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Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1

UNIT 3, Part 1The Energy of the Everyday

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Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 MAIN MENUMAIN MENU

The Energy of the Everyday (pages 557–582)

Click a selection title to go to the corresponding selection menu.

Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 SELECTION MENUSELECTION MENU

Before You Read

Reading the Selection

After You Read

Selection Menu (pages 557–562)

Grammar Workshop

http://www.glencoe.com/

Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 BEFORE YOU READBEFORE YOU READ

Meet Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn

Click the picture to learn about the author.



The speaker of this poem describes his sense of awe at the power of an intense thunderstorm. Using vivid language, Solzhenitsyn shows the reader how inspiring nature can be.

Connecting to the Poem



Before you read the poem, think about the following questions:

• How would you react if you had no shelter and were caught in a sudden thunderstorm?

• Recall a time when you witnessed severe weather. How did it make you feel?




The former Soviet Union, also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R., was vast in size. It spanned from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic and Black seas, over 6,800 miles from east to west. From north to south it stretched 2,800 miles. It consisted of 8,650,000 total square miles; the equivalent of over two times the area of the United States.

Building Background



The climate of the Soviet Union varied greatly. Its northern latitude and the southern mountain barriers ensured that the majority of the region had a cold climate. Extreme weather was common; only winter and summer existed as distinct seasons. The milder temperatures of spring and fall were typically short-lived points during periods of rapid weather change.

Building Background



As you read, note the descriptive language Solzhenitsyn uses to describe an event as common as a storm.

Setting Purposes for Reading

The Energy of the Everyday



An alternative to verse form, prose poetry avoids line breaks and uses sentence and paragraph form instead. As you read, notice how prose poetry relies largely on imagery to convey ideas and emotions.


Prose Poetry



Visualizing is using words to create a mental picture. Authors often use imagery to help readers put themselves into the environment or mood of a poem or story. Visualizing is not limited to visual images; it encompasses perceptions from all five senses. While reading this poem, create a mental representation of the sensations described.

Visualizing



Reading Tip: Creating a List Use a chart like the one below to list examples of words or phrases from the poem that appeal to your senses.

Visualizing



searing adj. extremely hot or bright (p. 560) The searing sunlight woke me up before my alarm clock went off.

chaos n. a state of disorder and confusion (p. 560) After the tornado hit, the town was filled with chaos.

Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.



gorge n. the passageway between two higher land areas, such as a narrow valley (p. 560) The grand Canyon is one of the United States’ most famous gorges.

serpentine adj. snake-like, twisting, winding (p. 560) He had to pay attention as he drove on the serpentine mountain road.




primal adj. a basic, original state of being; (p. 560) One primal instinct is survival.




The Energy of the Everyday Keep the following questions in mind as you read the poem on page 560 of your textbook. How do the author’s words help you to visualize the energy of the storm in the mountains? How do you think the author feels about the storm he describes?

READING THE SELECTIONREADING THE SELECTION



Answer: You might identify words liked “plunged” and “bursting” as conveying energy. Words like “awe” and “hugeness” show how the author feels about the magnitude of the storm.




Visualization Read the text highlighted in blue on page 560. How does Solzhenitsyn’s imagery help you imagine the setting of the poem?


Reading Strategy



Answer: You may say that the description of the landscape springing back helps you picture the surroundings as they are brightened suddenly from the lightning and then go back to darkness.


Reading Strategy


Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 AFTER YOU READAFTER YOU READ

Answer: Answers will vary.

1. What example of imagery in the poem did you find most striking? Explain.

Responding and Thinking CriticallyRespond



2. (a) How does the speaker describe the lightning in the fourth paragraph? (b) What does this comparison suggest about his view of nature?

Responding and Thinking CriticallyRecall and Interpret



Answer: (a) As arrow-like, then compared to a serpent; and finally it is said to be “like a living thing.” (b) Nature may not be separate from humans, but instead something of which we are a part.




3. (a) What does the speaker compare himself and his group to at the end of the poem? (b) What does the speaker’s changing feelings about the storm indicate about people’s place in nature?




Answer: (a) Droplets of water in an ocean (b) Humans may fear and feel removed from nature, but we are still small elements of a much larger world.




Answer: You may say that the speaker expresses this as a universal experience.

4. Why, in your opinion, does the speaker think he can report on others’ feelings and thoughts?

Responding and Thinking CriticallyAnalyze and Evaluate



Answer: The abrupt switches between light and dark make things seem unstable.

5. How can the storm make the speaker feel that one moment he is firmly on the ground, yet the very next he is plunged into chaos? Explain.




Answer: The storm was so beautiful and amazing that the observers forgot that it might be a threat to them.

6. Why do the speaker and his companions forget to be afraid of the powerful storm?




Responding and Thinking CriticallyConnect

7. How would you explain the author’s view of the relationship between people and nature?

Answer: You might say that human beings and nature are not unrelated but exist parallel to each other

The Energy of Everyday



Unlike poems that use verses and stanzas, prose poetry follows the narrative style with sentences and paragraphs but also maintains rhythm.

Prose Poetry



1. Read aloud the following phrase, “Everything was black—no peaks, no valleys, no horizon to be seen. . . .” Explain how this line blends poetic elements with prose format.

