Creative Writing, Week 16: The Sounds of Poetry

Please note, since these directions were not up at the beginning of the day on Monday 5/21 and Friday is a half day, the due date for these activities will be Tuesday 5/29.

Task 1:  Watch the video about Poetry Out Loud.  As you watch, write down at least five notes about the video.  Then, answer the following questions:  Do you think this program will encourage more people to become interested in poetry?  Why (not)?  Would you ever consider competing in a Poetry Out Loud competition?  Why (not)?  (1 point)

Task 2: Watch at least two of the Poetry Out Loud recitations.  Write a reaction to these two videos in which you comment on the poem itself (the meaning and/or literary devices) as well as the reader's delivery of the poem.  (2 points)

Task 4:  Read and/or listen to "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden.  Then, read this analysis of the poem.  What is the purpose of Hayden's sound devices (alliteration and consonance) in the poem?  (2 points)

Task 5:  Complete the Memory Composition Activity to create your own poem inspired by Hayden and by a figure in your own life. (5 points)

Pop Music as Poetry

View the following slide shows to see examples of the type of project you will be working on for the rest of the school year.  As you are viewing, fill in the Guided Note Taking worksheet.
Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line"
The Shins' "New Slang"
Next, read the directions for your assignment and begin work!

Renaissance, Reformation, & Scientific Revolution

Directions:  Watch each of the following videos.  For the first video, write down five facts.  For the other videos, write down three facts each.
1.  The Renaissance
2.  Coroner's Report: Plague
3.  The English Reformation
4.  The Book that Changed the World
5.  Beyond the Big Bang: Galileo Galilei

Little Prince Vocabulary

Copy the following words and definitions onto your Little Prince vocabulary worksheet:

• Catastrophe: a disaster
• Moralist: someone who explains what’s right & wrong
• Blunder: a mistake or to move carelessly
• Coquettish: flirty
• Stratagem: plans
• Dejection: depression/hopelessness
• Inhabit: to live in an area
• Voluminous: taking up a lot of space; big
• Ephemeral: short-lived, not long lasting
• Thunderstruck: shocked/surprised
• Obliged: have to do something/obligated
• Monotonous: “one tone”; overly repetitive/boring
• Essential: required/necessary/something you need
• Abyss: a big hole
• Irreparable: unable to be fixed or stopped

Total Institutions: Prisons & Cults

Watch the documentary about the Alexander Correctional Institution OR the History Channel's special Cults: Dangerous Devotion, paying attention to the ways that this prison works (and doesn't work) as a total institution to resocialize its inmates.  Take at least 10 notes to this effect.

Week 15: Poetry Devices & Forms

Part 1.  (2 points)  Alliteration Tongue Twisters

ｷAlliteration is when two or more words share the same initial sound

o  Ex. “Down and Dirty”

ｷWhen you string a bunch of alliteration together, you get a tongue twister.

o  Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

ｷWrite an original alliteration tongue twister that incorporates at least five alliterations with the same initial sound. 

Part 2.  (3 points)  Write a limerick, a five line poem that follows the rhyme scheme A A B B A, in which the “A” lines are eight or nine syllables and the “B” lines are six syllables.  See three different examples below:  

There once was a gray poodle named Spark.                 (A= "ark," 9 syllables long)

 Quite talkative, he so liked to bark.                                   (A= "ark," 9 syllables long)

 Sometimes running he found                                             (B= "ound," 6 syllables long)  

 His feet all off the ground                                                    (B= "ound," 6 syllables long)

 Especially on "walks" in the park.                                      (A= "ark," 9 syllables long)

There once was a girl who loved rhyme;

 She felt her writing was sublime.

 Indeed quite a poet,

 Though some didn't know it,

 She'd be rich if each paid a dime.

There was a mean clown in the circus.

 For fun he would push us and jerk us.

 He would hit us with pies

 That left cream in our eyes.

 His act never once failed to irk us.

Part 3.  (5 points)  Colors can give your poems some symbolic significance through the different connotations that we associate with colors.  Examine the following chart that outlines some color symbolism.  You can also read some poems that make use of color symbolism.  Then, write at least ten lines of poetry (this can be one or more poems, but there must be at least ten lines of poetry total) that use at least two colors to convey symbolic meaning and tone.  Please note, you can also play with different words for the same color (for example: red, scarlet, vermilion, crimson, rusty, cherry, burgundy and ruby may all carry different connotations).  

Color Symbolism Chart
	Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
	Pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.
	Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity.
	Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.
	Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
	Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
	Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning.
	Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance.
	Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
	Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
	Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
	Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.
	Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
	Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).

Vietnam, Nixon, & Watergate

Watch the following videos to learn about the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, and the Watergate scandal.  Write two facts for each video as you are watching.  Then, write three sentences reacting to what it must have been like to have all this go on around you at the time:

1. Vietnam War
2. The Tet Offensive
3. Nixon's "Secret Plan"
4. Nixon goes to China
5. Nixon's Paranoia

Creative Writing Week 14: Intro to Poetry

Task 1:  Define each of the following terms.  Include an example for those terms with a star next to them.  (3 points)

• Alliteration*:
• Allusion:
• Diction:
•         Connotation vs. Denotation:
• Hyperbole*:
• Imagery*:
• Irony:
• Metaphor*:
• Motif:
• Onomatopoeia*:
• Personification*:
• Repetition:
• Rhyme*:
• Rhythm:
• Simile*:
• Symbol:
• Theme:
• Tone:

examples of tone: straightforward, understated,  approving, proud, disliking, harsh,  acerbic, angry,  confident, energetic, ironic, mocking, bitter, grim, cynical, interested,  sympathetic, pitiful, detached, cold,  uninterested, disinterested, apathetic, impartial, objective, humorous, playful, flippant, childish, child-like, tranquil, peaceful, subdued, sad, upset, depressed, afraid, fearful,  panicked, wistful, nostalgic,  sentimental, solemn, serious, somber, apologetic, rebellious, anxious, thoughtful, dreamy, excited, exhilarated,  exuberant, happy, contented, joyful, skeptical, urgent, commanding, demanding, condescending,  arrogant, lofty, dramatic, scornful, bold, provocative,  seductive
What’s the difference between a narrative poem and a lyrical poem?

Task 2: Complete the poetry analysis worksheet to learn how poets use some of these devices. (3 points)

Task 3: Write your own poem (or poems) that uses at least one simile, one metaphor, and one personification. (4 points)

Othello essay example

In Othello, William Shakespeare illustrates the role of women through three different female characters.  Shakespeare’s characterization of Bianca, Desdemona, and Emilia show that womanhood is complex and femininity can mean many different things.

Bianca’s character is, on the whole, pretty one-dimensional.  She is Cassio’s jealous lover and is referred to as a prostitute on more than one occasion.  Iago uses this information about Bianca to get his way, explaining, “Now will I question Cassio of Bianca, / A huswife that by selling her desires / Buys herself bread and clothes. It is a creature / That dotes on Cassio.” (IV.i.)  Bianca represents women who are ruled by their desires.  She desires clothes and food, so she sells her body, and her desire for Cassio causes her to act jealously.  She is a woman with needs and is ruled by her emotions.