Description
In this collection We will study a wide variety of poems and songs.
This collection is useful for English literature students and high school students.
Study Set Content:
2017
1
Student Name: ______________________________
Period: ______
English 9 Poetry Packet
2017
2
Unit Overview
“If you know what you are going to write when you’re writing a poem, it’s going to be
average.”
– Derek Walcott
Poetry is an important genre in student writing. It gives opportunities to play with
language in novel ways, and sometimes to incorporate art and graphic design skills as
well. Understand that it is the message that is important in poetry, not just the format or
rhyming. Playing with line breaks and white space, exploring repetition and font choices
for emphasis, and focusing on descriptive language that carries meaning are all ways to
enhance (poetic) writing skills.
During the next few weeks, you will be reading, writing, memorizing, studying, and
discussing poems. Your unit grade will be primarily based on the following:
Ø
the work done in the packet
Ø
writing of your own poems
Ø
presentation of at least one memorized poem
Ø
poetry test
Note that the poetry unit is no different than any other unit, in that class participation
plays an important role in your final grade.
It is essential that you keep this packet neat, and organized. I will not make additional
copies to replace lost handouts. If you misplace a handout, you will need to copy it over
by hand.
In order to understand poetry, you will need to experience the process of writing poetry.
Although I do not expect you to become a world-wide acclaimed poet, I do expect that
you will attempt to write every poem demonstrated for you, and your efforts to be
sincere. As you consider all senses, it is a great opportunity to expand your vocabulary.
We will study a wide variety of poems and songs. You will take notes on these poems,
annotate and answer questions. Most of the material covered by the test will be in this
packet.
Finally, you should look up any words you do not know. If there is a word you do not
know – and there should be many – use it! You will not be tested on vocabulary words
found in poems, but there sure is nothing wrong with learning new words.
By the way, keeping this packet presentable, tidy and neat matters! As this packet is an
extension of you, feel free to be creative and use the space you are offered well and to
your liking.
2017
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Poetry Terms
Term
Definition/Example
Image
Imagery:
Personification:
Sonnet:
Haiku:
Rhythm:
Meter:
Diction:
Denotation:
Connotation:
Metaphor:
2017
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Term
Definition/Example
Image
Extended Metaphor:
Simile:
Monologue:
Tone:
Speaker:
Persona:
Theme:
Point of View:
Mood:
2017
5
Poetry Warm-Up
Instructions:
Discuss the questions below with your poetry group. Jot down your answers using
complete sentences.
1. What is poetry? Write your best definition (in your own words).
2. What do you like about poetry? (Or what do you think other people like about poetry?)
3. What do you dislike about poetry? (Or what do you think other people dislike about poetry?)
4. What are some poems/poets that you have read before? What was your opinion of those
poems/poets?
5. Review
“How to Read a Poem” PDF
. How many of these strategies do you use when reading
poetry?
6. In your opinion, which step is most important?
7. Do you believe that it is possible to like a poem but not understand what it means? Explain.
8. Do you consider songs to be a form of poetry?
Explain.
2017
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Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Discussion Questions
1.
What words and images stand out to you?
2.
What is your emotional reaction to the poem (e.g., surprise, dismay, anger)?
3.
Read the poem a second time and identify any figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor,
hyperbole) you encounter.
4.
What do they think Collins is saying about the study of poetry?
5.
According to Collins, what is the real goal of reading poetry?
2017
7
Alliteration and Onomatopoeia
Alliteration and onomatopoeia are poetic devices. Both are methods of using words and sounds
for effect in a poem.
Alliteration is the repetition of a beginning sound for effect. These may be vowel or consonant
sounds. The alliterative sounds have been underlined in the following examples:
The alligator ate apples and avocados.
Walkin’ in a winter wonderland.
Underline the alliteration in these sentences:
1.
The warm wind wafted across the window.
2.
I accidentally ate an awful apple.
3.
Slipping and sliding, I stumbled in the snow and slush.
Finish these sentences with alliterations of your own:
1.
Swiftly swimming _________________________________.
2.
The tired traveler __________________________________.
3.
While wandering __________________________________.
Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds. For example: The steam hissed from the open
valve. Onomatopoeia is a poetic device that produces an auditory image to the reader.
Underline the words you “hear” in these sentences:
1.
The train rumbled down the track.
2.
The truck’s brakes screeched in the distance.
3.
The old floor creaked as we walked across the room.
Complete the following sentences using onomatopoeia of your own:
1.
The rusty gate ___________________________________________.
2.
The branches ____________________________________________.
3.
The motorcycle _____________________________________________.
2017
8
Similes and Metaphors
A simile is a phrase or word that describes one thing as
similar
to another, often unrelated thing.
