You are on page 1of 43

Year Eight Poetry Unit:

This unit will focus on understanding and interpreting poems. Whilst doing this students will also explore the different forms poems take and are expected to write their own poetry.

Wee Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Comments/Homework

1 Introduction to poetry Literary (poetry) devices: ‘My Country’ – Dorothea McKellar Homework:
• What do the students like/dislike? • HYPERBOLE Visual/personal interpretation Find a poem, identify the discussed
• What is poetry/a poem? Class • SIMILE 1. Discuss imagery as a class – what is it? How literary devices and discuss what the
brainstorm then definition sheet • METAPHOR does it work? poem means to you (to be completed
No Classes (attached). • PERSONIFICATION 2. Listen to poem and discuss as a class in scrapbook).
• Poems with themes • ALLITERATION 3. Note personal interpretations (in scrapbook)
• Childhood poems 4. Visual interpretations – students to ‘draw’ the ‘My Country’ response (questions)
• ONOMATOPOEIA
image they conjure when listening to the poem
(oil pastels?) DUE: Wednesday 29th April
Discuss as class and complete worksheet.
2 AUSTRALIAN POETRY Homework:
Banjo Paterson Henry Lawson Find two Australian poems – copy
• Brief history of Banjo Paterson – focussing on Australia at that time, the need for a • Brief history of Henry Lawson (biography attached). them both into your scrapbook and
national identity (biography attached). • Poems: write a reflection for each.
• Poems: o ‘From the Bush’
o ‘Waltzing Matilda’ – original lyrics V popular lyrics o ‘The Ballad of the Drover’ – listen to & response Write your own poem about Australia.
o ‘The Man from Snowy River’ – listen to & response o ‘The Shearers’ – discuss the importance of mateship
o ‘Clancy of the Overflow’ – listen to & response DUE: Wednesday 6th May
3 POETRY ROTATIONS – 25 minute rotations Homework:
Small group work focusing on selected poets (involves reading of poem and interpretations/answering of questions – activities attached). Favourite poem this far – why? What
* William Blake * Rudyard Kipling * Robert Frost poetry devices/techniques are evident
* Emily Dickinson * Lewis Carroll * Edgar Allen Poe within the chosen poem?
DUE: Wednesday 13th May
4 POETRY COMPOSITION LYRICS AS POETRY Homework:
Students to compose and develop their own poems – Poetry Poker • What are songs? How are songs poems? Continue to develop scrapbook
• use different poets as inspiration and experiment with different styles of • Analyse poetic devices (you may like to touch (personal poem anthology).
poetry on more than those covered) used in the
• encourage students to focus on different themes for their poems See attached instructions/resources. following sng (three different styles/types of
• slideshow stimulus music):
1. ‘The River’ – Garth Brooks
2. ‘Music of the Night’ – Andrew Lloyd Webber
3. A popular song the students might enjoy
See attached sheet.
5 LYRICS AS POETRY – computer room (fishbowl) booked all week Homework:
Following on from the previous lesson students are to complete an analysis on at least Students to create their own song (poem) for their anthology. They may have background music to Continue to develop scrapbook
three songs of their choosing. go with it - must (personal poem anthology).
Task instruction sheet attached. DUE: Thursday 28th May
6
7
8
9
10
Year Eight Poetry Unit
Assessment Task
Throughout this unit you are to keep a scrapbook that will be made up of poems we study in class, your
annotations and comments on poems, your reflections, any handouts from class and your own poems. To
receive a satisfactory pass within this unit you must keep your scrapbook up-to-date (which means you must
follow up any handouts if you are absent) and keep your scrapbook in a satisfactory manner, ensure all
homework and given tasks are completed and receive a pass for the assessment task (which includes all these
hurdle requirements).

*Please note – anything you include in your scrapbook will only been seen by your English teacher*

Your scrapbook must contain:


• All handouts
• All homework tasks
• All tasks given within class
• Copies of the poems studied with your reflections/responses/annotations
• 5 of your own poems; 2 of which need to be selected for final submission (along with
reflection)
The above mentioned requirements must be meet as hurdle tasks for the assessment task.

Final task:
Select two of your five poems and present them within your scrapbook in published form. These two poems
must have titles and be of substance. With each of you poems you must also include your reflection (100-150
words) and answer the given questions.

Reflection:
Below are some questions that may help prompt you when writing your reflection; however please write your
reflection in paragraph form, not question and answer form.
• Why did you write this poem?
• Did a particular poet influence you in writing this poem? If so, who?
• Did something else influence you? If so, what?
• Why did you select this poem to be published?
• Does this poem hold a particular ‘special’ meaning with you?
• What pleases you most about your poem? Why?
• What detail in the piece is exactly right? Why?
• What part of the poem are your still dissatisfied with? Why?
• Where could you include more specific details?

