Exploring Poetry: Preliminary Exercises, Reading, and Analysis

1. Session 2 Literary Genres

2. Plan • 2.1. Literary periods (VIDEO) • 2.2. Literary genres (VIDEO) • 2.3. Didactic application of literary periods (CLASE PRÁCTICA) • 2.4. Didactic application of literary genres (CLASE PRÁCTICA) • 2.5. Didactic application on authors (CLASE PRÁCTICA)

3. CREATING POETRY Preliminary exercises Creative exercises Performance exercise READING POETRY Pre-reading While-reading Post-reading Class structure

4. Problems (Now in English) • Poetry classes may be too theoretical • Simply writing may seem undisciplined • Poetry employs deviating and imaginative language • Very often it breaks grammatical rules • Rules? YES and NO

5. Volunteer to read???

6. Sonnet 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go,Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsakeAnd die as fast as they see others grow;    And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence   Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

7. x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ X _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ X _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ When I do count the clock that tells the time /… Try to emphasize the stress

8. Sonnet 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;When lofty trees I see barren of leavesWhich erst from heat did canopy the herd,And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do Iquestion make, That thou among the wastes of time must go,Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsakeAnd die as fast as theysee others grow;    And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence   Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

9. Elements of poetry • Stress • Rhythm • Lines • Regularity • Absence of regularity • The more irregular, the more complex • Some forms of poetry have fixed structures (e.g. English sonnet: fourteen lines, iambic pentameter)

10. Recommendation

11. FINDING OUR VOICE AS POETS

12. PRELIMINARY EXERCISES (Writing)

13. Preliminary exercises Objectives: Stirring your imagination Making you see things before writing them Unlocking poet within

14. We’re sorry for something We add a but I’m sorry but…

15. Propose the students to imagine an object (e.g. school bus, a table, etc.) They need to be that object Write what they see Be Something Else

16. Imagine it’s Carnival Somebody who wasn’t there leaves We follow him We cross the door What happens? Through the Carnival Door

17. Students need to say 10 words Teacher writes on the blackboard Strike out exercise

18. Imagine 10 words

19. Write a poem DON’T use any of the words mentioned How do you feel? Now…

20. Exercises taken from • http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson171.shtml

21. Have I… • Madeyouseeimages? • Stirredyourimagination?

22. But not everything needs to be creative!

23. How to read a poem • PRE-READING ACTIVITIES • WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES • POST-READING ACTIVITIES

24. I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.  And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear  How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls,  And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls  But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear  And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse William Blake, London

25. Differences. What is life like for people in these places?

26. Why people might leave their villages in the country to live in a big city? Take notes Let’s contrast the different ideas BRAINSTORMING

27. English Industrial Revolution (18th-century) Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Intertextuality

28. The Kid

29. Opportunities, poverty, isolation, freedom, wealth, community, violence, excitement, tranquility, sense of belonging, security, boredom, oppression, lack of morality, dirt, anonymity Discussion – What fits best your views on city life/country life?

30. What major social change was there in the English class system between 1750 and 1850? What two forces accelerated the urbanisation of English society? What kinds of jobs do you think industrial employers performed? How did they managed to get ahead? What were living conditions in industrial towns? What did cities look like? TEXT about British social changes (Lazar, pp. 123-124)

31. Political radical Fight against materialism Mystic visionary who opposes Christian dogma Sees dangers of reducing man to industrial piece Humble origins Uses popular culture What is the poem going to be about? William Blake (1757-1827)

32. What have we done? • Discussion on pictures/photos • Presentation of theme on poster • Reading/listening on the historical background • Personal reactions to the subject • Discussion about the author

33. WRITING POETRY!!!

34. Problem? • If I askthestudents to simplywrite a poem, it’snotgoing to happen • Weneed to findthefun in it

35. POEM WRITING EXERCISE 1 (A FIVE LINE POEM) • The first line of the poem involves an emotion: sadness, anger, confusion, hurt.

36. Second step • The second line describes the emotion as a color. For example, a student might describe anger as "red as a stop sign;" happiness might be "as pink as a puppy's tongue.“

37. Third step • The third line starts with "It happens when . . .." For example, "Anger happens. . .when I'm told to get up in the morning." "Confusion happenswhen I have a test but don't do my homework.“

38. Fourth step • The fourth line begins with "It sounds like . . .." For example, "Sadness sounds like. . .a kitten left out in the rain.“

39. Fifth step • The last line of the poem repeats the original emotion.

40. Previous exercise borrowed from Elizabeth Thomas

41. Pit Pinegar’s exercise – Verse, Not Prose • How do weputthestudents to write concrete punctuatedsentences? • Ex 1: Students are asked to rememberallthewordspossibleaboutone place. Theyhave to turnitinto a poem. • Ex 2: I choosesixunrelatedwordsfrom a list of suggestions. Thestudentsneed to write a line withthewords.

42. PERFORMANCE EXERCISES

43. 1. Voice Emphasis (My Baby Sister) • Weneedvariation • Studentsreadit in turns • One studentemphasizesone Word • Anotherstudentemphasizes a different Word • Readagain – Emphasizethe Word more dramatically • Discuss differenteffects • Encouragestudents to readthepoemmakingtheirownemphasis

44. One student emphasizes one word My BabySister My babysister’sreallyswell.I lovehersmile,butnothersmell.

45. Another student emphasizes a different word My BabySister My babysister’sreallyswell.I lovehersmile,butnothersmell.

46. Emphasize the Word more dramatically My BabySister My babysister’sreallyswell.I lovehersmile,butnothersmell.

47. Reading finding your own emphasis My BabySister My babysister’sreallyswell.I lovehersmile,butnothersmell.

48. 2. Speed (I’d Rather) • One studentreadsitslowly. Very! • Anotherstudentreadsit as quickly as posible. • Discuss effectiveness of both • Ask anotherstudent to readitanintermediatespeed • Have thestudent Reading thepoem in pairs I’d Rather I’d rather wash the dishesI’d rather kiss a frog.I’d rather get an F in mathor run a ten-mile jog. I’d rather do my homework.I’d rather mow the lawn.I’d rather take the garbage out.I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dine on Brussels sproutsor catch the chicken pox.I’d rather do most anythingthan clean the litter box. (Bruce Lanski)

49. Another student reads it as quickly as possible I’d Rather I’d rather washthedishesI’d rather kiss a frog.I’d rather getan F in mathor run a ten-milejog. I’d rather do myhomework.I’d rather mowthelawn.I’d rather takethegarbageout.I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dineonBrusselssproutsor catch thechickenpox.I’d rather do mostanythingthancleanthelitter box. (Bruce Lanski)

50. At intermediate speed I’d Rather I’d rather washthedishesI’d rather kiss a frog.I’d rather getan F in mathor run a ten-milejog. I’d rather do myhomework.I’d rather mowthelawn.I’d rather takethegarbageout.I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dineonBrusselssproutsor catch thechickenpox.I’d rather do mostanythingthancleanthelitter box. (Bruce Lanski)