Do the work on your OWN paper. You may work with your table to complete the work, but you all must write your own answers. You also need to come up with your own, individual and original poems. Bolded words are defined in the Elements of Literature book (purple book) in the glossary or on the pages listed under the author s name for each poem. A Blessing Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota, Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass. And the eyes of those two Indian ponies Darken with kindness. They have come gladly out of the willows To welcome my friend and me. We step over the barbed wire into the pasture Where they have been grazing all day, alone. They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness That we have come. They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other. There is no loneliness like theirs. At home once more, they begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness. I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms, For she has walked over to me And nuzzled my left hand. She is black and white, Her mane falls wild on her forehead, And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist. Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I would break Into blossom. -James Wright (Elements of Literature book page 404 405) Answer these questions on your own paper: 1. What is the setting of the poem? 2. What were the ponies doing all day? 3. How do the ponies feel about the visit? How do they feel about each other? 4. Why does the speaker feel especially fond of the ponies? Page 1 of 8
5. Most of the images in this poem appeal to sight and touch. Use the two column chart to list mages from the poem that fit in each column. SIGHT TOUCH 6. You may have read myths in which a character is fantastically changed from one form to another. This change is called metamorphosis. What metamorphosis do you see in the last three lines of the poem? What emotion do you think the speaker is expressing with this change? 7. What human qualities and feelings does the speaker give the ponies? 8. The tone of this poem is joyful. It expressed the pleasure that comes from springtime and love. What images in the poem help create this joyful tone? 9. What do you think the title A Blessing has to do with the experience described in the poem? 10. What would be another symbolic title for this poem? Writing: Do this on your own, not with your group. Write a 10-12 line poem that describes something in nature that you feel strongly about. Be sure to tell where you are as you observe the scene in your poem. Use images that appeal to the five senses (see, taste, smell, hear, touch) and that reveal how you feel about your subject. Try using a metamorphosis at the end of the poem, like A Blessing did. Page 2 of 8
Comparing two poems. Woman Work I've got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry I got company to feed The garden to weed I've got shirts to press The tots to dress The can to be cut I gotta clean up this hut Then see about the sick And the cotton to pick. Shine on me, sunshine Rain on me, rain Fall softly, dewdrops And cool my brow again. Storm, blow me from here With your fiercest wind Let me float across the sky 'Til I can rest again. Fall gently, snowflakes Cover me with white Cold icy kisses and Let me rest tonight. Sun, rain, curving sky Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone Star shine, moon glow You're all that I can call my own. -Maya Angelou (Elements of Literature book page 408 410) Page 3 of 8
Daily These shriveled seeds we plant, corn kernel, dried bean, poke into loosened soil, cover over with measured fingertips These T-shirts we fold into perfect white squares These tortillas we slice and fry to crisp strips This rich egg scrambled in a gray clay bowl This bed whose covers I straighten smoothing edges till blue quilt fits brown blanket and nothing hangs out This envelope I address so the name balances like a cloud in the center of sky This page I type and retype This table I dust till the scarred wood shines This bundle of clothes I wash and hang and wash again like flags we share, a country so close no one needs to name it The days are nouns: touch them The hands are churches that worship the world (Elements of Literature book page 408 410) Page 4 of 8
Answer these questions on your own paper: 1. List 5 activities listed by the speaker of Woman Work. 2. List 5 activities listed by the speaker of Daily. 3. What does the catalog of images in Woman Work tell you about the life of the speaker? Where do you think she lives? 4. What do we learn from the images in Daily about the life of the speaker? 5. Both catalog poems list daily activities in a woman s life, but the tone of each poem is different the speakers express different attitudes toward their lives. How would you describe the tone of each poem? Is it complaining? Bitter? Angry? Resigned? Accepting? Loving? Joyful? Content? Is it something else? Cite words or phrases from the poems to explain the tone you hear. a. Tone of Woman s Work is. This is shown through b. Tone of Daily is. This is shown through... 