Questions:
You must answer the following questions alongside each of your published poems (in question and full answer
form).
• Which literary devices are evident within your poem (identify and provide examples of at least two)?
• Does your poem follow a particular style/form? If so, which one? If not, why did you write your poem
in the way in which you have?
• What is the theme of your poem?
De La Salle College English Department
Semester One
‘Writing’ Dimension
4.75

Name: ………………………………………… Home Room: ………………


Date of Submission: ………………

Task Description:
Produce a Poetry scrapbook that includes two (original) published poems with reflections.
Hurdle Requirements Requirement met Requirement not
(1 mark) met (-1 mark)
Submitted by due date
Scrapbook is in a presentable manner with headings, sub-headings and
images to complement text
All handouts included, all assigned tasks (including homework tasks)
completed and all poems studied included (with
reflections/responses/annotations).
At least five poems composed by student included
Two published poems with reflections and questions

Published poem (with reflections and questions):


VH H M L VL NS
Writing Progression Point Descriptors 5 4 3 2 1 0
Control of written text in poetic writing
Composition of an imaginative text presenting challenging idea
Appropriate use of figurative language to achieve particular
effects
Strategic use of headings, subheadings, graphics, photographs
and art work to support the meaning of the text
Correct and effective use of the mechanics of poetry writing
Appropriate reflection/responses to questions

Total: /35 %

Teacher Comment:

Very High High Medium Low Very Low Not Shown Below the required
Standard
At the Standard
Demonstrated a Demonstrated a Demonstrated a Demonstrated an Demonstrated a Not Satisfactory.
very high level of high level of satisfactory level of adequate level of basic level of Did not meet the
understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of criteria for the
knowledge and knowledge and knowledge and knowledge and knowledge and award of a result.
skills in all areas. skills in all areas. skills in all areas. skills in all areas. skills in all areas.
100-85% 84-75% 74-65% 64-55% 54-40% 39-0% Assessment
Review

What is Poetry?
A poem may appear to mean very different things to
different readers, and all of these meaning may be
different from what the author thought he meant. For
instance, the author may have been writing some
peculiar personal experience, Which he saw quite
unrelated to anything outside; yet for the reader the
poem may become the expression of a general
situation, as well as of some private experience of his
own. The reader's interpretation may differ from the
author's and be equally valid-- it may even be better.
There may be much more in a poem than the author
was aware of. The different interpretations may all be
partial formulations of one thing; the ambiguities may
be due to the fact that the poem means more, not less,
than ordinary speech can communicate.
T.S. Eliot

What is a Poet?

A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his


feelings through words. This may sound easy. It isn't.
A lot of people think or believe or know they feel -- but
that's thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling.
And poetry is feeling -- not knowing or believing or
thinking. Almost anybody can learn to think or believe
or know, but not a single human being can be taught to
feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe
or you know, you're a lot of other people; but the
moment you feel, you're NOBODY-BUT-YOURSELF.
E.E. Cummings
Poetry Devices (techniques):
ORIGINAL POETRY MUST INCLUDE:
HYPERBOLE – a large exaggeration
EX: - Your eyes are as bright as the stars!
SIMILE – A comparison between two objects using “like” or “as”
EX: - Your eyes are like stars
METAPHOR – A comparison between two objects – NOT using “like” or “as”
EX: - Your eyes are stars!
PERSONIFICATION – giving an inhuman thing human qualities
EX: - The stars are envious of your eyes!
ALLITERATION – repetition of a sound at the beginning of two or more neighbouring
words
EX: - See Sally Stand by the Sea Shore
ONOMATOPOEIA – words that sound like their meaning
EX: - WOOOSH! The stars penetrate the earth’s atmosphere.

TASK: Identify each of the figurative devices below:


1. ____________ A fluttering forest of feathers
2. ____________It smells like rotten eggs
3. ____________Spot, the dog, planned a devious plan for the cat
4. ____________”Hey! Cabbage for brains! I’m talking to you!”
5. ____________”You wanna take a trip? Pow! Zoom! To the moon!”
6. ____________Bugs Bunny
7. ____________Alice ran as fast as she could
8. ____________Alice ran as fast as a cheetah
9. ____________He has a swelled head
10. ____________She has the eyes of a cat

TASK: Write one example of your own for each literary device.

Hyperbole –

Simile –

Metaphor –

Alliteration –

Personification –

Onomatopoeia -
‘My Country’
Dorothea Mackellar

The love of field and coppice,


Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance Core of my heart, my country!
Brown streams and soft dim skies Her pitiless blue sky,
I know but cannot share it, When sick at heart, around us,
My love is otherwise. We see the cattle die-
But then the grey clouds gather,
I love a sunburnt country, And we can bless again
A land of sweeping plains, The drumming of an army,
Of ragged mountain ranges, The steady, soaking rain.
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, Core of my heart, my country!
I love her jewel-sea, Land of the Rainbow Gold,
Her beauty and her terror – For flood and fire and famine,
The wide brown land for me! She pays us back threefold-
Over the thirsty paddocks,
A stark white ring-barked forest Watch, after many days,
All tragic to the moon, The filmy veil of greenness
The sapphire-misted mountains, That thickens as we gaze.
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes, An opal-hearted country,
Where lithe lianas coil, A wilful, lavish land-
And orchids deck the tree-tops All you who have not loved her,
And ferns the warm dark soil. You will not understand-
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

• Look up any words within the poem of which you are unsure of the meanings.

• Answer the following questions:


1. What do you think this poem is about?
2. How does this poem make you feel?
3. Which is your favourite line in the poem? Why?
4. Do you feel it portrays Australia in a positive manner? How?
5. What do you think the poet means when referring to Australia as a ‘sunburnt
country’?
BanJO PATERSON
Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson wrote some of Australia’s best loved poems. Mainly
about bush people, they are full of action, rhythm and humour. Paterson is also the
author of ‘Waltzing Matilda’, the nation’s best known song.