An example is "Jane went up the stairs as quiet as a mouse." Similes use the words "like" and/ or
"as".
A metaphor is a phrase or word that states that one thing
is
another, often unrelated thing. An
example is “Harold is a snake."
Read the following sentences. At the end of the sentence, write in brackets whether the
sentence is an example of a metaphor (M) or simile (S).
Example: The clouds were fluffy like cotton wool. (S)
1.
As slippery as an eel.
2.
He was a lion in battle.
3.
She is as pretty as a picture.
4.
The striker was a goal machine.
5.
The moon was a misty shadow.
6.
His eyes sparkled like a diamond.
Now you are going to make up similes and metaphors of your own by finishing these
sentences.
1.
As heavy as ______________________________________
2.
He was a cold _____________________________________
3.
She had skin like a _________________________________
4.
As cool as _______________________________________
5.
The mountain was a ________________________________
6.
Slippery like a ___________________________________
2017
9
Personification and Hyperboles
Personification is when you give a human quality to an inanimate object.
Personification is a comparison that treats things as if they were capable of the actions and
feelings of people.
Personifications are things we feel but don’t literally see.
Examples of personification:
The moon slept in the night sky.
The star is winking at me.
A hyperbole is any extravagant statement or exaggeration for effect.
Hyperbole is used as a figure of speech. For example: I could sleep for a year!
Examples of hyperboles:
He’s so mean he eats snakes for breakfast.
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Identify whether the following sentences use a hyperbole (H) or personification (P):
1.
The flames called out their names.
2.
After shoveling snow I was so tired I couldn’t move.
3.
The clock told us it was time to go.
4.
She hit the ball hard enough to fly all the way to Pittsburgh.
5.
The wind whispered to the trees.
6.
It was so cold her car laughed at her when she tried to start it.
7.
After the dance my feet were killing me.
8.
All day long I worked my fingers to the bone.
2017
10
Allusions
An allusion is a reference to well-known characters or events from literature, history, or another
field of knowledge. Writers use allusions to add imagery and emotion into their writing. For
example, a writer could say, “He has the Midas touch when picking stocks.” King Midas was a
famous character from Greek Mythology whose touch turned items into gold.
Read the sentences below and explain their meaning based on the allusion in each sentence.
Research the meaning of any allusions that are unfamiliar to you.
1. Because of the determination of its people, the country rose like a phoenix from the ashes of
revolution.
a. What is a phoenix?
b. What does this allusion tell us about the country?
2. His rise to become head of an international corporation is a real Horatio Alger story.
a. Who was Horatio Alger?
b. What does this allusion tell us about the man’s success?
3. After working out at the gym, I felt like I could battle Hercules.
a. Who was Hercules?
b. What does this allusion tell us about the speaker’s work out?
4. Write your own sentence using an allusion:
2017
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1. “Mice” by Rose Fyleman
~What is poetry?
2. “Once They All Believed in Dragons” by Jack Prelutsky
~What would you write a poem about?
3. “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes
~How does poetry make you feel?
4. “The Months” by Sarah Coleridge
~ What is poetry like? (similes and metaphors)
2017
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5. “It is a Pleasant Day” by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen
~What are the benefits of poetry?
6. “De Colores” –a traditional folk song
~ What is a poem?
7. “Mother’s Song” –a traditional lullaby
~How do you write a poem? Write your mommy a poem.
8. “The Arrow and The Song” by Henry Wadsworth
~ What would you write a poem about today?
2017
13
“When Will My Life Begin?”
From Disney’s Tangled
Poetry Terms:
Mood, Tone, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Meter
7 AM, the usual morning lineup:
Start on the chores and sweep 'til the floor's all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15.
And so I'll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play guitar and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?
Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking
Paper mache, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making
Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb,
Sew a dress!
And I'll reread the books
If I have time to spare
I'll paint the walls some more,
I'm sure there's room somewhere.
And then I'll brush and brush,
and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I've always been.
And I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin'
And wonderin' and wonderin'
When will my life begin?
And tomorrow night,
Lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year.
What is it like
Out there where they glow?
Now that I'm older,
Mother might just
Let me go ...
1. What is the speaker’s
tone
at the beginning
of the song?
2. What does the speaker keep wonderin’?
3. When does the
rhythm
change and how
does this change the speaker’s
tone
?
4. Give an example of how
alliteration
is
shown in this song.
5. Give an example of how
rhyme
is shown in
this song.
2017
14
"I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD"
William Wordsworth
I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
1. What is the speaker’s
mood
at the
beginning of the poem?
2. As the
speaker
wanders, what does he see
“all at once”?
