Assignments

Activity 1

In the Chapter 1 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 21-26, choose one of the poems for further examination. In a poem everything happens for a reason, even if the reason can't be put easily into words. Describe how your chosen poem would be different if:

The final line was missing.

The poem used/did not use rhyme.

The order of the stanzas was changed.

The poem was general instead of specific.

The poem used cliches.

Re-write your chosen poem, making the opposite choices the poet made. Does it work? Why or why not?

Activity 2

In the Chapter 2 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 43-49, choose one of the poems for further examination. First, discuss how the poem uses stanzas and line breaks. How would the poem be different if the poet had made other choices? Using your chosen poem as a model, write a poem of similar length, structure, and content. Concentrate on letting emotions be suggested through the imagery.

Activity 3

In the Chapter 3 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 70-76, choose one of the poems for further examination. Scan the poem and discuss the effects of the rhythmic variations and rhyme scheme. Write your own poem on a different topic from the original, but with the same rhythmic variation and rhyme scheme.

Activity 4

In the Chapter 4 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 92-99, choose one of the poems for further examination. Describe how the poet's use of line, stanza and form help carry the poem's subject, tone, and imagery. Type the poem up on the computer. Now re-set the lines, making them longer, shorter, then of mixed lengths. How do the different lineations affect the poem? Using your chosen poem as a model, write your own free-verse poem. Experiment with the line breaks until they are logical.

Activity 5

In the Chapter 5 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 115-123, choose one of the poems for further examination. Read the poem aloud, with close attention to the the texture of diction, syntax, sound, and indentation. How does the use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, slant rhyme, and repetition affect the poem? Using your chosen poem as a model, write your own poem using sound and diction to enhance the tone of your poem.

Activity 6

In the Chapter 6 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 144-153, choose one of the poems for further examination. In what ways does the poem connect to the reader? What feelings are palpable in the poem? What gives the objects in the poem authenticity? What is the sense of place in the poem? What images represent emotion? Using the sample poem as a model, write a poem that uses images to connect with the reader.

Activity 7

In the Chapter 7 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 173-184, choose one of the poems for further examination. Who is the speaker of the poem? What is the motivating incident? What is the point of view of the speaker? The speaker's tone? Using the sample poem as a model, write a poem with a clear speaker, motivating incident, point of view, and tone.

Activity 8

In the Chapter 8 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 203-209, choose one of the poems for further examination. Identify the metaphors in the poem, making note of the vehicle and tenor. Identify the similes in the poem. Point out any personification, metonymy, synecdoche, symbols, or conceits. Then using your chosen poem as a model, make up as many metaphors or similes as you can for a common object. Develop the best into a poem.

Activity 9

In the Chapter 9 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 226-234, choose one of the poems for further examination. Using your chosen poem as a model, write your own irrational poem.

Activity 10

In the Chapter 10 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 255-261, choose one of the poems for further examination. Use a line from your chosen poem as a starting point for your new poem.

Activity 11

In the Chapter 11 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 282-289, choose one of the poems for further examination. Then take a completed but somehow still unsatisfactory poem of your own and take another stab at revising it. Read it aloud several times. Does something make you wince? Does something thud? That might be a trouble spot. Take out a phrase. Recast the sentence in another syntax. Or rethink the metaphor. Try taking out a couple syllables per line. Use your chosen poem in Chapter 11 for ideas for revision.

Activity 12

In the Chapter 12 "Poems to Consider" section on pages 305-313, choose one of the poems for further examination. Using it as a model, write your own poem about poetry.