and the bright blue squills. I walk down the patterned garden paths

5 In my stiff, brocaded gown. With my powdered hair and jewelled fan, I too am a rare Pattern. As I wander down The garden paths.

10 My dress is richly figured, And the train Makes a pink and silver stain On the gravel, and the thrift Of the borders.

15 Just a plate of current fashion, Tripping by in high-heeled, ribboned shoes. Not a softness anywhere about me, Only whale-bone and brocade. And I sink on a seat in the shade

20 Of a lime tree. For my passion Wars against the stiff brocade. The daffodils and squills Flutter in the breeze As they please.

25 And I weep; For the lime tree is in blossom And one small flower has dropped upon my bosom.

by Amy Lowell

Do patterns create order, or do they only result in restrictions?

In what patterns of behavior are you stuck?

STRUCTURE How does the repe-tition of phrases in the first stanza match the title of the poem?

ENGAGING LANGUAGE In the second stanza, how does Lowell describe the train? What feelings do these words evoke?

CENTRAL IDEA Circle words in the second stanza that indicate how the narrator feels about the dress. What does the dress symbolize?


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Small Group

And the splashing of waterdrops In the marble fountain

30 Comes down the garden paths. The dripping never stops. Underneath my stiffened gown Is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin, A basin in the midst of hedges grown

35 So thick, she cannot see her lover hiding, But she guesses he is near, And the sliding of the water Seems the stroking of a dear Hand upon her.

40 What is Summer in a fine brocaded gown! I should like to see it lying in a heap upon the ground. All the pink and silver crumpled up on the ground.

I would be the pink and silver as I ran along the paths, And he would stumble after,

45 Bewildered by my laughter. I should see the sun flashing from his sword-hilt and the buckles on his shoes. I would choose To lead him in a maze along the patterned paths, A bright and laughing maze for my heavy-booted lover,

50 Till he caught me in the shade, And the buttons of his waistcoat bruised my body as he clasped me, Aching, melting, unafraid. With the shadows of the leaves and the sundrops, And the plopping of the waterdrops,

55 All about us in the open afternoon I am very like to swoon With the weight of this brocade, For the sun shifts through the shade.

SENSORY LANGUAGE Circle words in the third stanza that help you hear and feel what the woman experiences. What is the purpose of this language?

TONE How would you describe the shifts in tone at the end of the third stanza and the beginning of the fourth stanza?

WORD CHOICE In the third stanza, the water in the fountain is described as dripping. In the fourth stanza, the water drops are plopping. How does Lowell’s choice of words match what is happening in the poem?


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Underneath the fallen blossom60 In my bosom,

Is a letter I have hid. It was brought to me this morning by a rider from the Duke. “Madam, we regret to inform you that Lord Hartwell Died in action Thursday sen’night.”

65 As I read it in the white, morning sunlight, The letters squirmed like snakes. “Any answer, Madam,” said my footman. “No,” I told him. “See that the messenger takes some refreshment.

70 No, no answer.” And I walked into the garden, Up and down the patterned paths, In my stiff, correct brocade. The blue and yellow flowers stood up proudly in the sun,

75 Each one. I stood upright too, Held rigid to the pattern By the stiffness of my gown. Up and down I walked,

80 Up and down.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Underline the figurative language Lowell uses in the fifth stanza. What is the effect of this comparison?

CENTRAL IDEA The woman once again seems to be physically uncomfortable in her gown. Circle the words that reveal the restric-tions forced upon her.

STRUCTURE Earlier in the poem, the woman wept when a lime blossom fell onto her. How does the poet use this image to foreshadow the news the woman has received?

PATTERNS OF WORD CHANGES What is the base word and part of speech of fallen? How does the suffix change the mean-ing of the word and part of speech?


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Small Group

In a month he would have been my husband. In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him,

85 He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat. He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing. And I answered, “It shall be as you have said.”

90 Now he is dead.

In Summer and in Winter I shall walk Up and down The patterned garden paths In my stiff, brocaded gown.

95 The squills and daffodils Will give place to pillared roses, and to asters, and to snow.

I shall go Up and down, In my gown.

100 Gorgeously arrayed, Boned and stayed. And the softness of my body will be guarded from embrace By each button, hook, and lace. For the man who should loose me is dead,

105 Fighting with the Duke in Flanders, In a pattern called a war. Christ! What are patterns for?

STRUCTURE Lowell has used only two short sentences in the poem so far. Underline these sen-tences. Why does she choose to use complete sentences to express these ideas?

AESTHETIC IMPACT How do the lines in the middle of the last stanza differ from the language used throughout the rest of the poem? What is the impact?

WORD CHOICE Does the lan-guage of the last line of the poem fit the narrator we have come to know? Why does Lowell choose to have her speak this way?


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Small Group

Independent Projects

Your teacher may assign you one or both of the following performance tasks.

Investigate the Progressives’ beliefs in America around 1900.

Apply what you have learned about poetry to other poems written during the American Revolution.

On Your Own

Application

“On Imagination” was published on the eve of the American Revolution. Read poems by other American poets of that time period, such as Philip Freneau, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, or John Trumbull, and determine the effect of the structure and word choice on the theme and central idea. How do their poems compare with Wheatley’s? Write an opinion piece explaining which poem is most effective and why.

Inquiry

Amy Lowell’s poem was published during the Progressive Era in the United States. Research the Progressives’ beliefs and the changes they sought to implement. Prepare a presentation explaining Progressive beliefs and inferring how Progressives might have received the poem, citing evidence from your research.

DiscussionDiscuss these questions with your group, and together write a paragraph in response to each question. Provide evidence to support your responses.

1. The narrator of the poem uses her imagination to free herself from the restrictions of her dress. What can you conclude about Amy Lowell’s beliefs about the power of the imagination?

2. How does the narrator feel about her future? What does life hold for her now?

Comprehension CheckAnswer these questions about the selection you have just read. Use details from the selection to support your responses.

1. Identify the poetic patterns, patterns found in nature, and social patterns Lowell uses and alludes to in the poem. Be sure to cite specific lines that demonstrate or support each pattern.

2. What prevents the narrator from falling apart when she receives the news of her lover’s death? How does Lowell describe her behavior? Explain what this helps you understand about the narrator as a character.

3. The narrator believes that if she and her lover were to marry, they would have “broke[n] the pattern.” To what pattern is she referring? What is ironic about her belief that marrying this particular man would break a pattern?


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lesson reading 2 poetry - henry county schools / overview · first stanza in three quatrains with...

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