Write Your Own Ode

Your poem should be a celebration – of a person, an event, an achievement, a relationship, an animal, an ordinary object, or simply the day. Stanzas can be as short as four lines or as long as thirty; the goal is to present the celebration in a lyrically smooth manner that focuses on the content, not the structure. You can literally create your own stanza, meter, and rhyme pattern.

Requirements:

·  Must utilize apostrophe and address the subject directly

·  Can rhyme but doesn’t have to

·  Must be a minimum of 20 lines

·  Must include at least four labeled poetic devices (in addition to the apostrophe J)

·  Must be typed (please don’t center your poem unless that is a deliberate structural decision)

How to write your own ode:

1. Select a subject to write about: person, place or thing. These can literally be about anything.

2. Write phrases describing how your subject makes you feel and why you feel this way.

3. Brainstorm ideas identifying unique qualities of your subject. Try to consider some of the following (you certainly don’t have to include all these in your poem!)

·  the physical details of the object/person/concept (if any)

·  what other things might it be compared to

·  what others think if it

·  what can you do with it

·  what is the fate of this object

·  what makes this object special enough to be “ode-ified”

4. Write your poem. It will most likely (if you do it right) require several revisions, and that is completely ok!

Grading

·  Appropriate subject matter and tone

·  Use of apostrophe

·  Use of (five) required literary devices and labeling

·  Effectiveness of language

Due date ______

Write Your Own Ode Assignment

Due: ______

Your poem should be a celebration – of a person, an event, an achievement, a relationship, an animal, an ordinary object, or simply the day. Once you’ve selected a topic, choose which of the two classic structures with which you will work. Stanzas can be as short as four lines or as long as thirty; the goal is to present the celebration in a lyrically smooth manner that focuses on the content, not the structure. You can literally create your own stanza, meter, and rhyme pattern. Try to repeat the stanza structure you create for every succeeding stanza (same number of lines).

Required Length: at least three stanzas; at least 4 lines in each stanza (12 line minimum)

Write Your Own Ode:

1. Select a subject to write about: person, place or thing.

2. Write phrases describing how your subject makes you feel and why you feel this way.

3. Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.

4. Tap into your emotions.

5. Explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much!

6. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they don’t have to rhyme!

7. Revise your lines:

-take away any lines that are too similar

-add more feeling to any meaningless lines

-pick a good opening line or sentence

-order the remaining lines into their best sequence

-select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feelings about the subject

8. Rewrite your ode in a final draft

Write Your Own Ode Assignment

Due: ______

Your poem should be a celebration – of a person, an event, an achievement, a relationship, an animal, an ordinary object, or simply the day. Once you’ve selected a topic, choose which of the two classic structures with which you will work. Stanzas can be as short as four lines or as long as thirty; the goal is to present the celebration in a lyrically smooth manner that focuses on the content, not the structure. You can literally create your own stanza, meter, and rhyme pattern. Try to repeat the stanza structure you create for every succeeding stanza (same number of lines).

Required Length: at least three stanzas; at least 4 lines in each stanza (12 line minimum)

Write Your Own Ode:

1. Select a subject to write about: person, place or thing.

2. Write phrases describing how your subject makes you feel and why you feel this way.

3. Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.

4. Tap into your emotions.

5. Explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much!

6. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they don’t have to rhyme!

7. Revise your lines:

-take away any lines that are too similar

-add more feeling to any meaningless lines

-pick a good opening line or sentence

-order the remaining lines into their best sequence

-select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feelings about the subject

8. Rewrite your ode in a final draft