Brief Poetry Analysis:
Expanding Your Thinking & Challenging Your Preconceptions of Poetry Form
Expanding Your Thinking & Challenging Your Preconceptions of Poetry Form
Read the two small poems provided below: Mary Ellen Solt's visual poem, "Lilac," and Vern Rutsala's prose poem, "Salt and Pepper." They exhibit unconventional poetry forms. Compare and contrast their features with the items you listed on your semantic map. Think about whether or not you believe either of the two poems should actually be considered "poems." What is your reasoning for their inclusion or rejection from the poetry genre? Write a small explanation citing your opinion and rationale. Refer to your semantic map to build your argument. Think about universal poetry criteria. What makes a poem a "poem"? The forms of these two poems parallel the two primary texts to be analyzed during this lesson. The visual nature of Solt's "Lilac" mimics the amateur blackout poem. And Rutsala's "Salt and Pepper" holds the same physical prose shape as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Therefore, hopefully by looking at Solt and Rutsala's poems, you are more receptive (but it's okay if you're still a little skeptical!) to the idea of looking at a newspaper and a speech as poetry.
LILAC
Mary Ellen Solt |
SALT and PEPPER Vern Rutsala Monogamous as wolves they move through their lives together, rarely separated. To honor their feeling for fidelity we have developed the habit of asking for them together, knowing that they keenly feel any separation, however brief. Though salt is our favorite, a relative really, we never indicate this in order to spare pepper's volatile, but delicate feelings.
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When composing your summary, think about the following: Define what it means by "turbulence." What is it saying about the relationship between dreams and turbulence? Reflect: Do you agree or disagree with what the poem is saying? After interpreting the blackout poem, read Bryce Avary's Tweet, which is provided to the right. In a paragraph, synthesize what the tweet is saying with the poem's message. Why would Avary argue that dreaming is necessary - that it cannot be a dying art - if dreams are often accompanied by "turbulence," according to the blackout poem. Even with hardships and suffering, why is a dream still worthwhile?
"...Dr. King spoke in short bursts more reminiscent of POETRY than of long-winded lecture-speak..." ~ Maria Popova |
Rationale for Poetry Unit's Inclusion of
"I Have a Dream" Speech: Dr. King's Poetic Delivery Before your close reading and analysis of the written speech, it is important to listen to Martin Luther King Jr. deliver the speech himself. The specific and precise analysis of his speech by Nancy Duarte discovered several notable features of King's delivery and audience reaction. First, she found a distinct correlation between audience clapping / cheering and the speech's use of literary elements. Therefore, by listening to the speech, you will hear the real-life effect of literary elements. Literary elements do serve a purpose in literature, that's why we are analyzing them in this unit! Second, Duarte notes that the speech sounds more like a poetic reading than a lecture - thereby justifying its unexpected, but valid, integration into this poetry unit. Listen to the video to the left for more info! |
CLOSE READING of
"I Have a Dream" SPEECH In your social studies class, you are learning about the various ways African-Americans, from 1955 to 1968, experienced "turbulence" in pursuit of equality. As a voice representative of a race's, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech captures how African-American agreed with Bryce Avary and the blackout poem: their dream of equality has been - and will be - met with "turbulence," but such does not deter them from pursuing that dream.
Listen to and read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The video of his performance and a button linking to the typescript is provided to the left. Make annotations on the typescript as you listen and read. Identify the literary elements he employs in your margin notes (i.e. metaphor, allusion, repetition, imagery, etc). Pick two literary elements and write a short explanation of their effect. Why did Dr. King choose to integrate them into his speech? What do they add to the speech? How do they help get his main point across? Your analysis of this speech will help you get a glimpse into the rationale - into the why - behind the African-American civil rights movement. |
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"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
EXIT TICKET
With Dr. King's speech, let's take a look at the seemingly counter-intuitive why: why African-Americans continued to organize sit-ins, protests, and acts of civil disobedience - why they continued to dream, why they continued to "fight the good fight" - in spite of the "turbulence": the arrests, assassinations, and racism against them. This concluding activity will help you further synthesize the blackout poem and Avary’s tweet with the speech.
1. Explain how Dr. King addresses/defines the "turbulence" his dream of equality faces. What form does the "turbulence" take during the African-American Civil Rights Movement? Use textual evidence. 2. Dr. King advocates for the continued pursuit of equality in spite of – and in full acknowledgement of – the “turbulence” it is up against. Using text details, describe how he says African-Americans should persevere and fight for their dream. |