Prose Poetry



Answer: The sentence form shows prose format, but the rhythmic pattern makes it poetic.

Prose Poetry



2. Read aloud the following phrase, “. . . then split up into serpentine streams as though bursting into spray against the rock face, or striking and then shattering. . . .” What about this phrase makes it poetic?

Prose Poetry



Answer: This phrase uses the poetic device of alliteration, giving the line musical and onomatopoetic effects.

Prose Poetry



The rhythm and flow of the words in a poem can be very similar to the lyrics in a song or the steady rhythm and tone of a piece of music. Music or song can also convey many of the same emotions and thoughts as a poem.

Interdisciplinary Activity: Music



Think of what kind of song and style of music would best depict the action and feeling of “A Storm in the Mountains.” Write song lyrics using your own words to express what the poem says. Then describe what type of music would best suit your song.

Interdisciplinary Activity: Music



Using visualizing allows the reader to connect to the poem and understand its tone and meaning.

Visualizing



Answer: You might cite specific passages and identify which details they visualized.

1. Which sensory details particularly helped you understand or connect to the poem? Explain.

Visualizing



Answer: You might cite the phrases “shattering like a living thing” or “the hugeness filling us with awe.”

2. Which sensory details do you think best communicated the tone and meaning of the poem?

Visualizing



Practice with Analogies Complete the following analogies. Use a dictionary if you need help.

Practice



1. searing : hot :: freezing :

A. cold

B. temperature

Practice



2. chaos : disorder :: boisterous :

A. male

B. noise

Practice



3. gorge : land :: channel :

A. television

B. sea

Practice



4. serpentine : twisting :: circuitous :

A. circus-like

B. circular

Practice



5. primal : civilized :: puerile :

A. infant

B. adult

Practice



Before You Read


After You Read



Meet N. Scott Momaday



The following two poems express a deep appreciation for animals, including animals that most people would be afraid of. Looking at creatures with an unconventional or different perspective can change the way in which you relate to nature.

Connecting to the Poems


• How do you normally interact with animals?

• How does thinking about an old animal change the way you feel about a species?

Connecting to the Poems

Before you read these poems, think about the following questions:


Like some other Native American authors, Momaday challenges us to disconnect ourselves from the bustle of modern living. By emphasizing ancient relationships between humans and other creatures, the poet encourages us to awaken or reawaken our love of nature.

Building Background


Momaday reminds us that American Indians hold bears in high regard. His language evokes the strength, wisdom, and nobility of these creatures that American Indians have honored for centuries.

Building Background


As you read these selections, observe how the poet links animals, humans, and the natural world.




The speaker is the person whose “voice” we “hear” in a poem, much like the narrator who tells the story in a work of prose. The speaker may be the poet, or a character created to represent a specific point of view.


Speaker


Knowing something about the speaker and his or her point of view can help you grasp the meaning of a poem at a deeper level. As you read, try to determine the voice and what it conveys about the speaker.


Speaker


Applying background knowledge to your reading can help you recognize different perspectives. Sometimes a poet will deliberately have the speaker reflect an attitude different from that of the poet, to exaggerate an opposing view.

Applying Background Knowledge


Reading Tip: Using Perspective Descriptions may point out the differences in perspective between American Indian-held beliefs and those of non-American Indians.



In the graphic organizer below, list a word that the author uses to describe the bear on the left side, and write a synonym for that characteristic in the box to the right.



meticulous adj. precise; careful; worried about details (p. 565) Sondra, meticulous about her stamp collection, kept it in cabinets.

cipher n. a signifying figure; a number or symbol (p. 565) A zero is a cipher representing a numberless quantity.



glyph n. an engraved, symbolic figure (p. 565) Scientists study ancient glyphs to learn secrets from, and clues about, the past.

infirmity n. weakness; frailty; failing (p. 566) Mrs. Palltuck’s infirmity prevented her from doing errands by herself.



conflagration n. a huge fire (p. 566) Even veteran firefighters rarely witnessed this kind of conflagration.



The Energy of the Everyday Keep the following question in mind as you read the poem on page 565 and 566. Why is the speaker in both poems so fascinated by a wild animal?


Answer: The speaker in each poem associates bears with the wonder and glory of nature and with nature’s role in life. In celebrating the bear, he is celebrating life.


The Energy of the Everyday Read the text highlighted in tan on page 565 of your textbook. What effect does the “nearly perfect” paw print have on the speaker?


Answer: It has prompted the speaker to glorify the bear, calling it a “wondrous thing,” and to imagine creating a model of the bear to recreate the “mythic” animal for art.


The Energy of the Everyday Read the text highlighted in tan on page 565 of your textbook. Have you ever had a similar experience with something that might normally seem to be mundane or ordinary?




Speaker Read the text highlighted in purple on page 566 of your textbook. What are your impressions of this poem’s speaker?


Answer: You may interpret the speaker as wise and powerful. You may also suggest that the speaker has a deep understanding of and respect for the natural world.

Literary Element


Alliteration Read the poem on page 566 of your textbook. Find examples of alliteration in the poem.


Answer: hold hard; setting sun; shadow shade; singing soil.

Literary Element


Answer: You might say scary or dangerous.

