Mr. Miller English 10/ World Lit.

Poetry project

Poetry Project: A Paper in Parts

For this assignment you will pick a poem and then, over the course of the quarter, engage in a variety of activities with it. You may pick any poem from any poet, but it should be a poem with which you are not already familiar. If you have a particular poet that you are interested in, or already know something about, feel free to work with an unfamiliar poem from that poet. The idea, however, is to choose something that you have not previously studied or worked with and explore it from a number of angles. It is also important that you choose a poem that has some complexity about it. That is, you should not already understand everything about the poem. You may also decide to do your project on song lyrics, but there are several major provisos here. First and foremost, the song lyrics must be approved by me so that you can adequately fulfill the requirements for this project. They must be school appropriate, so any over the top drug or crime related references are unacceptable. Think of it like thisyou are going to have to do a project on it, so you are going to look pretty stupid in front of the class and the teacher unless you pick a song/poem with some meaningful words, and one that can stand up to analysis. If your poem was originally written in another language, feel free to analyze the source language, but you must also provide a translation. Other rules: One person per poem. If you really want to work with a particular poem that has already been chosen, you may explore other poems by the same author.

I see this project as having several purposes: To engage you as a student in in-depth exploration of one aspect of the subject matter of language arts (i.e., thoughtful and on-going engagement with one poem in particular).

To introduce you to a different way of working with poetry. Poetry seems to be an often feared or neglected aspect of the language arts; consequently, figuring out alternative ways to engage with poetry is valuable.

The parts of this project and relevant due dates are: Choose poem tentative by April 13, definite by April 18 Paraphrase April 25 Initial response April 2 Research component /interviews April 29 Two pieces April 5 Final Response/Presentation May 6 through May 13 Detailed descriptions of the parts 1. Initial response: Write the initial response after you have read the poem several times. Also, I encourage you to take the time to type up a copy of your poem, making sure to do this exactly as the poet has presented it. The act of typing it up will familiarize you with the poem. In your initial response, I am interested in hearing what, specifically, made you choose this poem, what you think you understand about it at this point, and what parts seem confusing or mysterious to you. What questions do you have about this poem? It is not enough to say that you like the poem. You must try to find ways to draw the reader in; you must make the reader share your interest and excitement about the poem through your own writing about it. You might, for instance, look for a particular word, phrase, or image that surprised or shocked or delighted you and then discuss it and your reaction. You should be sure to quote in detail and to discuss what you think about the passages you quote. While your response should be formal in the sense that it should be well-written and proofread, this is your opportunity to mess around with in writing this poem that you have chosen. It is fine appropriate even for you to introduce questions and confusions and ideas that have occurred to you but that are not yet well thought out or developed. (I expect that your initial response will be about 1 - 2 pages, typed and double spaced.) 2. Paraphrase: This is a prose version of the poem, in your own words. To the degree that it is possible, you should try to keep

the meaning of the poem. Also, use this as an opportunity to look up any words with which you are not familiar, or words that you are confused by in the context of the poem. (About the same length as the poem). 3. Two Interviews: The idea here is for you to engage in a conversation with another person about your poem; see what they think of it; whether their reaction to it is similar or different than yours; what they notice or are confused by. You might want to prepare some questions for the interview. These could be about aspects of the poem that confuse you and you want help sorting out, or you could ask questions simply to focus your conversation. I want you to conduct two different interviews using the same approach and questions for each, though. Do one interview with a middle or high school student; do the other interview with someone who is less your peer, maybe an adult. This is an opportunity for you to listen to and examine someone elses thinking about the poem. This is also an opportunity for your own understanding of the poem to be deepened by talking with someone else about the poem. When you write up this section, compose it as a narrative, that is, tell the story of your interview/conversation, rather than as a I asked, he answered structure. Pick highlights of your conversation; you dont have to talk about everything. (2-3 pages, typed, double spaced) Report: For this part of the project, I am asking that you do a little research. Choose some aspect of the poem, it could be the poems main subject or topic, or it could be something more obscure and tangential, and do a little library/internet/book study about your choice of topic. (About two pages with sources listed). No plagiarism! 4. Choice pieces. Please pick two from among the following choices. a. Parody: With the parody, stick to the form of the poem as much as possible, changing the meaning, focus, or language in some way. Dont be afraid to poke fun at your poem if it is a good poem, it can withstand your ridicule. (About the same as the poem.) b. Write your own poem. Use your original poem as a starting point for writing another poem.

c. Artistic response to or representation of the poem. Create an artistic response to the poem a sketch, artwork, song. Include a short written reflection to help your reader better understand your representation (a few short paragraphs, Im thinking). d. Letter to the poet. What would you want to tell the poet? Say to the poet? Ask the poet? e. Letter to the speaker/narrator of the poem. Same as above, mostly, but might be different 5. Final response: In your final response, be sure to do more than just restate the opening section. Focus instead on what you have learned about the poem and how your ideas about the poem have developed and changed over the course of the project. Come back to any questions you may have had at the beginning. Also, use this as an opportunity to respond to any comments or questions I may have posed throughout the process. Please also consider what you have learned from engaging in this process, from working with the poem in this way. So, your final response should include two parts: a revisiting of the poem as a whole and consideration of the poem in light of the ongoing study you have engaged in, and, a reflection on the process of examining the poem in this way. 6. Presentation: In this part, you must read your whole poem aloud, or an excerpt if it is a longer poem. Share with your classmates some details about the poet and some of the more interesting things you learned in the project. You may want to show your art or read your poem parody or original poem. (Time4 to 6 minutes total).