Paterson wrote most of his poems on the 1890s. This was a time of droughts,
economic depression, strikes and the rise of the unions, especially the shearers’ union. It was also a time of
increasing nationalism, and of the movement towards federation of the separate Australian colonies. Railways
and the telegraph were brining the colonies closed together. By the 1890s about three-quarters of the
Australian population were Australian-born. There were looking for images and heroes that were uniquely
Australian and made clear the differences between their culture and the British culture of their parents and
grandparents. They found the answer in the bush and its people.

Paterson’s work clearly reflects the times in which he lived. Like fellow poet Henry Lawson, he wrote of a way of
life that had captured the public imagination because it should Australians as they wanted to see themselves.
Paterson’s poems, such as ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘Clancy of the Overflow’ were hugely popular in his
time, and remain so today. In 1895 his first book, ‘The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses’, sold out within
a week. This had never happened in Australia before, Paterson became a celebrity.

Although he came from a comfortable background and for a time worker as a city solicitor, Paterson wrote of
drovers and farmers, of swagmen and shearers, and of mountain horsemen and country race meetings. He never
forgot that his own father had been forced to sell his farm. He always wrote from the point of view of the
battler – even the swagman in ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was a battler.

Names and Places:


The Overflow – a normally dry area that is covered with People and Places:
water in times of flood, the name is usually given to a Some of the people and places that reappear throughout
region near the town of Nyngan, in north-western NSW, Paterson’s work:
which is filled by the overflowing waters of the nearby Clancy – a drover who represents Paterson’s ideal of the
Bogan River. Australian bushman
Lachlan – a river in central NSW Conroy – a station owner on the Castlereagh – a river in
tar – during shearing, tar was used to treat wounds to northern central NSW
sheep Kiley’s Run – a grazing property thought to be based on
Definitions
Illalong, where Patersonand Meanings:
spent his happiest childhood years
Cooper – a river in western QLD
donah – a sweetheart or girlfriend
Darling – a river that runs through western NSW, from the
public – a public bar in a hotel
QLD border to its junction with the Murray River on the
push – a gang of city hooligans
VIC border
swell – a fashionably dressed person
saltbush – a grey-coloured plant found in low-rainfall
areas of inland Australia
Walgett – a town in north-western NSW – the river there is
now called the Barwon: it becomes the DarlingInformation
after sourced from: The Australian Character:
joining the Culgoa, about 200 kms downstream Banjo Paterson
Hexham – a town on the Hunter River in NSW< just
inland from Newcastle, know for its especially large by Margaret McPhee
mosquitoes
stiffen – to trick or swindle; in horse racing, to stop a horse
doing its best
the office – a signal or hint ‘Waltzing Matilda’
toff – a rich, upper-class person
Banjo Paterson
ORIGINAL: POPULAR:
Oh! There once was a swagman camped in the billabongs, Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Collibah tree, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,
‘Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?’ You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

(Chorus) (Chorus)
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, my darling? Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Down came the jumbuck to drink at the waterhole, Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he put him away in his tucker-bag, And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.’ You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Chorus Chorus

Up came the squatter a-riding his thoroughbred; Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Up came policemen – one, two, three. Down came the troopers One Two Three
‘Whose is the jumbuck you’ve got in the tucker-bag? Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’ You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Chorus Chorus

Up sprang the swagman and jumped in the waterhole, Up jumped the swagman sprang in to the billabong
Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree; You'll never catch me alive said he,
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the billabongs And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
‘Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?’ You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Chorus Chorus

‘The Man From Snowy River’


Banjo Paterson
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
That the colt from old Regret had got away, And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash,
And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound, And off into the mountain scrub they flew.
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black
Had mustered at the homestead overnight, Resounded to the thunder of their tread,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are, And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight. From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their sway,
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup, Were mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
The old man with his hair as white as snow; And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day,
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up- No man can hold them down the other side."
He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand, When they reached the mountain's summit, even Clancy took a pull,
No better horseman ever held the reins; It well might make the boldest hold their breath,
For never horse could throw him while the saddle girths would stand, The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains. Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast, And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,
He was something like a racehorse undersized, And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed,
With a touch of Timor pony - three parts thoroughbred at least - While the others stood and watched in very fear.
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry - just the sort that won't say die - He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
There was courage in his quick impatient tread; He cleared the fallen timbers in his stride,
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye, And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat -
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head. It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
But so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay, Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And the old man said, "That horse will never do And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
For a long and tiring gallop-lad, you'd better stop away, At the bottom of that terrible descent.
Those hills are far too rough for such as you."
So he waited sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend - He was right among the horses as they climbed the further hill
"I think we ought to let him come," he said; And the watchers on the mountain standing mute,
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end, Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still,
For both his horse and he are mountain bred." As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.