1. (a) How did you feel about bears before you read the poems? (b) What do you think about bears now?



Answer: (a) The keel of a ship (b) It evokes a sense of something massive yet graceful.

2. (a) To what type of vessel does the speaker compare the bear’s claws in “The Print of the Paw”? (b) What impression does this analogy evoke?



Answer: (a) The setting sun (b) The bear’s impending death

3. (a) In “To An Aged Bear,” what does the speaker tell the bear to “await”? (b) In the context of the poem, to what else might this phrase refer?



4. (a) In “To An Aged Bear,” what two words does the speaker use to describe mortality? (b) By using these words, what is the speaker saying about the bear’s relationship to mortality?



Answer: (a) Shadow and shade (b) Like one’s shadow, death is always close. Death can also be a relief, like shade on a sunny day.



5. (a) How would you classify the tone of the first half of “The Print of the Paw”? (b) How is the tone an effective choice in relation to the rest of the poem? Explain.



Answer: (a) Literal and clinical sounding, as though the speaker is taking notes for biology class. (b) The speaker’s tone is effective because its focus is the creative impetus for envisioning a symbolic model of the bear, exhibiting a deep admiration that “proceed directly, in the disinterested manner of a child.”



6. (a) In “To An Aged Bear,” what natural images are used? (b) Are these images effective in creating a setting for the poem? Why or why not?



Answer: (a) Summer, thickets of berries, a ridge, sunset, trees and water, and soil (b) You may say that the images effectively evoke clear pictures in their imaginations.



7. (a) In “To An Aged Bear,” the speaker tells the bear, “you are old.” What might be another way to interpret this statement? (b) What images reinforce this reading?



Answer: (a) The bear is nearing death. (b) You may point out the setting seen and the reference to mortality.



Answer: Bears are mythic animals. They spur art and creativity and provide a model for solidity and balance.

8. From the ideas expressed in these two poems, how does the energy of a creature like a bear resonate throughout our world? Explain.

Responding and Thinking CriticallyConnect The Energy of Everyday


The speaker in each of Momaday’s poems expresses poignant feelings for nature and for animals. Yet each speaker expresses his or her feelings and ideas in a different style and form. How did you respond to each speaker? Review these poems, paying careful attention to each speaker. Then answer questions on the following slides.

Speaker


Answer: In “The Print of the Paw,” specific references to art and creativity suggest an artist is speaking. In “To An Aged Bear,” the tone of the speaker is teaching or instructing the bear.

1. What clues are given to help you identity each speaker?

Speaker


2. Is it your impression that you are hearing from the same speaker in both poems? Support your answer with details from the texts.

Speaker


Answer: The speaker in “To An Aged Bear” uses language that suggests an omniscience that differs from the grounded, more human point of view in “The Print of the Paw.” You might argue that the aged bear is personified and speaking to itself in “To An Aged Bear.”

Speaker


As you learned on page 558 of your textbook, prose poetry uses imagery, rhythm, and other poetic devices to express ideas and emotions. Instead of using line breaks, the author of a prose poem writes in sentences and paragraphs.

Review: Prose Poetry


Partner Activity With a classmate, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of writing a prose poem, compared to writing a poem in a more traditional form. Working with your partner, create a two-column chart similar to the one on the next slide. Fill in the left-hand column with advantages of prose poems and the right-hand column with disadvantages.



You read about Momaday’s American Indian heritage on page 563 of your textbook. By applying background knowledge to your reading of the poems, you can better understand their context.



Answer: Momaday’s concerns about nature and creativity are reflected consistently in each of the texts.

1. Do you think that the speaker in each poem represents Momaday’s own point of view? Explain.



2. How does knowing that the author has strong roots in American Indian traditions, specifically those related to nature, help you understand the poems?



Answer: For “The Print of the Paw,” knowing this background information helps the reader understand the almost praiseful tone of the second half of the poem. For “To An Aged Bear,” it helps the reader understand the last two stanzas, which emphasize the existence of the spirit and its unity with the natural world.



Practice with Word Parts Using the information on the following slides, choose the best definition for each word bellow.

Practice


Latin root: meticulosus—“fearful”

Latin root: conflagrare—”to burn up”

Latin root: infirmus—“weak, frail”

Arabic root: sifr—“empty”

Greek root: glyph—“carved work”

Practice


1. meticulous

A. worried about details

B. unaware

Practice


2. cipher

A. signifying zero

B. signifying full

Practice


3. glyph

A. glib

B. symbolic figure

Practice


4. infirmity

A. hale

B. frailty

Practice


5. conflagration

A. whipping

B. huge fire

Practice


These words will help you think, write, and talk about the selection.

inspect v. to review or examine

bulk n. a large portion of matter

Academic Vocabulary


Practice and Apply

Answer: To get an impression of the bear.

1. Why does the speaker inspect the paw print?

Academic Vocabulary


Answer: Mythic, wondrous, huge, and polychrome

1. How does the speaker describe the bear’s bulk?

Practice and ApplyAcademic Vocabulary


Evaluate Author’s Craft Scholars praise Momaday for the way in which he selects words with more than one meaning to describe his subjects. Using these words allows him to change the tone of a poem or to evoke compelling images in the reader’s mind.

