Lisa Napell Dicksteen

EGL 599

April 21, 2005

 

Teaching Poetry

 

AE Housman

Terrence, This is Stupid Stuff

Great introduction – reads clearly, sounds like stupid refers to poetry, but really refers to drinking. Nice double-duty as drinking lecture.

Think No More

Another great poem that begins to go in one direction but ends up in another. Irony, kids love irony – but often confuse with sarcasm, good discussion starter.

 

Archibald Macleish

Ars Poetica

This is a nice intro to the whole idea of poetry and a discussion of what a poem is/should be.

 

TS Elliot

The Hollow Men

This would be a follow-up to reading Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Maybe kids could write essays on the similarities of symbolism, etc.

The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock

Have one of the students studying Italian translate the opening. Why would he begin this way? The whole smoke/fog anthropomorphology might lend itself to students trying this out on their own. Preparing a face might lead to discussion of social masks and false selves – very prevalent in HS. Do I dare disturb the universe? – the essential question of adolescence. I might pair this with a song by Michael Franks that talks about the smoke from fireplaces mingling like lovers in the winter sky. Would be interesting to see what they think it’s about – I have no idea.

 

Dylan Thomas

Fern Hill

Nature and youth and reflection

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Famous quote, surely heard – origin. Considering mortality – something teenagers rarely do. Might be some agreement/disagreement with the concept to spark discussion.

 

Seamus Heaney

Digging

Accessible language belies depth of emotion. Different types of work, value of each? Pride in family and past, yet moving on to something else? How do they think the father feels about his son “surpassing” him? Is he?

Mid-Term Break

So sad! Talk to class about own experiences with death prior? Made me cry.

 

 

William Butler Yeats

Friends

Who is he talking about? How do you recall the people you’ve loved? Excellent opportunity for reader response.

 

A Drinking Song

Name alone will commend it to this age, lots of impact in a few words. Almost a haiku. Both poems might lay to rest some concerns about poet (important/famous = incomprehensible)

 

Some other approaches:

  • Whitman’s Song of Myself (G-rated parts) is a catalogue poem, lends itself to kids doing the same type of thing – song of my school…  read in class, assign 10-line minimum based on what they do/see between end of class and 8PM, email to teacher then. Pull all together into stanzas (no names) and have class read-around (changing readers every stanza) out loud as one long poem. Everyone sounds like an accomplished poet – decreases intimidation factor, reminds students that poetry can be about everyday people and events.
  • Take a paragraph or a page from a novel, copy it with no notation, give it out and have the students make a poem from only the words on the page – can use in any order, but cannot add anything.
  • Re-work a paragraph or two from a novel by breaking the lines from prose-style into poetry-style. Give out as a poem and discuss meaning, then confess origin and look at words on page as prose – differences?