Thursday, December 3, 2020

Blogger #18 - Safiya Malllick - Period 6 - 12/1/20 - Cycle Day B

Aim: How can our knowledge and experience with poetry and poetic techniques ensure the successful creation of our Poem Anthology project?


Do Now: Class Discussion

How do you usually feel when you learn you are being assigned a new project? Why?


Our class had a variety of responses, the majority of them feeling not so enthusiastic about

the idea of completing a project. We discussed our common fear in procrastinating

and being unproductive. We were all similar in the way in that we tend to get stressed and

wait till the last minute. This consequently results in us getting anxious and doing our

work under pressure. Despite this, a few people were still excited to showcase their

creativity and literary knowledge in the form of a project.


Our teacher informed us that our project was to create a poem anthology. An anthology

is a collection of literary works that could be a compilation of short stories, poems, plays,

songs etc. In our particular case we were working with poems. Our teacher described how

it would help us tap into our creativity and demonstrate our ability to understand the art

of poetry. We were given three weeks to complete the project.


The framework for the project was as written below.


Your anthology MUST INCLUDE:

  1. A creative cover, which clearly identifies your First and Last Name, period, TEAM 

NAME and Cycle Letter. 

  1. A Table of contents,  clearly identifying each poem type [(1) free verse, (2) extended 

metaphor, (3) sonnet, and (4) an additional poem structure of your choosing] the Title, and the page number where it can be found.

  1. An introduction to the collection, explaining the basis for your poem choices.

  2. One poem must be your extended metaphor, and must be annotated. Highlight some 

of your poetic choices just like we did in class, and explain the reason behind them.

  1. All 4 original poems should include complementary visuals/images/drawings.

  2. Your last page, must include a reflection that explains the experience of creating 

poetry along with a discussion of the style, language choices, and thematic intent of

your poems at the conclusion of your anthology.




We were also provided with this rubric that describes the scoring criteria:



To add on, we were given this video to better understand poetic devices if we happen to fall

into a scenario where we don’t understand them.


Poetic Devices Defined [4:02]









Additionally, we were supplied with a shakespearean sonnet template to give us assistance

with our own personal sonnets. It was as written below.


Shakespearean Sonnet Requirements:

  • MUST be 14 Lines.

  • MUST be in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) 

  • MUSTfollow the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG. 


  1. Your First Stanza should introduce the SPEAKER and AUDIENCE, explain the OCCASION or situation, and make the SUBJECT of the poem clear. 


  1. Your Second and Third Stanza should develop the TONE of the poem… what are the 

feelings involved? Convey these feelings using figurative language: metaphors, similes, personification. EX: “I love you like music needs a beat.”


  1. Your Rhyming Couplet at the end should resolve the poem, or provide a dramatic twist 

to the story. Make sure your PURPOSE is clear. The couplet is probably the most important two lines of the sonnet… so make them count and make them great.



Moreover, our teacher provided examples of anthologies from her previous students to give

us a feel of what the poems should look like in order to reduce any of our stress or

anxiousness. While she presented the projects, she made sure to emphasize certain aspects

that weren’t perfect, so we wouldn’t make the same mistakes. She also advised us not to

worry about including all the figurative language, rhyme, diction etc., and to just get the

words down first, since we all subconsciously use them in our writing anyway. 



We were then given some time to start brainstorming ideas for what we would write about in

our anthology, or even to just find more inspiration to guide where we were going with our

poems. Once that was complete, we split into our breakout rooms with our teammates to check in with each other and address common concerns among ourselves. After trying to help each other out, we met back with our teacher so she could clarify any lingering questions we still had.




Reflection:


Throughout the period I learned about the process and structure of how a poem anthology

is constructed. Devising poetry is extremely important because it aids in understanding the

significance of words and the type of patterns that can be formed with them. In poetry, words

are filled with depth and disclose emotions, sounds, or even ideas in the form of art. One

can express themselves through this art form using literary devices such as diction, figurative

language, rhyme, and so on. I will use what I learned in this lesson not only to complete my

anthology project, but also to apply it to my everyday life by thinking more creatively and

finding meaning in my experiences.



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