Writing About Literature


Choose five words from the selections and then write a brief essay explaining how their multiple meanings create an even richer experience for the reader. You may want to consult a dictionary to explore additional meanings of everyday words.



Before you begin drafting, construct a chart like the one below, listing the possible meanings of key words.



Include quotes from the poems that support your ideas. Once you have completed the chart, begin drafting.



After completing your draft, meet with a peer reviewer to evaluate each other’s work and to suggest revisions. Then proofread and edit your draft for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.



Together with your peers, discuss the legitimacy of prose poetry as a literary form. In your opinion, which of the two poems is more effective? Does the prose poetry in “The Print of the Paw” effectively convey Momaday’s message? How well does he get his message across in the more traditional “To An Aged Bear”?

Literature Groups


Before You Read


After You Read




Meet Matsuo Basho


The haiku that follow articulate both themes of dying and rebirth, yet the author paints these opposing ideas with beautiful images.

Connecting to the Haiku


Before you read the poems, think about the following questions:

• What are some beautiful images of rebirth?

• Can you identify any beautiful images related to death?

Connecting to the Haiku


Building Background

Matsuo Basho’s sentiments—”Don’t follow in the footsteps of the old poets, seek what they sought”—urged poets to honor the writers who came before them, but also to search for growth, and perhaps perfection in their own works. These thoughts were reflective of the standards he held for himself. By setting such high standards for his writing, the haiku master assured that the lifelong cultivation of his craft would be a diligent and progressive process.



The Energy of Everyday

As you read the three haiku, observe Basho’s attention to the intricate details of a changing season.


Haiku is an unrhymed Japanese verse form consisting of seventeen syllables that are arranged in three lines. The first and third lines have five syllables each; the second line has seven syllables.


Haiku


While some translations of haiku lose the poet’s original syllable count when translated into English, the traditional goal of haiku—to suggest large ideas, using the simplest and fewest words—remains.


Haiku


Although they leave much to the reader’s imagination, haiku poets use explicit and evocative words to lead readers in the right direction.


Haiku



Haiku

Matsuo Basho, perhaps the greatest haiku poet of all time, said that a good poem should “seem light as a shallow river flowing over its sandy bed.” As you read the haiku, notice the images and ideas that Bashō’s words bring to your mind.


Imagery refers to the pictures, created through descriptions and sensory details, that writers use to evoke emotional responses from their readers. By stimulating the five senses, authors present more vivid scenes and inspire readers to better understand what is being described.

Interpreting Imagery


When you interpret imagery, you use your own knowledge of the world and your understanding of the text to create meaning for the images present.



Reading Tip: Visualizing As a reader, you can better prepare yourself to receive imagery by trying to picture what the writer has depicted. Use the writer’s clues, such as the color, texture, and position of things to imagine the scene set before you.



As you read the three haiku, try to visualize the author’s accounts of nature. Record your imagined pictures in a graphic organizer like the one on the next slide, and then expand these recordings to illustrate a full scene incorporating the author’s description.



The Energy of the Everyday Consider this as you read the following haiku on page 571 of your textbook. What ideas arise from the author’s simple action of watching frost melt in his hand?


Answer: Change brings mixed feelings, reflecting a longing for what was and hope for what will be.


The Energy of the Everyday Read the text highlighted in tan on page 571 of your textbook. Why do you think, despite spring’s arrival, the speaker continues to deliberate autumn’s end?


Answer: The end of autumn signals winter, a metaphor for the final years of one’s life. The narrator might be unable to feel the joy of spring’s rebirth because he is focused on its inevitable end.



1. Are the images in the three haiku familiar to you? Describe your feelings about the changing seasons.



Answer: (a) Frost (b) The melting frost is also a distinct sensation used to draw the reader to the scene.

2. (a) What substance melts in the speaker’s hand? (b) Why might the author have chosen to include this kind of sensory detail here?



Answer: (a) Autumn’s end (b) The speaker may not adjust well to change.

3. (a) What is the speaker reminded of on spring’s first day? (b) Draw inferences about the speaker’s life from his feelings about the end of autumn.



Answer: (a) A nameless hill in the haze (b) It suggests spring’s lack of clarity or distinction.

4. (a) How does the speaker describe spring in the third haiku? (b) Interpret the author’s decision to identify spring using this image.



Answer: By describing frost melting in the narrator’s hand (touch) and a blurred hill (sight)

5. How does the author appeal to the reader’s senses? Cite specific examples from the text.



Answer: Melting frost; the narrator’s hand; a hill; and haze. Answers about effectiveness will vary.

6. How many images of or ideas about nature are presented in these three haiku? Which do you think is most effective? Explain.





7. How well has Basho disclosed the wonder of changing seasons in these short poems? Could he have done a better job with longer poems?


Answer: Powerful elements: autumn’s death and spring’s birth. Gentle elements: melting frost in a hand, a hill in the haze.

8. Nature is often described as both a powerful and gentle force. What powerful elements do you see in the three haiku? What gentle elements do you see?



Haiku

Haiku generally address some subject in nature and simultaneously attempt to tackle grand ideas in a very limited amount of space. Such strict features make the form a challenge to create, but Basho’s work is a firm demonstration of how beauty can be both encompassing and concise. Think about the questions on the following slides.


