Poet Biography Project Language Arts 8

Poet Biography Project Language Arts 8

100 points!

For this project, you will need to:

1. Select a poet

2. Research this person's life and writing

3. Prepare a written report about your findings

Here are the topics you need to cover in your research and your report:

Personal Background

In no more than 1 paragraph, give some information about your selected poet's life. Include things like when and where this person lived, where he/she went to school, major life events and accomplishments, and so on. I do not want this person's entire life story—just some highlights!

Poetic Style

In another paragraph or two, discuss the poetic type, style, and subject matter this person is known for. For example, did he/she write free verse or sonnets? Did he/she write about love or war or death or funny things? What are some of his/her most famous poems? Why are those poems famous?

Selected Poem

Read several poems by your poet and then select one to include in your report. Type it out or copy it into your work. Be sure to include the title of the poem (if there is one) and the year that it was written.

Poem Analysis

For the poem you chose in the step above, provide your own analysis of the poem's meaning. This should be at least 1 paragraph in length, but could be two or more paragraphs long depending on the poem you chose. In your analysis, explain what the poem is about. What is the poet trying to convey to the reader? Provide evidence from the poem to support your thoughts. Remember, DO NOT use "I" in your formal writing.

GRADING

You will be evaluated on the following things:

·  Following the written directions above
·  Thoroughness/Completeness of work
·  Writing content, organization, and style
·  Proper grammar and writing conventions / ·  Research/Evidence of learning
·  Neatness
·  Use of sentence patterns

Poets

You can basically choose any famous poet to research, but here is a list of poets in case you need help thinking of someone. If you are not sure about a choice, check with the teacher before starting your project!! Some of the choices below are very “classical” poets and many are also British (English), so they may be more challenging for you.

·  Emily Dickinson

·  Walt Whitman

·  Shel Silverstein

·  e.e. cummings

·  Langston Hughes

·  Robert Frost

·  Dylan Thomas

·  John Donne

·  Sylvia Plath

·  Anne Bradstreet

·  Toni Morrison

·  Gwendolyn Brooks

·  Edgar Allen Poe

·  Ralph Waldo Emerson

·  T.S. Eliot

·  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

·  Phillis Wheatley

·  William Carlos Williams

·  Maya Angelou

·  William Blake

·  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

·  Robert Browning

·  Robert Burns

·  Samuel Taylor Coleridge

·  William Shakespeare

·  Andrew Marvell

·  William Wordsworth

·  William Butler Yeats

·  Percy Bysshe Shelley

·  Lord Byron

Poet Biography Project

Writer’s Name: ______

Evaluator’s Name: ______

Please read your classmate’s essay and evaluate it against the following criteria.

Personal Background

·  No more than 1 paragraph. ______/5

·  Includes interesting and relevant information about the poet's life. ______/5

·  Is not overly detailed….gives just the highlights! ______/5

·  Make sense and doesn’t jump around too much. ______/5

Poetic Style

·  One to two paragraphs. ______/5

·  Discusses the poetic type, style, and subject matter ______/5

this person is known for, like did he/she write in free verse or sonnets?

Did he/she write about love or war or death or funny things?

·  Includes some of his/her most famous poems & why they are famous. ______/5

Selected Poem

·  Essay includes a complete poem by this poet. ______/10

·  The poem is correctly formatted (looks like the original). ______/5

Poem Analysis

·  At least one paragraph, but could be more. ______/5

·  Clearly explains what the poem is about & ______/10

what the poet is trying to convey to the reader

·  Provides evidence (quotes) from the poem for support. ______/5

General Criteria

·  Writing shows good content, organization, and style ______/10

·  Writing shows proper grammar & conventions (spelling & punctuation) ______/10

·  Essay is neatly presented ______/5

·  Uses at least 5 different sentence patterns ______/5

·  Any use of "I" = -10 points!

TOTAL = ______/100

On the back of this sheet, please write at least two positive comments

and one suggestion for improvement.