Poetry - exhibitaenglish.com

What do you think?
Do you have a favourite poem?
Have you ever written a poem?
Who did you write it to?
What did it say?
Has anyone ever written you a poem?
Tell us about it.
Do you enjoy poetry?
Why?/Why not?
If you were to write a poem, what would it be about? (What’s important to you?)
Would your poem be funny or serious?
Do you think poetry has made an impact on society?
Do you think poetry could make an impact?
What makes a poem good, in your opinion?
What makes a poem bad?
Do you think that hip-hop and rap lyrics count as poetry?
Why?/Why not?

What is a poem, exactly?
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Poetry is “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm”.*

*https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poetry

SPEAKING

Let’s practice using ‘as’ and ‘like’ to make similes.
Let’s learn about ‘like’, ‘be like’ and ‘look like’.

READING

Let’s read and compare two poems:

Daffodils- William Wordsworth (1770)*

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 marginof a bay:
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,
They flashupon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

*Note about copyright- Working to ascertain who owns the copyright to this poem.

You fit Into Me, by Margaret Atwood*

you fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye

What feelings come up for you when you read each poem?
What do you think the author is trying to express?
Do you think poerty can be powerful, if well done?
Why?/Why not?

WRITING

It’s your turn to write!

1.) Think about what is most important to you.
2.) Observe what feelings come up for you when you think about this thing.
3.) How best can you tell your story? A metaphore, a parable, an example?
4.) Start writing!
5.) Count your syllables and think about vocabulary that fits and rhymes.
6.) Don’t worry, just write. We can it a draft for a reason.
7.) Edit, edit, edit.

Here are some fun resources to help us out:

Magnetic Poetry – Choose your set and start writing
Haiku – Write your own haiku

Need a word! – Check out this useful site!