6. The second through fifth stanzas of Woman Work use apostrophe they address, or speak directly to, someone or something. What things does this speaker address? What does she ask for? 7. The last two lines of Daily are not part of the poem s catalog; rather, they sum up the speaker s message. What do you think the poet is saying about daily work in these lines? Writing: Do this on your own, not with your group. Make a list of things you do every day. Choose images that make your day come alive. How do you feel about your daily work? Try to capture that feeling through the images you choose. Imitate one of the poems and write a 12-16 line catalog poem that captures your daily activities. If you imitate Woman Work begin with I ve got then list the things such as a bus to catch that you have to do. If you imitate Daily, begin EACH line with These or This For example, This heavy backpack that I carry Page 5 of 8
Tiburòn East 116th and a long red car stalled with the hood up roaring salsa like a prize shark mouth yanked open and down in the stomach the radio of the last fisherman still tuned to his lucky station --Martìn Espada (Elements of Literature book page 431) Answer these questions on your own paper: 1. Describe the scene in the poem. 2. Where does the salsa music come from, according to the poem? 3. Think about the images in the poem. What can you see? Hear? 4. This poem is based on a simile comparing the car to a shark. There is a car called a Tiburòn and in Spanish tiburòn means shark. In what ways is the car like a shark? 5. Who is the last fisherman? Writing: Do this on your own, not with your group. Think of something that has been manufactured. It could be a jet, a snowmobile, a hair dryer, a vacuum, a mechanical pencil, a radio, anything. Jot down notes about this item. What does it look like? Sound like? Smell like? Feel like? Write a 12-16 line poem about this item, using a simile that compares your item to something that is alive. Include images that appeal to at least 2 senses. Will you title your poem after the manufactured item or the living thing you compared it to? Page 6 of 8
Comparing two poems: The Base Stealer Poised between going on and back, pulled Both ways taut like a tightrope walker, Fingertips pointing the opposites only, Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, Running a scattering of steps sidewise, How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases, Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird, He s only flirting, crowd him, crowd him, Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate now! -Robert Francis (Elements of Literature book pages 475 476) American Hero I have nothing to lose tonight. All my men surround me, panting, as I spin the ball above our heads on my middle finger. It s a shimmering club light and I m dancing, slick in my sweat. Squinting, I aim at the hole fifty feet away. I let the tension go. Shoot for the net. Choke it. I never hear the ball slap the backboard. I slam it through the net. The crowd goes wild for our win. I scored thirty-two points this game and they love me for it. Everyone hollering is a friend tonight. But there are towns, certain neighborhoods where I d be hard pressed to hear them cheer if I move on the block. --Essex Hemphill (Elements of Literature book pages 475 476) Page 7 of 8
Answer these questions on your own paper: 1. In the first four lines of The Base Stealer what is the character s situation? What is he doing? 2. List at least three verbs that describe what the player in American Hero is doing before the crowd goes wild in line 12. 3. Find three lines in The Base Stealer that use alliteration (same beginning sound, not necessarily the same letter) to describe the base stealer s actions. Where is alliteration used in American Hero to describe the basketball player and his game? Read the lines in both poems aloud and explain the effects created by the repeated sounds. 4. Find at least three examples of onomatopoeia (words that are sounds) in American Hero How do these words contribute to the poem s appeal? 5. Notice how the sentence structure in The Base Stealer suggests motion to help convey the actions being described. (Turn the paper sideways and imagine the lines are lines in the dirt made by the player). How does the sentence structure in lines 1-2 reflect the meaning of those lines? Why do you think Francis lists four verbs in line 7? Find two different commands that Francis repeats to make us feel part of the crowd, watching this unfold and cheering the player on. 6. Find three similes in The Base Stealer that compare the movements of the base stealer to other movements. 7. Read American Hero aloud to hear how the short lines recreate the tension of the basketball game. Which part of speech noun, verb, adjective, or adverb is emphasized the most in these sentences? Why do you think this is? 8. Both of these poems are about sports. Which poem also has a serious message, and what is it? How does that poem s title create a sense of irony a sense that the title does not mean exactly what it says? Write: Do this on your own, not with your group. Write a 12-16 line poem about a turning point in a game (any game) that you ve been part of, played, or watched. Make yourself the hero of the game. Use short sentences and alliteration to emphasize and re-create the fast-paced tension. Page 8 of 8