3. How does the speaker’s
mood
change that
day because of what he sees?
4. How does the memory of what he saw
affect him later?
5. What
simile
does the speaker use to
describe his loneliness?
6. Which words in the poem
personify
the
daffodils, or make them seem like people—
even friends and companions—to the lonely
speaker?
2017
15
“Let it Go”
From Disney’s Frozen
Poetry Terms: Tone, Diction, Speaker, Rhyme, and Imagery
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight,
not a footprint to be seen.
A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I'm the queen.
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside.
Couldn't keep it in, Heaven knows I tried.
Don't let them in, don't let them see.
Be the good girl you always have to be.
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.
Well, now they know!
Let it go, let it go!
Can't hold it back any more.
Let it go, let it go!
Turn away and slam the door.
I don't care what they're going to say.
Let the storm rage on.
The cold never bothered me anyway.
It's funny how some distance,
makes everything seem small.
And the fears that once controlled me, can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do,
to test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
I'm free!
Let it go, let it go.
I am one with the wind and sky.
Let it go, let it go.
You'll never see me cry.
Here I'll stand, and here I'll stay.
Let the storm rage on.
My power flurries through the air into the ground.
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back; the past is in the past!
Let it go, let it go.
And I'll rise like the break of dawn.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand, in the light of day.
Let the storm rage on!
The cold never bothered me anyway...
1. Give an example of
rhyme
.
2. What is the speaker’s
tone
? How can you tell?
3. Does the speaker’s
tone
change in the second
version? Explain.
4. What is the
speaker
singing about? What
words show this?
5. How does the
diction
show how the speaker
feels?
6. Provide an example of how
imagery
is used
in this song?
2017
16
Women
Alice Walker
They were women then
My mama’s generation
Husky of voice—stout of
Step
With fists as well as
Hands
How they battered down
Doors
And ironed
Starched white
Shirts
How they led
Armies
Headragged generals
Across mined
Fields
Booby-trapped
Ditches
To discover books
Desks
A place for us
How they knew what we
Must
know
Without knowing a page
Of it
Themselves.
1. What generation of women does the
speaker
describe?
2. List three things that these women tried to
obtain for their children.
3. How did they go about obtaining what they
knew their children needed?
4. In lines 12-18, Walker uses an
implied
metaphor
, suggesting rather than stating a
comparison. What does she compare the
women to?
5. What is the speaker’s
tone
, her attitude
toward these women?
6. What words or phrases in the poem help
you identify the speaker’s tone?
2017
17
“
Colors of the Wind”
From Disney’s Pocahontas
Poetry Terms: Imagery, Speaker, Personification, Metaphor, and Tone
You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...
You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name
You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth
The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends
How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the
wind
You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind
1. Who is the
speaker
of the song?
2. What is the speaker’s
tone
at the beginning
of the song? How can you tell?
3. What is the
metaphor
in the second verse?
4. Write down one example of
personification
in this song.
5. Give three examples of
imagery
in the
lyrics. Write them down below.
1.
2.
3.
2017
18
A Blessing
James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
Directions:
List at least three images from the poem in the appropriate columns. Some images might be listed
in both columns.
Sight
Touch
1. What is the setting of the poem—where
and when does it take place?
2. How do the ponies feel about the visit?
How do they feel about each other?
3. Why does the speaker feel especially
fond of one of the ponies?
4. What human qualities and feelings does
the speaker give to the ponies?
2017
19
“A Whole New World”
From Disney’s Aladdin
Poetry Terms: Extended Metaphor, Monologue, Imagery, Simile, Alliteration, and Rhyme
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you
Now I'm in a whole new world with you
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
A whole new world
Don't you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath - it gets better
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be
A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue
Every moment red-letter
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you
A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me
1. What is the
extended metaphor
in the song?
2. Provide two examples of how
imagery
is
shown in this song.
1.
2.
3. Is this song an example of a
monologue
?
Explain why or why not?
4. Give one example of a
simile.
5. Give one example of
alliteration.
2017
20
The Seven Ages of Man
William Shakespeare
All the world's 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,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made 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
Even in the cannon's 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 shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
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.
1. In Shakespeare’s famous metaphor that
compares the world to a stage, what does he
compare men and women to?
2. Shakespeare uses an
extended metaphor
when he has Jaques describe a person’s life as
though it were a play made up of seven acts.
Name those seven acts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
3. In this
monologue
what images help you
picture childhood as Jaques sees it?
4. What
simile
describes the schoolboy’s
attitude toward school? How do you think
Jaques feels about infants and schoolboys?
5. Give an example of how
alliteration
is
used in this poem.
