Poetry Packet

Each student will organize a booklet containing the following poems arranged in this order:

1.  Universe of Language sheet

2.  Word Association Poem (please underline the words associated in each line)

3.  Warriors Don’t Cry poem (use any of the three. If using the third one, be sure to type it before submitting the sheet to me)

4.  Original poem (12 lines minimum)

5.  Poem (12 lines minimum) by a published poet with analysis

6.  Poem (12 lines minimum) by a published poet with analysis

7.  Poem (12 lines minimum) by a published poet with analysis

Specifications:

·  Original titles needed for your original poems

·  One poem per page (no table of contents)

·  Number your pages 1-7. The title page does not get a page number.

·  Provide relevant and symbolic visuals for your original poems that enhance or explain the meaning of each poem.

·  Visuals are sketches, drawings, and photos. They are not clip art.

·  All pages typed - they should be in a consistent font.

·  Final drafts should reflect any changes made on rough drafts.

·  Rough drafts will be turned in separately.

The poems by published poets each need a one-paragraph explanation that touches on at least two of the literary devices covered in class. The poems cannot be one of the poems studied and/or explained in this class or in other classes/presentations. They must be at least 12 lines and cannot be Shel Silverstein or Robert Frost.

Create an artistic cover with an ORIGINAL title and visuals.

HAVE NAME AND SECTION ON COVER ONLY! Do not put your name, date, or section on each individual poem.

Due Date: ______

Poetry Quiz Date: ______

Sample Poem with Analysis

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

Studying Warriors Don’t Cry, this poem is especially relevant. Maya Angelou is speaking of race as a tether/barrier to freedom. This can be seen in lines such as “wings are clipped and feet are tied”. The bird’s song is a song for freedom and race is acting as a barrier to freedom. Angelou identifies with the caged bird who longs to be free, just as those racially oppressed long for the freedoms recognized by others. The first and fourth stanzas of the poem describe the “free bird”, a symbol for whites who have historically been entitled to opportunities and achievable hopes and dreams. The caged bird, then, acts as a symbol for the oppressed. The personification used in the poem really drives home the connection. The bird thinks and feels as a human being and is singing for an idea – freedom.