Name: English, Period Date: Directions: Read the following two poems on the subject of war. Using the space in the column on the right, annotate as you read. You may comment on the text, clarify main points, notate pertinent details, ask questions, and/or list words you don t know. Make sure you have annotations for each stanza and at least three annotations for the poem the sonnet-ballad. Steed - horse Regimenta group of soldiers that can be divided into smaller groups called battalions and whose leader is called a colonel Texts Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind. Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep. War is kind. 5 Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die. The unexplained glory flies above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom -- 10 A field where a thousand corpses lie. Do not weep, babe, for war is kind. Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches, Raged at his breast, gulped and died, Do not weep. 15 War is kind. Swift blazing flag of the regiment, Eagle with crest of red and gold, These men were born to drill and die. Point for them the virtue of slaughter, 20 Make plain to them the excellence of killing And a field where a thousand corpses lie. Mother whose heart hung humble as a button On the bright splendid shroud of your son, Do not weep. 25 War is kind. By Stephen Crane 1899 Annotations Note: Verbal irony occurs when someone says one thing but means another. When you read Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War is Kind pay attention to verbal irony. Court - make special efforts to get something special Coquettish acting in a certain way to attract a man Impudent - behaving in rude way without respect. the sonnet-ballad Oh mother, mother, where is happiness? They took my lover's tallness off to war, Left me lamenting. Now I cannot guess What I can use an empty heart-cup for. He won't be coming back here any more. 5 Some day the war will end, but, oh, I knew When he went walking grandly out that door That my sweet love would have to be untrue. Would have to be untrue. Would have to court Coquettish death, whose impudent and strange 10 Possessive arms and beauty (of a sort) Can make a hard man hesitate--and change. And he will be the one to stammer, "Yes." Oh mother, mother, where is happiness? By Gwendolyn Brooks 1949 After you have completed the annotations, discuss your findings and questions with your partner.
Name: English, Period Date: Text Dependent Questions Vocabulary in Context (Apply, DOK2) Both poems Crest Using the line from the poem, try to determine the meanings of the following words. Write down what you think the word means. (Context Clues) Look up the words in the dictionary. Add phrases from the dictionary that you might have been missing in your definition that help you understand. Virtue Humble Lamenting Stammer After you have completed the chart, discuss your answers with a partner to make sure you understand the words. Do Not Weep Maiden, For War Is Kind Complete questions 1-10 on the poem Do Not Weep Maiden, For War Is Kind Evidence 1. Locate words or phrases that depict the realities of war. What do they show? (Understand, DOK2) Words or phrases Show that war is... 1. 2. 3. After you have completed the chart, discuss your answers with a partner to make sure you understand how Crane depicts the realities of war.
2. Who is the Battle-God? (10) Explain your answer. (Apply, DOK 3) 3. Figurative language is language that communicates ideas beyond the literal meanings of the words to stimulate vivid pictures or concepts (imagery) in the mind of the reader. Examples would include metaphors, similes, symbols, and personification. Identify three examples of figurative language. Label them. How do these add to the imagery Crane presents? One example has been provided for you. (Analyze, DOK3) Example: the unexplained glory flies above them 1. Label Personification because glory does not fly. Imagery The unexplained glory could be a flag of the regiment that is flying above them. 2. 3. 4. Verbal irony occurs when someone says one thing but means another. The first line of Crane s poem, Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind provides an example of such irony. Find two other examples. (Understand, DOK2) Example 1: Example 2: 5. How does Crane s use of verbal irony strengthen his message? (Analyze, DOK3) 6. Crane uses repetition of entire lines: These men were born to drill and die and A field where a thousand corpses lie. How does this repetition strengthen his message? (Analyze, DOK 3) 7. Stanza1 is addressed to the maiden (1), stanza 3 to the babe (12) and stanza 5 to the mother (23). The narrator is speaking directly to these individuals and ends each stanza each stanza with the ironic phrases Do not weep/war is kind. How does the imagery presented in lines 1-3, 12-14, and 23-24 contrast with the irony at the end of each stanza? (Analyze, DOK3)
8. Crane uses 2 nd person your in stanzas 1, 3, and 5. Determine how this word choice affects his purpose? Crane uses 3 rd person these men/ them in stanzas 2 and 4. Why might he have used different pronouns in these two stanzas? (Apply, DOK3) 9. A theme is the author s overall message about his subject. Stanza 5 does not begin with Do not weep and is one line shorter than stanzas 1 & 3. Using this evidence, conclude how these changes might relate to the author s theme? (Evaluate, DOK 3) 10. Critique how the pride of the regiment depicted in lines 17 and 18 combines with the death imagery in lines 19-22? Synthesize this evidence into a theme about the positive and negative aspects of war. (Evaluate, DOK3) By showing the pride of the regiment and combining it with death imagery, Crane indicates that war...
Do Not Weep Maiden, For War Is Kind and the sonnet-ballad 11. (DOK 4) Read and annotate the poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, the sonnet-ballad. In a well developed essay, examine the methods used by both Crane and Brooks to deliver their messages on the topic of war. Consider their use of imagery, repetition, and word choice. Consider similarities and differences in their overall messages. Theme: Crane indicates that war... Evidence: His theme is most evident in his use of... to show... Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Theme: Brooks indicates that war... Evidence: Her theme is most evident in her use of... to show... Example 1 Example 2 Example 3