Historical Heroes

Complete the KWHL on page 21. In the “K” column document what you already know about the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass. In the “W” column, what do you want to know about these topics? Within the “H” column identify how you are going to get questions answered from the “want to know” column.

Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative have meanings outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

So…I know what the definition of an allegory is, now how about explaining it in a way I understand!

An allegory is a narrative (story) having a second meaning beneath the surface one - a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Basically the story will have two messages.

Example:

The Dog and his Shadow: The dog sees his reflection in a stream, and thinks the "other dog" has a larger piece of meat. He drops the one he's holding to grab it, and loses the meat in the water.

What’s the literal meaning?What’s the symbolic meaning (message hidden the author wants the reader to walk away with)?

Read the poem on page 23 Whitman wrote this poem as a memorial for Abraham Lincoln after his death.

Question 1 (p. 22): While reading, circle all words having to do with a ship or voyage. Also circle the word Captain andits synonyms in the poem.

http://www.archive.org/download/o_captain_librivox/captain_whitman_mac_64kb.mp3

Why do you think Walt Whitman staggered his indents for shorter lines in the poem and the even number of lines per stanza? What effect did this have on the poem?

Question 2: Who is the captain of the ship?

Question 3: What does the ship represent (symbolic meaning)?

A rhyme scheme is a consistent pattern ofrhyming words at line endings throughout a poem.Free verse is poetry withouta fixed pattern of meter andrhyme.

How might these two different styles impact the reader? Why would a poet want to write free verse instead of a rhyming poem?

Question 4: What is the effect of the rhyme scheme in “O Captain”?

Follow along as I read this poem and mark the text by circling the words “It” and “thing” every time they are used in the poem.

Question 5. What do the words it and thing refer to in the poem?

Question 6: What is the effect of the free verse?

TP-CASTT

T – title

P – paraphrase

C – connotative meaning

S – Shift

T – Title

T - Theme

With your elbow-buddy, complete the TP-CASTT for “O Captain, My Captain”.

Complete the TP-CASTT independently for “Frederick Douglass”.

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another.

Example: He allowed the moment to ripen before asking for her hand in marriage.

My memory is a little cloudy

An outfit that screams “I am cool”

A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as.

Odd rows independently find metaphors in the poem “O Captain”

Even rows independently find similes in the poem “Frederick Douglass” (5 minutes)

Staying in your seat, find a partner to discuss and share metaphors and similes (you are finding a partner who did not have the same topic).

Go back to the poems and highlight your findings (similes and metaphors)

Respond to the writing prompt on page 25 (collect for grade and place in writing folder)

Using your TP-CASTT notes, write a literary analysisparagraph in the space below in which you address the following questions. Use textual evidence to support your analysis.

• What traits do Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass exhibit to be considered heroes?• How does the tone of either poem support the perception of Lincoln or Douglass as a hero?

Remember: I NEED PROOF…DON’T JUST SAY IT, PROVE IT BY GIVING ME DETAILS FROM THE TEXT!