"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side, Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough, In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals
Where a horse's hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride, On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
The man that holds his own is good enough. With the man from Snowy River at their heels.
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,
Where the river runs those giant hills between; And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam, He followed like a bloodhound in their track,
But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen." Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home,
And alone and unassisted brought them back.
So he went - they found the horses by the big mimosa clump - But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
They raced away towards the mountain's brow, He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump, But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
No use to try for fancy riding now. For never yet was mountain horse a cur.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills, And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight, Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
If once they gain the shelter of those hills." Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
So Clancy rode to wheel them - he was racing on the wing And where around The Overflow the reed beds sweep and sway
Where the best and boldest riders take their place, To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
And he raced his stockhorse past them, and he made the ranges ring The man from Snowy River is a household word today,
With stockwhip, as he met them face to face. And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash,

‘Clancy of the overflow’


Banjo Paterson
I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just "on spec", addressed as follows, "Clancy, of The Overflow".

And an answer came directed in writing unexpected,


(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)
'Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
"Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are."

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy


Gone a-droving "down the Cooper" where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover's life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy


Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city,
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all.

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle


Of the tramways and the 'buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal --
But I doubt he'd suit the office, Clancy, of "The Overflow".

Henry lawson
Henry Lawson wrote about the ordinary Australians he grew up with in ‘the bush’ and
later lived among in the city. His work shows great sympathy for those who struggle to
survive.

Although most of his adult life was spent in the city, Lawson is best known for this
poems and short stories about the bush. His vivid and realistic descriptions of rural
life, with is hardships and occasional humour, are based on his boyhood in the Mudgee
region of central New South Wales, and on nine months spend in the drought-stricken
‘Outback’, around Bourke, when he was twenty-five years old.

Young Henry Lawson experienced the end of the gold rushes, lived through the last of
the Cobb & Co. coaching days, and saw the opening of the railway through rural
Australia. Scattered through his works are word pictures of Mudgee’s blue hills, reddy
rivers, dusty tracks and dismal, worn-out goldfields. The drovers, bullock drivers and
innkeepers he knew, and the stories they told, come alive again in his writing. Some
experts see his poem ‘The Teams’ as the finest description of a bullock team in
Australian literature. There are also memories of the farmers who struggled to make a
living, and of the women who battled on alone when their men had to find work away
from home.

In 1892-93 Lawson spent time in the Bourke region of far-western New South Wales.
There he gained firsthand experience of the hardships faced by ‘travellers’ (swagmen)
looking for work and handouts, and of the difficulties of trying to keep a farm.

Observant Lawson: Bush Language:


green-hide goad, green-hide plait – a whip made from
A G Stephens, an editor of the Bulletin untanned cattle skin
magazine, said of Lawson: ‘he used his johnny cakes – small flat cakes made from bread and
water and cooked in the ashes of the campfire
eyes, listened as he could, and remembered
on the wallaby – travelling as a swagman
all that he saw and heard.’ selector – a farmer
shanty – a place where alcoholic drink was sold, usually
Information sourced from: without a licence
The Australian Character: Henry swag – a bundle containing bedding and personal
Lawson belongings carried by a swagman on his back
by Margaret McPhee swagman – a man with his belongings in a swag and
traveling on foot, looking for occasional jobs or handouts
of food
up country – inland, away from the coast

‘FROM THE BUSH’


Henry Lawson
The Channel fog has lifted –
And see where we have come!
Round all the world we've drifted,
A hundred years from "home".
The fields our parents longed for –
Ah! we shall ne'er know how –
The wealth that they were wronged for
We'll see as strangers now!

The Dover cliffs have passed on –


In the morning light aglow –
That our fathers looked their last on
A weary time ago.
Now grin, and grin your bravest!
We need be strong to fight;
For you go home to picture
And I go home to write.

Hold up your head in England,


Tread firm on London streets;
We come from where the strong heart
Of all Australia beats!
Hold up your head in England
However poor you roam!
For no men are your betters
Who never sailed from home!

From a hundred years of hardships –


'Tis ours to tell the cost –
From a thousand miles of silence
Where London would be lost;
From where the glorious sunset
On sweeps of mulga glows –
Ah! we know more than England,
And more than Europe knows!

Hold up your head in London,


However poor you come,
For no man is your better
Who never sailed from home!
Our "home" and foreign fathers,
Where none but men dared go,
Have done more for the White Man
Than England e'er shall know!

‘The Ballad of
the Drover’
Henry Lawson

Across the stony ridges, Young Harry Dale, the drover,


Across the rolling plain, Comes riding home again.
And well his stock-horse bears him, Nor shall this gutter stop us
And light of heart is he, From getting home to-night!'
And stoutly his old pack-horse
Is trotting by his knee. The thunder growls a warning,
The ghastly lightnings gleam,
Up Queensland way with cattle As the drover turns his horses
He travelled regions vast; To swim the fatal stream.
And many months have vanished But, oh! the flood runs stronger
Since home-folk saw him last. Than e'er it ran before;
He hums a song of someone The saddle-horse is failing,
He hopes to marry soon; And only half-way o'er!
And hobble-chains and camp-ware
Keep jingling to the tune. When flashes next the lightning,
The flood's grey breast is blank,
Beyond the hazy dado And a cattle dog and pack-horse
Against the lower skies Are struggling up the bank.
And yon blue line of ranges But in the lonely homestead
The homestead station lies. The girl will wait in vain --
And thitherward the drover He'll never pass the stations
Jogs through the lazy noon, In charge of stock again.
While hobble-chains and camp-ware
Are jingling to a tune. The faithful dog a moment
Sits panting on the bank,
An hour has filled the heavens And then swims through the current
With storm-clouds inky black; To where his master sank.
At times the lightning trickles And round and round in circles
Around the drover's track; He fights with failing strength,
But Harry pushes onward, Till, borne down by the waters,
His horses' strength he tries, The old dog sinks at length.
In hope to reach the river
Before the flood shall rise. Across the flooded lowlands
And slopes of sodden loam
The thunder from above him The pack-horse struggles onward,
Goes rolling o'er the plain; To take dumb tidings home.
And down on thirsty pastures And mud-stained, wet, and weary,
In torrents falls the rain. Through ranges dark goes he;
And every creek and gully While hobble-chains and tinware
Sends forth its little flood, Are sounding eerily.
Till the river runs a banker,
All stained with yellow mud. The floods are in the ocean,
The stream is clear again,
Now Harry speaks to Rover, And now a verdant carpet
The best dog on the plains, Is stretched across the plain.
And to his hardy horses, But someone's eyes are saddened,
And strokes their shaggy manes; And someone's heart still bleeds
`We've breasted bigger rivers In sorrow for the drover
When floods were at their height Who sleeps among the reeds.
‘The Shearers’
Henry Lawson