1. (a) What conflicting elements are present in the haiku? (b) How do these elements help the author communicate a “big idea” in only three lines?

Haiku


Answer: (a) The birth of one season and the death of another (b) The contrast inspires contemplation in the reader. This allows a larger idea to be expressed concisely.

Haiku


Answer: The death of one thing is followed by the birth of another.

2. What striking idea about the relationship between birth and death in nature is addressed by the author?

Haiku


Apply Form Conveying effective imagery within the restrictions of the haiku form can be mastered through practice. With persistence, a beginning writer can start to evoke the form’s signature beauty.




Using Basho’s three haiku as a guide, write a haiku of your own and then explain how it meets the criteria of the traditional form. Recall the three-line structure and the required number of syllables per line.


Imagery can be interpreted on more than one level. By analyzing and interpreting an author’s use of imagery, you understand not only the image presented, but also the author’s purpose for its inclusion.



Answer: It’s a familiar tactile image that pulls the reader into the scene.


1. Why do you think Basho begins the first haiku with a sensory detail?


Answer: The absence emphasizes the image in the first haiku and encourages readers’ contemplation.

2. How might the author justify the absence of any distinct images in the second haiku?




visual n. something appealing to sight that is used for illustration or demonstrating

minimal adj. minimum; least

Academic Vocabulary


Practice and Apply

Answer: Melting frost

1. What visual clue is used to describe spring?

Academic Vocabulary


Answer: Sensory details can express large ideas.

1. Explain how the author is able to express such thoughtful ideas using minimal words.



Before You Read


After You Read



Meet Lady Ise



Japanese poetry often attempts to capture a moment in time—the way a snapshot captures a single second out of the 86,400 seconds that occur in every day. The following poems communicate just such moments frozen in time.

Connecting to the Tanka


• When you recall a moment in time, do you remember that moment in words or in pictures?

• What types of “moments” are worth capturing?

Connecting to the Tanka

Before you read the two tanka, think about the following questions:


The Japanese language itself has much to do with the development of short poems such as tanka and haiku. English poetry often makes use of rhyme; however, it is typically not a feature of Japanese poetry because all Japanese words end in one of five vowels. English poetry also makes use of rhythm, or meter. However, Japanese words do not have stressed syllables, so rhythm is not a device used in Japanese poetry.

Building Background


One of the few ways that Japanese poetry can be distinguished from Japanese prose is by the syllabic pattern for which traditional Japanese verse is known.

Building Background


As you read the two tanka, notice how Ise, using words that capture the reader’s emotion and imagination rather than intellect, paints a picture of the everyday.




Tanka is an unrhymed Japanese verse form. Most tanka focus on a single thought or idea related to love or to an appreciation of nature, common themes in Japanese poetry. Tanka adhere to a strict form that consists of five lines.


Tanka


The first and third lines have five syllables each; the other lines have seven syllables each. Keep in mind that the two tanka presented on page 575 of your textbook are translated from Japanese to English. Therefore, the syllables per line may not always fit the prescribed structure.


Tanka


When reading poetry, it helps to compare and contrast images created by different poems. Sometimes the simple act of thinking about the differences between images can help you grasp the poet’s meaning.

Comparing and Contrasting Imagery


Reading Tip: Visualizing the Images Try drawing pictures that resemble the images described in each of the poems. Look at your drawings and make a list of similarities and differences between the two images. Use a Venn diagram like the one on the next slide to help you organize your thoughts.



Encountering the Unexpected Think about this question as you read. Why are everyday occurrences worth capturing in a poem?


Answer: Small moments in time—especially those that may not last—are worth saving.


Comparing and Contrasting Imagery Read the first tanka on page 575. Describe or sketch the structure of willow branches. Why is this effect like a necklace?


Answer: The downward-curving branch and the drops of water clinging to it resemble pearls on a necklace.

Reading Strategy


Encountering the Unexpected Read the text highlighted in tan on page 575. How does this line evoke the energy of the everyday?


Answer: It speaks of an everyday occurrence—the flight of geese—and evokes the energy of geese beginning their flight.



1. (a) What about these images seems familiar to you? (b) Describe the images in your own words.



Answer: (a) Raindrops and pearls (b) The precious importance and beauty of rain

2. (a) What two things are compared in the first tanka? (b) What insights about these things does the comparison bring to mind?



Answer: (a) Mist rising and geese flying (b) There is a sense of loss at the geese’s departure.

3. (a) What natural events does the speaker present in the second tanka? (b) How do these events contribute to the mood, or atmosphere, of the tanka?



Answer: (a) Have they learned to live in a flowerless country? (b) The cycle of migration means geese never experience spring.

4. (a) What question does the speaker ask in the second tanka? (b) What might be its meaning?




5. In what ways do the images of spring in the two tanka reflect your own observations of spring? Explain.




6. In your opinion, which tanka offers more for you to think about? Why?




7. Do you agree or disagree that the language and imagery used in these two poems capture the reader’s emotion rather than intellect? Support your answer with evidence from the poems.



Because tanka are so short and simple, the tanka writer, like the haiku poet, must rely on precise, direct language to suggest ideas. A tanka can have different meanings for different readers, depending on the life experiences of each reader.

