What does that question even mean?! Personal Response Learning Objectives: To understand how to give a personal response to poetry Learning Outcomes: C+/B-: be able to give a simple opinion, using quotes to support B+/A-: be able to give a sophisticated response to poems, using quotes to support A+/A*: be able to give an assured response to the poems, using quotes to support Personal Response: It means having an opinion of your own, whatever that might be. Dont be afraid to say something honest and truthful. Dont expect to be taught to have an opinion, or to have an opinion on the poems you read straight away. It might be something you actually have to think about. A simple opinion I liked this poem because I found this poem sad/happy because I enjoyed this poem because I found this interesting
Certainly, theres nothing wrong with these responses: they show that you have engaged and interacted with the poems. A sophisticated opinion I found this interesting because I thought it was unusual how I found the most powerful phrase in the poem to be
These are better, because they sound a little more confident and educated than simple I like, dont like comments. An assured opinion I found the most powerful phrase in the poem to be I thought the contrast in was interesting because I found the poets use of I thought the way the poet handled What struck me about the poems was
Assured means that you have reached a decision after considering what is available. It is confident and has poise about it. Even when writing about your opinion, you should still (ABSOLUTELY!!!!) use quotes to back up your points or refer to specifics in the poems. Is this an assured response? I thought the character that Browning created in the first poem was the most interesting. Both characters in the two poems have clearly been dealt a harsh blow by love, but I found the spite with which Brownings character responded to be the most powerful. Her desire to let death be felt by the adulterous lover shows that in the poets opinion, hatred is a more powerful emotion than love. Browning handles such a range of emotions in this poem, which I think brings the character to life more than in the second poem. Here, Hughes character appears weak and broken by the loss of his love. Personally, I prefer characters with a bit more bite! Which I think Browning has created. Timing You will be advised to spend one hour on your response to this question. Draw a time pie chart showing how you would use your hour. Go back through your poems Choose two linked poems Have a go at writing a personal response to them Remember there should be an element of contrast or comparison between the poems Use your sentence starts, but remember this is a personal response write what you think, what you found, what you noticed, what you enjoyed