POETRY UNIT

POWER IN POETRY

Your group will analyze one of the following poems during a 20 minute presentation. Each poem has a distinctive speaker, so pay special attention to the voice and perspective. You will earn up to 7 pts. for your presentation.

Linda Pastan, "Ethics"

Margaret Atwood "Siren Song"

Matthew Arnold "Dover Beach"

Andrew Marvell "To His Coy Mistress"

Alfred Tennyson "Ulysses" or "Tithonus"

Robert Browning "My Last Duchess"

Note that your poem has been used to persuade the reader to the speaker's, and poet's perspectives.

1. Read the poem aloud

2. Answer the following questions through your line-by-analysis of the words and images:

What is the dramatic situation?

How does the speaker reveal himself through his words and images?

What is the poet saying?

3. How does form connect to meaning? Look at diction: repetition, sounds of words, line length, line breaks, number and sequence of stanzas, and anything else you find meaningful.

Video: Cave scene from "Dead Poet's Society." How are the poems in this scene used to persuade?

Essay (Timed Writing) January 24and 25

You will analyze a poem you've never seen using the same technique. It will have a distinct speaker's voice, meaningful images, a powerful overall message, and form that relates to content.