Tanka


Answer: The shortness of the poem encourages the reader to focus much more closely on the images and words to discover what the poet is saying.

1. How does the length of the poem affect the impression it leaves upon the reader? Explain.

Tanka


2. Choose one of the two tanka. For as many of the words in the tanka as you can, think of or look up a synonym. Rewrite the tanka using your synonyms. Analyze how the tanka’s meaning or mood has changed as a result.

Tanka


Answer: Answers will vary, but students should pay careful attention to word choice.

Tanka


Imagine traditional tanka as a mathematical expression or equation. Each syllable in one line of poetry stands for one number. So, a line with five syllables is the number 5; a line with seven syllables is the number 7.

Interdisciplinary Activity: Math


Write a mathematical expression or equation that represents the total number of syllables in three tanka, given the traditional number of syllables per line. Try to make it as simple as possible. What is the total number of syllables?

Answer: 3(2(5) + 3(7)) = 93 (93 total syllables)

Interdisciplinary Activity: Math


The thought process involved in comparing and contrasting concepts takes place at a high critical thinking level. Comparing and contrasting imagery in poetic works—especially Japanese poetic works—guides readers toward a deeper and fuller understanding by helping them draw conclusions about themes.



1. Compare and contrast the images in the two tanka and determine the themes of each.



Answer: The first tanka compares raindrops on a branch to a string of pearls. The second tanka depicts geese departing as spring arrives. The first praises spring’s beauty. The second laments those that never experience this beauty.



Answer: Thread of pearls, lightly forsaking, flowerless country

2. In support of your opinion, list details from each of the poems.




framework n. a structure or pattern

core n. the central foundation or basis of something

Academic Vocabulary


Answer: Five lines with the first and third lines having five syllables and the remaining three lines having seven syllables

1. Describe the framework of a traditional tanka.

Academic VocabularyPractice and Apply


Answer: The precious quality of fleeting beauty

2. What is the core theme of the two tanka?

Academic VocabularyPractice and Apply


Before You Read


After You Read



Meet Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni



In this poem, Divakaruni reminds us how a simple activity, like flying a kite, can help us put aside ordinary or troublesome issues.



Before you read the poem, think about the following questions:

• What activities do you use to help forget everyday concerns?

• Do you ever set aside your inhibitions and act on impulse, regardless of the opinions of others?



Many contemporary authors of Indian descent write about the

conflict of their social traditions with those of Western society.

Previous generations of immigrants to America—such as

Polish, Irish, and Scandinavian families— struggled with

similar conflicts. Today’s immigrants face broader challenges

involving not only language barriers, but also religious

concerns and marked differences in the roles that women play

in society. Immigrants and their children must wrestle with

obligations to family and to religion while facing unexpected

opportunities in their new home.

Building Background


As you read this poem, notice how the poet infuses everyday objects and experiences with passion and energy.




Many contemporary poets use verse paragraphs to organize their poems into thoughts. A verse paragraph is a group of lines that forms a unit. Unlike a stanza, a verse paragraph does not have a fixed number of lines. As you read, observe how Divakaruni uses verse paragraphs to emphasize key thoughts in the poem.


Verse Paragraph


Some poems feature speakers who attempt to sway readers by using persuasive devices. Then readers must make inferences about the speaker. By being aware of the language and images a speaker uses, readers can infer hidden aspects of the speaker’s personality and purpose.

Making Inferences About the Speaker


Reading Tip: Look for Word Clues When reading poetry, watch for clues about the speaker’s opinion or perspective. List the most powerful words, noting the speaker’s feelings about the subject.



querulous adj. argumentative; uncooperative; (p.579) Because of the actor’s querulous nature, he is very difficult to work with.

disgruntled adj. in a state of sulky dissatisfaction; (p. 579) The disgruntled children spent the rainy day complaining about being stuck in the house.



translucent adj. allowing light to pass through; almost clear, see-through (p.580) She could make out the shapes of the performers through the translucent curtain.

flecking v. leaving spots or streaks; (p. 580) Mud from the road was flecking the windshield, making it difficult for the driver to see.



The Energy of the Everyday Consider this question as you read. How does the writer convey large ideas with ordinary images?


Answer: With symbolism, the writer assigns meaning to ordinary things, conveying a deep message.


Enjambment Read the verse on page 579 aloud. How does the use of enjambment reflect the spool and the kite’s reluctance to take flight?


Answer: The lack of pause in these lines suggests the motion of the string out of the spool, and the different length of the enjambed lines reflect the unevenness of the string unspooling

Literary Element


Verse Paragraph Read the text highlighted in purple on page 580. What effect does the poet create by breaking after these words?


Answer: It emphasizes the ascent of the kite as well as the woman. Breaking here to start a new stanza signifies an important change in the woman.

Literary Element


The Energy of the Everyday Read the text highlighted in tan on page 580. What do the similes, or comparisons, in lines 25–27 tell you about the woman?


Answer: She is compared to fire and wild water. This shows that her reactions are elemental, or natural and uncontainable.



1. What is your opinion of the woman’s behavior? Explain.



Answer: (a) Chappals, kurta, and dupatta (b) They represent the burden of tradition that inhibits her freedom.