No church-bell rings them from the Track,


No pulpit lights theirblindness--
'Tis hardship, drought, and homelessness
That teach those Bushmen kindness:
The mateship born, in barren lands,
Of toil and thirst and danger,
The camp-fare for the wanderer set,
The first place to the stranger.
They do the best they can to-day--
Take no thought of the morrow;
Their way is not the old-world way--
They live to lend and borrow.
When shearing's done and cheques gone wrong,
They call it "time to slither"--
They saddle up and say "So-long!"
And ride the Lord knows whither.

And though he may be brown or black,


Or wrong man there, or right man,
The mate that's steadfast to his mates
They call that man a "white man!"
They tramp in mateship side by side--
The Protestant and Roman--
They call no biped lord or sir,
And touch their hat to no man!

They carry in their swags perhaps,


A portrait and a letter--
And, maybe, deep down in their hearts,
The hope of "something better."
Where lonely miles are long to ride,
And long, hot days recurrent,
There's lots of time to think of men
They might have been--but weren't.

They turn their faces to the west


And leave the world behind them
(Their drought-dry graves are seldom set
Where even mates can find them).
They know too little of the world
To rise to wealth or greatness;
But in these lines I gladly pay
My tribute to their greatness.
Poetry Rotations:

25 minute rotations over four lessons; groups of 4-5 students. No teacher directed group, so
encouraged to roam.

Focus poets:
• William Blake
• Rudyard Kipling
• Emily Dickinson
• Robert Frost
• Edgar Allen Poe
• Lewis Carroll

Groups looking at William Blake and Edgar Allen Poe require internet access (students CAN share
computers but aim for 2 computers per group).
William Blake
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling was born in India. He and his sister Alice were sent back to England when he was
six. The children stayed with foster parents and were dreadfully unhappy. Kipling was punished for
reading books and began to read secretly by the light of a candle-end. Kipline was then sent to
boarding school where he was encouraged to write. Later he returned to India where he worked as a
journalist in Lahore. In his spare time he wrote many poems and stories. His first book of verse was
published in 1886.

Returning to England in 1889 Kipling found that his stories had made him a popular figure. In 1892
he married and moved to America for four years where his two children, Josephine and Elsie were
born. The family returned to England in 1896 and lived in Rottingdean in Sussex, where their son
John was born. Sadly, Josephine died of pneumonia in 1899 and John was killed whilst fighting in the
First World War (1914-18).

In 1902 he bought a house called Bateman’s in Sussex where he lived for the rest of his life. It was at
this house that his best know poem, ‘If…’ was written. Kipling declined the offer of Poet
Laureateship but was the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
Kipling dies in 1936 and was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
What inspired Kipling? What is it that makes Kipling’s
Kipling wrote a lot about India poems so special?
although he only spent six and a half Kipling’s poems reach out to lots of
years there. He wrote rhymed verse, people. They are not difficult to
some of it in the slang used by British understand and can be enjoyed by
soldiers in India, and he invented anyone, not just poetry specialists.
fictional characters such as Gunga His poetry is often labelled patriotic –
Din and Danny Deever. displaying a love of his country and
its empire.

‘If…’ by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you


Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, If you can make one heap of all your winnings
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
If you can dream - and not make dreams your To serve your turn long after they are gone,
master; And so hold on when there is nothing in you
If you can think - and not make thoughts your Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
And treat those two impostors just the same; ‘ Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken touch,
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, If all men count with you, but none too much;
broken, If you can fill the unforgiving minute
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
What do you think this poem is about? Why do you think that (provide a
quote/reference)? What poetic devices can you identify in the poem? Do you like
this poem? Why/why not?
Robert Frost
Read the following poem by Robert Frost and then complete the
‘Inference and Evidence Chart’ in your scrapbook. If you finish early
write your reflection on the poem.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’
Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know. The Narrative Poetry of Robert Frost
His house is in the village though; Directions:
He will not see me stopping here We can be sure that Frost thought very carefully about which details to leave in or out
To watch his woods fill up with snow. of the stories told in his poems. Sometimes these details are given directly. Other
details are ideas we need to figure out based on evidence--hints and clues--in the
My little horse must think it queer poem. An idea about a poem that is based upon evidence, but is not stated
To stop without a farmhouse near directly, is called an inference.
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year. In the chart below, decide whether there is evidence in the poem for the statements
about Frost's poem, "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening." In the left hand
He gives his harness bells a shake column of the chart, you will see a series of statements about
To ask if there is some mistake. the poem. You need to decide whether these statements are given directly in the
The only other sound's the sweep poem, or whether they are inferences based on evidence in the poem. Some
Of easy wind and downy flake. statements may be inferences that are either not supported by evidence in the poem,
or are contradicted by evidence in the poem. You can either write your evidence in
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. your own words, or copy directly from the poem itself. If you are copying the exact
But I have promises to keep, words of the poem, be sure to put quotation marks ("") around those words.
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. If a statement not supported or is contradicted by the poem, simply check the box in
the right hand column of the chart.

