Poetry Reading Response Assignment Select a book length collection of contemporary poetry by one or more poets, or put together your own collection of 20+ poems; at least half of them must be contemporary (1960 to present) and a maximum of 3 can come from song lyrics, children’s poets, non-professionals, or anonymous authors. Read the collection you select, and narrow down to 10 poems you Like enough to reread several times and respond to. List the 10+ poems you choose not to respond to on one page.
For the 10 you Eke best, identify the poet, title, and source as you respond using the guidelines low. Be sure some of the ten you choose for response are contemporary. You may choose either of the following methods of organizing your responses: Method #1 : This method works best if something is tying your selected poems together, I. E. They are all by the same poet or only two deferent poets, they are unified thematically or by subject, or they are all of the same sub-genre or pattern or perhaps only two different sub-genres or patterns.
For this method list; your ten poems, poets, and sources on a separate Initial page. Then address your responses by the following objects, and use specific titles to illustrate your more general comments in each area. Be sure to use some details concerning each of your ten poems. Write 3-5 typed pages. Making sure to address all 5 of the following topics and discuss all 10 poems: R-1 Content/lades/purposelessness (What does the poem mean to you?
What do you think the poet is trying to communicate with his/her audience? What thematic ideas can you identify? ) R-2 Large-Scale Techniques (Focus on the poem as a whole–sub-genre or pattern as sonnet, haiku, Belleville, etc. Type of poem as lyric, narrative, dramatic; visual format; meter; rhyme scheme, freezers, blank verse; organization; speaker Identification & point of view; tone, mood, setting, and atmosphere; humor, irony, satire; dialogue, dialect; etc.
R-3 Small-Scale Techniques (Focus on language and individual lines–figurative language as metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, metonymy; sensory imagery & concrete detail; sound devices as alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, slant rhyme, internal rhyme; diction and connotation; humor, irony, satire; dialogue, dialect; etc. R-4 Favorite Passages & Commentary (Include quotes and page #g’s) Copy the passages and discuss why you selected these passages.
Analyze the passages and R-5 Personal Response, Evaluation, & Application to your own writing (Give yourself advice for working in this particular genre. Whenever possible address specific writings in progress. ) Method #2: This method works best if you have selected 10 different poems with little or no connection. Begin by identifying the poet, title, and source of each new poem. Then respond to each of the 10 poems separately. Address as many of the following issues as possible in responding to each poem separately. Make connections to previous poems discussed as you proceed whenever possible.