2. (a) What three items of traditional Indian clothing does the poet mention? (b) Why does Divakaruni mention these items in the poem?



Answer: (a) Her dupatta (b) Although married, she can at this moment feel free.

3. (a) What garment does the wind blow off the woman? (b) What significance does this incident have for her?



Answer: (a) It flies away. (b) The woman has let go of some confining attitudes.

4. (a) What happens to the kite? (b) What conclusion about the character’s future can you make from the poet’s description?



Answer: (a) Foreign words and her children’s demands (b) Draws attention to the words that are confining

5. (a) Which words does the poet choose to italicize? (b) What kinds of effects does the use of italics create?



6. (a) What do “crabgrass” and “dandelions” contribute to the setting of “Woman with Kite”? (b) Explain how the poet uses them as metaphors for the main character’s life.



Answer: (a) They show how the meadow is infested and threatened. (b) The woman’s life has been engulfed by her culture’s expectations.



Answer: (a) By giving the clouds puffed cheeks (b) It makes her happy and frees her.

7. (a) In line 12, how does Divakaruni personify nature? (b) What effect does this personification have on the character?



8. (a) Explain one of the similes the poet uses in the final verse paragraph to describe the main character. (b) What is the significance of these similes?



Answer: (a) The similes like wild water and like a fire show how she is free and unrestricted. (b) They are elemental, suggesting connection to nature.



Answer: The woman transforms from a person to an elemental force, like fire, light, and water.

9. Describe how Divakaruni uses images of everyday elements and combines them to transform the main character.



Contemporary poets often use verse paragraphs to organize their ideas. Divakaruni uses three verse paragraphs in “Woman with Kite” to raise dramatic tension and to highlight conflict.

Verse Paragraph


Answer: The break shows a change from suffocating mother to blooming free spirit.

1. Explain how the author uses a transition between the first and second verse paragraphs to underscore a change in her character’s attitude.

Verse Paragraph


Answer: The character’s change continues, but the mid-sentence break shows how abrupt the change becomes.

2. How does the transition between the second and third paragraphs mimic the first transition?

Verse Paragraph


As you learned on page 536, enjambment, also known as a run-on line, is the continuation of the sense of a sentence or phrase from one line of a poem to the next without a pause between the lines. Enjambments offer poets the opportunity to underscore the dramatic elements of their work.

Review: Enjambment


Partner Activity Pair up with a classmate and look for six examples of enjambment in “Woman with Kite.” Working with your partner, create a two-column chart similar to the one on the next slide.

Review: Enjambment


Review: Enjambment


Fill in the left column with examples of enjambment. In the right column, describe how this device gives the words at the beginning or at the end of the line a deeper meaning or more dramatic effect.

Review: Enjambment


Many contemporary poets, like Divakaruni, use their work to comment on events or situations in society. By looking for word clues and understanding a speaker’s point of view, you can make inferences about the speaker. This process can help you reveal the poet’s agenda.



Answer: Admires and approves of the woman’s actions

1. What does the speaker think of the woman’s actions?



Answer: Positive descriptions of the woman: slit-smiling, surefooted, wild water. Negative portrayals of other characters: querulous and gossip-whisper

2. List three details from the poem that support your opinion.



Practice with Context Clues Use the context clues in each sentence to help you choose the meaning of the underlined word.

Practice


1. After months of being ignored, Jim felt disgruntled at work.

A. unhappy

B. proud

C. eager

Practice


2. The painter shook her brush, flecking herself.

A. dousing

B. spattering

C. filling

Practice


3. The audience could make out the shadows of the models through a translucent screen.

A. gauzy

B. concrete

C. reflective

Practice



confine v. to keep within bounds; to restrict

mature adj. reaching full physical or mental development

Academic Vocabulary


Practice and Apply

Answer: Her traditional clothing and her children

1. What people or things confine the main character, especially at the start of the poem?

Academic Vocabulary


Answer: Never laugh and wear proper clothing.

2. In the poem, how should a traditional Indian woman demonstrate a mature manner?



Analyze Cultural Context Divakaruni has written extensively about Indian women who must learn to handle the conflicts and challenges of living in the United States. Using examples from “Woman with Kite,” write a one- to two-page essay detailing challenges the main character is likely to have to cope with in her daily life.



Before you begin drafting, make a list of clues about the character’s life, like this:



Use quotes from the poem to support your argument as to what Divakaruni implies in “Woman with Kite.” Once you have completed the list, begin drafting.



After completing your draft, meet with a peer reviewer to evaluate each other’s work and to suggest revisions. Then proofread and edit your draft for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.



When the collection in which this poem first appeared was released, San Francisco Chronicle journalist Reena Jana wrote that Divakaruni created characters who wanted to cultivate “the courage to confront the unknown in pursuit of a life of beauty, comfort, and joy.”

Literary Criticism


Meet with a few of your classmates and make a list of five ways that the main character in this poem shows this kind of courage.

Literary Criticism


Avoiding Incorrect Pronoun Reference

Connecting to Literature In this line from “A Storm in the Mountains,” Alexandr Solzhenitsyn describes the speaker’s experience in the first person plural.

GRAMMAR WORKSHOPGRAMMAR WORKSHOP

Language Usage

“We crawled out of our tents and ran for shelter as it came towards us over the ridge.”

—Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, from “A Storm in the Mountains”



The quotation is an example of correct pronoun reference because the pronouns our and us are the same person and number as the subject of the sentence, we. Incorrect pronoun reference is the use of a pronoun that has no antecedent or does not agree with its antecedent in person and number.


Language Usage



Problem

A pronoun has no antecedent in the sentence.

She carefully protected hers.

It required many revisions because of its complexity.


Language Usage



Solution

Replace the pronoun with an appropriate noun.

Anna carefully protected her papier-mâché box.

The term paper required many revisions because of its complexity.


Language Usage



Problem

A pronoun does not agree with its antecedent in person and number.

A writer must carefully choose what to include in their work.

Kim wrote slowly to give its ideas time to develop.


Language Usage



Solution

Replace the pronoun with one that agrees with its antecedent in person and number.

A writer must carefully choose what to include in his or her work.

Kim wrote slowly to give her ideas time to develop.


Language Usage



Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences to correct any incorrect pronoun references.


Language Usage

1. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn had to work as a mathematician because one had little money.

Answer: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn had to work as a mathematician because he had little money.



Exercise



Language Usage

2. Solzhenitsyn was born in Russia during a time when you had to censor their ideas.

Answer: Solzhenitsyn was born in Russia during a time when writers had to censor their ideas.



Exercise



Language Usage

3. I think that they should be able to write about any topic.

Answer: I think that writers should be able to write about any topic.



Exercise



Language Usage

4. When one reads Solzhenitsyn’s poetry, you find striking imagery.

Answer: When you read Solzhenitsyn’s poetry, you find striking imagery.



Exercise



Language Usage

5. I enjoy his writing because it keeps us interested.

Answer: I enjoy Solzhenitsyn’s writing because it keeps me interested.



Vocabulary Terms

Incorrect pronoun reference is the use of a pronoun that has no antecedent in the sentence or does not agree with its antecedent in person and number.


Language Usage



Test-Taking Tip

To identify incorrect pronoun reference on a test, find the antecedent for each pronoun. If there is not one, replace the pronoun with an appropriate noun. If the antecedent differs in person and/or number from the pronoun, change the pronoun to agree with the antecedent.


Language Usage


Think about encountering a storm in the mountains. Write a paragraph to describe what you might think, feel, and do. Select words carefully to help your reader understand your meaning.

Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 BELLRINGERBELLRINGER


What aspects of nature do you find awe-inspiring?



What are some of the things gained and lost when a child leaves home?



What moments in time do you think should be—or could be—captured in a poem?



What do you think makes the president laugh? Discuss what adults find amusing.

What do you think amused these same people before adulthood and parenthood?


Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1Unit 3, Part 1 BELLRINGER OPTION TRANSPARENCYBELLRINGER OPTION TRANSPARENCY

Click on the image to see a full version of the Bellringer Option Transparency.


0%

0%

0%

0%A. in the branches of a pine tree

B. in a tent

C. on a river raft

D. at the bottom of a gorge

Where was the speaker when the storm hit?

CHECKPOINT QUESTIONSCHECKPOINT QUESTIONS


0%

0%

0%

0%A. the hugeness of the mountains and

pinesB. the brightness of the lightning

C. the feeling of blackness

D. the voice of the thunder

What filled the speaker and his companions with awe?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. the downpour of raindrops

B. the creation of the world

C. the separation of the day and night

D. the droplets in the ocean

What does the speaker compare himself and his group to at the end of the poem?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. a broken claw

B. a leaf

C. the outline of a child

D. a sacred symbol

In “The Print of the Paw,” what does the speaker see in the bear paw print?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. in the sky

B. in an art museum

C. in the shadows of a tree

D. on the wall of a cave

In “The Print of the Paw,” Where does the speaker say he would create the model of the bear?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. on a spiritual journey before sunset

B. to a river during the summer

C. to the ridge where it was born

D. to the tress near the berry patch

In “The Print of the Paw,” Where does the speaker tell the bear to go?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. infirmity

B. soil

C. time

D. mortality

In “The Print of the Paw,” What is the bear’s shadow and shade



0%

0%

0%

0%A. on a hill

B. in spring

C. in the haze

D. in his hand

Where does the speaker say the autumn frost would melt?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. a nameless hill

B. the first day of autumn

C. a hazy day

D. autumn frost

To what does the speaker compare spring?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. on a piece of silk thread

B. on the branches of a willow tree

C. on a pair of hanging earrings

D. on a pearl necklace

Where does the speaker of the first Tanka see the spring rain?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. to a flowerless country

B. to a misty setting

C. to the rising sun

D. to a place of learning

Where does the speaker of the second Tanka suggest the wild geese might be going?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. The kite has no spool of string.

B. The kite is stuck in crabgrass.

C. The kite is lost in the meadow.

D. The kite does not fly in the air.

What is wrong with the kite at the beginning of the poem?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. her tugging children

B. the white-veiled spectators

C. her husband

D. the married couple

What has the woman forgotten as she runs with the kite?



0%

0%

0%

0%A. laugh at the woman

B. play with the woman’s children

C. help the woman get the kite in orbit

D. gossip and whisper about the woman

What do the two widows do as they watch the woman fly the kite?



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