INFERENCE AND EVIDENCE CHART:


Use this chart to evaluate statements about "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening," by Robert Frost

Directly Supported by Inference based on Not supported by evidence


Poem (copy evidence from Evidence (copy evidence (check box
poem in space provided) from poem in space only)
provided)
It is the middle of
winter
The speaker feels
guilty and uncertain
about stopping
The speaker has lost his
way
At the end of the
poem, the speaker
and his horse leave
the woods and head
home
The speaker thinks
uneasily about his
own death
The owner of the woods
and the speaker don't
get along
The speaker admires
the snowy woods and is
attracted to its stark
beauty and solitude
Edgar Allen Poe
‘The Bells’

HEAR the sledges with the bells -


Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Answer questions in your scrapbook in full sentence form:

1. How do you think this poem should be told? What expression is


required for it to be effective?
2. Would a male or female voice help you to understand the poem
better?
3. How about background music? Would that make a difference to
your understanding?

Log onto the following website and play around with the different
effects in telling the poem. What works best?

http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/writer/thebells.asp

4. Why do you think the way in which the poem is told makes a difference to the
listeners understanding?
Emily Dickinson
To fully understand the work of Emily Dickinson it is vital to first understand her.

Why do you think this might be so important? (Please answer in a full sentence in your
scrapbook)

Read the brief biography of Dickinson (overleaf) and brainstorm her characteristics (in
your scrapbook).

Then read Dickinson’s poem ‘I’m Nobody! Who are you?’ (first read silently to
yourself and then you may like to read it as a group). Which of Dickinson’s
characteristics relate to this poem? (Please answer in a full sentence in your scrapbook)

Next read ‘Pain – has an element of blank’. Instead of discussing the


characteristics that apply to this poem, think about them (by yourself). Write a
sentence or two to describe what characteristics of Dickinson you observe in the words of the poem and what the poem
means to you.

Finally, as a group, read and discuss Dickinson’s poem ‘My life closed twice before its close’.

If there is still time remaining you are to write a brief biography about you own life (only about 3-4 paragraphs) and then
write a 2-3 stanza poem that is reflective of your own life.

‘Pain – has an element of blank’


Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.

‘I’m Nobody! Who


are you?’ It has no future but itself,
I'm Nobody! Who are Its infinite realms contain
you? Its past, enlightened to perceive
Are you -- Nobody -- New periods of pain.
Too?
Then there's a pair of ‘My life closed
us!
Don't tell! they'd twice before its
advertise -- you close’
know!
MY life closed twice
How dreary -- to be -- before its close-
Somebody! It yet remains to see
How public -- like a
Frog -- If Immortality unveil
To tell one's name -- A third event to me
the livelong June --
To an admiring Bog!
So huge, so hopeless
to conceive
As these that twice
befell.
Parting is all we know
of heaven,
And all we need of
hell.
Brief Emily Dickinson Biography
Emily Dickinson was born on 10 December 1830 in Massachusetts, United States, and died there on 15 May
1886. Her parents were Edward Dickinson (1803-1874) and Emily Norcross Dickinson (1804-1882). The
family included three children: Austin (1828-1895), Emily, and Lavinia (1833-1899). Most of the family
belonged to the Congregational Church, though the poet herself never became a member. The Dickinsons were
well-off and well-educated. Both Edward and Austin were college graduates, leaders in the community and of
Amherst College. Edward Dickinson was a Whig (later a Republican) representative to state and national
legislatures. Emily had a strong secondary education and a year of college at South Hadley Female Seminary
(later Mount Holyoke College).

The poet was born in, and died in, a house called the Homestead, built by her grandfather Samuel Fowler
Dickinson in 1813. This house was sold out of the family, however, in 1833, and not re-purchased by Edward
Dickinson till 1855; so most of the poet's younger years were lived in other houses.

After her years at school, Emily Dickinson lived in the family home for the rest of her life. She cared for her
parents in their later years and was a companion to her sister Lavinia, who also stayed "at home" for her entire
life. Neither sister married. The extended Dickinson family included Austin's wife Susan Huntington Gilbert,
who lived for many years next door in the house called The Evergreens, and Susan and Austin's three children.

The myth, of course, is of Dickinson as a reclusive spinster-poet, brooding over a deep romantic mystery in her
past. The realities are more mundane. Especially among relatively wealthy families in 19th-century
Massachusetts, it was far from unusual for grown women simply to keep house as a primary occupation, neither
marrying nor working outside the home. The thing that sets Dickinson apart from other women of her class and
generation is simply her poetic gift, something attributable more to nature and culture than to some emotional
trauma.

We know much of Dickinson's life through her correspondences. She maintained a lifelong correspondence
with Susan Dickinson, even though they were next-door neighbors; this correspondence, preserved by Susan, is
the source for many of the poet's manuscripts. But Emily Dickinson also corresponded with school friends, with
her cousins Fanny and Loo Norcross, and with several people of letters, including Samuel Bowles, Dr. and Mrs.
J.G. Holland, T.W. Higginson, and Helen Hunt Jackson.

The central events, then, of Dickinson's life are those that are central to the lives of most writers: she wrote. She
compiled a manuscript record of nearly 1,800 poems, along with many letters. In or around 1858 she began to
keep manuscript books of her poetry, the "fascicles," hand-produced and hand-bound. In the early 1860s she
produced hundreds of poems each year. In 1864 and 1865, failing eyesight, which impelled her to make two
extended visits to Cambridge, Massachusetts for medical treatment, slowed her production of manuscript books.
But her production of manuscripts continued at a slower pace until her last illnesses in 1885-86.

Though she wrote hundreds of poems, Dickinson never published a book of poetry. The few poems published
during her lifetime were anonymous (see Publishing History). The reasons why she never published are still
unclear. A myth promoted by William Luce's play The Belle of Amherst (1976) is that Higginson discouraged
her writing; however, it is probably not the case that Dickinson met with rejection from the literary world. For
one thing, Higginson was instrumental in getting her poetry published soon after her death, suggesting that her
reluctance and not his disapproval was the barrier to him doing this earlier. Also, both Bowles and Hunt
Jackson arranged for anonymous publication of individual poems by Dickinson during the poet's lifetime. At
Hunt Jackson's suggestion, Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers publishing house tried to get the poet to submit a
volume of poems for publication in 1883; she declined.
http://www.uta.edu/english/tim/poetry/ed/bio.html

Jabberwocky
By Lewis Carroll
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!


The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:


Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,


The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through


The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?


Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves


Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Answer the following questions:


1.What do you like about this poem?
2.What do you dislike about this poem?
3.What puzzles you about this poem?
4.What questions would you ask the author about this poem?
5.Do you think the ‘nonsense’ words in this poem are effective? Why/why not?

Carroll referred to the words he made up as portmanteau, because they


collapsed onto each other, like objects in a suitcase. Some of his portmanteau
words have been incorporated into the English language, while others have not.
With a partner make a list of words you suspect are portmanteau.

Write a quatrain (a stanza of four lines, esp. one having alternate rhymes) that includes your own
invented words.

Jabberwocky
Some possible nonsense word meanings

Bandersnatch: A swift moving creature with snapping jaws. Capable of extending its neck.

Borogove: A thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round, something like a live
mop.

Brillig: Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin boiling things for dinner.

Burbled: A mixture of "bleat", "murmur", and "warble".

Chortled: Combination of chuckle and snort.

Frabjous: A blend of fair, fabulous, and joyous.

Frumious: Combination of "fuming" and "furious."

Galumphing: Perhaps a blend of "gallop" and "triumphant." (Used to describe a way of "trotting"
down hill, while keeping one foot further back than the other. This enables the Galumpher to stop
quickly).

Gimble: To make holes like a gimlet.

Gyre: To go round and round like a gyroscope, or to scratch like a dog.

Jubjub: A desperate bird that lives in perpetual passion.

Manxome: Combination of "monstrous" and "fearsome", or possibly "manly" and "buxom".

Mimsy: Combination of "miserable" and "flimsy."

Mome: Short for "from home”.

Outgrabe: (past tense; present tense outgribe) – Something between bellowing and whistling, with
a kind of sneeze in the middle.

Rath: A sort of green pig.

Slithy: Combination of "slimy" and "lithe”.

Toves: A combination of a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They are very curious looking
creatures which make their nests under sundials. They live on cheese.

Uffish: A state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish.
Wabe: The grass plot around a sundial. It is called a "wabe" because it goes a long way before it,
and a long way behind it, and a long way beyond it on each side.

Poetry Poker
Objective: Create an original poem from five lines of five random words.

What you need:


-- 4-6 players
-- a deck of 30 word cards
-- paper
-- pencil/pen

Method of play: 7. When you have completed five poetic


1. A dealer is chosen. The oldest person is lines, try to rearrange the lines into a
the first dealer. poem and create a title. This is your
2. The dealer deals out five cards to each Poker Poem!
person face down. The rest of the deck
is placed face down in the center.
3. Each person looks at their cards to see
what phrases and images can be created
from their word cards. You are allowed
to change the form of the word to make
Example:
it fit in a sentence. You are also allowed
1. You are dealt the following words:
to insert helping verbs (Chad B. Swim),
moonbeam, light, travel, mean, float
prepositions (in, of, during, about, etc.),
2. You decide moonbeam, light, and float fit
articles (a, an, the), and conjunctions.
together in some way, so you decide you
4. You will have an opportunity to choose
will discard travel and mean when it is your
some new words. Play will begin to the
turn.
left of the dealer. That person may opt
3. You discard those two cards and pick up
to discard up to three word cards. They
truck and boot.
place the discarded cards face down
4. On your next turn, you discard moonbeam,
next to the deck. They then select new
light, and float and pick up mean,
replacement cards from the deck. Play
frightening, and velvet.
continues with the rest of the players.
5. Now you must fit the following five words
When the deck runs out, shuffle the
together in some way: truck, boot, mean,
discard pile, place it face down, and
frightening, velvet
select from that. Go around the circle
6. You can change the form of the words and
twice. If a player likes their cards, they
add prepositions, articles, and conjunctions
may say "Pass."
to come up with: The velvet boot is on a
5. Once everyone has had two chances to
mean and frightful truck.
change cards, it is time to put the words
into a poetic line. Write the first poetic
line on your paper and share with the
members of your group. Use as many of
your word cards as possible.
6. Change dealers and play at least 4 more
rounds. After each round, write your
new poetic line beneath the previous one.
Word list:

hyacinth juggle fling


forest sharp shoestring
grandeur symbol dawn
death desert withered
murmur street swell
smeared struggle cliffs
lagoon curse tide
clash sour immortal
rose ocean evening
sway beast ooze
praise bird deluge
denial journey prowl
heart sky stream
listen warning dust
distress man sleep
scream dissolve mourn
cemetery follow dreadful
fountain crust delirious
harmony soul fruit
creativity tangy aroma
death imagine flippers
vast whisper content
pleasure devotion leaping
reef conspire slippery
drowsy crash declare
forget crystal glory
danger kiss silver
grip gold chaos
stranger woman rain
perspective scheme lilac
stare happily quiet
season time war
anguish rainbow dark
shimmer sad storm
crush rare velvet
pause quiver birth
air reality ceremony
house bold devotion
bleary honor beautiful
obvious uncommon breakfast
passion deep frolic
life romantic hidden
earth treasure mountain
wish breeze light
love forever horse
giggle deliver butterfly
twist wild cruel
dream narrow flamingo
hate leisure unknown
spring bright misery
grace gentle glorious
web feast pursue
glass graceful twilight
moonlight trap fragile
black reconcile distant
winter shy bliss
soft lyrical allure
tangles soft fire
heaven gleam mask
smoke firelight cold
fog immerse rage
murder paint courage
eternal evergreen grave
stony alone crave
intense mystical summer
tree sea compose
disaster desire chorus
smile feast wish
children burn roar
eclipse desert endure
voice fish frost
"The River" by Garth Brooks

You know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows.


And a dreamer's just a vessel that must follow where it goes.
Trying to learn from what's behind you and never knowing what's in store
makes each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores.

And I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry.


Like a bird upon the wind, these waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination if I never try,
So I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry.

Too many times we stand aside and let the water slip away.
To what we put off 'til tomorrow has now become today.
So don't you sit upon the shore and say you're satisfied.
Choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tides.

-Chorus-

There's bound to be rough waters, and I know I'll take some falls.
With the good Lord as my captain, I can make it through them all.

-Chorus-
_____________________________________________________________________

Poetic devices used in "The River": simile, metaphor, alliteration, hyperbole, couplet, personification, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________

"Music of the Night" by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Hear it, fear it, secretly possess you.
Darkness wakes and stir imagination. Open up your mind; let your fantasies unwind.
Silently the senses abandon their defenses, In this darkness which you know you cannot find.
Helpless to resist the notes I write, The darkness of the Music of the Night.
For I compose the Music of the Night.
Close your eyes, start a journey to a strange new world.
Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before.
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender. Close your eyes and let music set you free...
Hearing is believing. Music is deceiving. Only then can you belong to me.
Hard as lightening, soft as candlelight.
Dare you trust the Music of the Night? Floating, falling, sweet intoxication.
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation.
Close your eyes, for your eyes will only tell the truth, Let the dream begin; let your darker side give in
And the truth isn't what you want to hear. To the power of the music that I write,
In the dark it is easy to pretend... The power of the Music of the Night.
That the truth is what it ought to be.
You alone can make my song take flight.
Softly, deftly, music shall caress you. Help me make the Music of the Night.

________________________________________________________________________

Poetic devices in "Music of the Night": personification, imagery, alliteration, metaphor, simile, etc.
Songs as Poetry task
To be completed in your scrapbook

Copy down the words to at least 3 songs.


Label the examples of poetic devices found in each song (see list).
Write a paragraph (50 words) explaining the theme and/or purpose of
the song.

Note:
* You must have at least 3 songs.
* You must find at least 3 different poetic devices in each song.
* Songs may not contain profanity or inappropriate content.

Poetic Devices: alliteration, ballad, elegy, irony, paradox, allusion, hyperbole,


metaphor, personification, assonance, couplet, imagery, onomatopoeia, simile
(Only some of these devices have been covered in class – you may like to explore those
that we have not covered.)

Songs as Poetry task


To be completed in your scrapbook

Copy down the words to at least 3 songs.


Label the examples of poetic devices found in each song (see list).
Write a paragraph (50 words) explaining the theme and/or purpose of
the song.

Note:
* You must have at least 3 songs.
* You must find at least 3 different poetic devices in each song.
* Songs may not contain profanity or inappropriate content.
Poetic Devices: alliteration, ballad, elegy, irony, paradox, allusion, hyperbole,
metaphor, personification, assonance, couplet, imagery, onomatopoeia, simile
(Only some of these devices have been covered in class – you may like to explore those
that we have not covered.)

You might also like