Aim: How do poetic elements create a thematic effect over the course of a poem?
Today’s Lesson
The Do Now from today’s lesson was to brainstorm the following:
What comes to mind when you think of the word “identity”. Create a word web.
Attached was a word web that students were given time to fill out. Upon completion, we were asked to share out what words we associated with the word identity. Many brought up words that related to it in a more literal sense, such as fingerprint and face. Most of the answers ended up being more abstract though, such as uniqueness and individuality. Some were also aided by the photograph (shown below) of an outline of a person with a fingerprint-like pattern. This image provoked words such as police and responsibility.
The use of the word identity very much coincided with our lesson, as it helped to introduce us to poetic elements and identity, the focus of the lesson.
Credit: https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/the-problem-with-self-sovereign-identity/
The first poetic devices that we learned were musical or sound devices, which help to convey a feeling through the use of sound. Of these musical devices, we first learned about cacophonous sounds. These are more negative, harsh sounding sounds that include: p, b, t, d, g, k, ch-, sh- . Cacophony actually means “bad sound” in greek, which is reflected in the feeling you get from these letters. The second musical device we learned was euphonious sounds. These are soothing sounds that include: l, m, n, r, w, s, y and th or wh and softer f and v. I will say that I never realized how different letters can provoke different feelings in a reader. Seeing both of these definitions definitely helped to further my understanding of musical devices, as you can see the contrast between these two devices. We then went on to watch the video, whose link I have included below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53zWcf9zJVU
Throughout this video, we were given examples of the two devices, which helped us to understand and differentiate between the two. The video also had a useful list comparing euphonious and cacophonous sounds, which we can use for reference if we later need it.
The next poetic device we learned was rhythm. This was an easier concept to grasp, as it is the most common poetic device people think of. Rhythm, we were told, is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables throughout a poem. After learning this, we watched the video below about rhythm, which helped to further our understanding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqhPp-ptoJA
This video contained several examples of rhythm. A helpful aspect of this video was that it underlined specific parts of the poem, and was read aloud very clearly.
While the poetic devices I just talked about help to create the foundation of a poem, we then learned about a really important device, the extended metaphor. It was really important to learn about this, as it shows up a lot in more advanced poems. We were given some examples of extended metaphor, which helped to improve our understanding.
Credit:https://www.chronicle.com/article/whats-a-metaphor-for/
One example was from the poem Habitation, by Margaret Atwood:
“Marriage is not / a house or even a tent / it is before that, and colder: / the edge of the forest, the edge of
the desert / the unpainted stairs / at the back where we squat / outside, eating popcorn / the edge of the
receding glacier / where painfully and with wonder / at having survived even this far / we are learning to
make fire”
In this example, Margaret Atwood uses the extended metaphor of habitation to explain marriage. Throughout this excerpt, she describes marriage as unstable, which is characterized by the forest. She also says that even though marriage is difficult, both people will learn new things. This example personally helped me to understand what an extended metaphor was. Our understanding of extended metaphors was further strengthened through the next part of the lesson, in which we learned about the functions of extended metaphors.
We were given a bulleted list of the following:
Extended metaphor provides the writer with an opportunity to make a larger comparison between two things or notions.
The device of extended metaphor is usually employed in prose (written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure) and poetry to project a specific impression regarding things or notions in the reader’s mind.
Further, the tool serves to project the comparison intensely in the reader’s mind, than is the case when simple metaphors or similes are used.
This list proved very useful when we read the following poem:
This poem uses extended metaphors to help create the comparison that was being explained in the list. I do have to say that I can now employ the use of extended metaphors throughout my poems and recognize them in other poems.
We then moved on to discuss the theme. Theme is the meaning of a work; a central idea, point, and underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly; critical belief about life that the author is trying to convey. An important thing to note about the theme is that it is not simply a topic/ subject, but a meaning that the author is trying to illustrate. We then watched the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIuKNVny9cM&feature=share&ab_channel=D4Darious
This video was immensely helpful in illustrating the true point of theme. The speaker even created a comedic tone to keep me interested and so that I can remember the subject.
We then went on too complete two charts in a breakout room based on the following poem by Julio Noboa Polanco:
Let them be as flowers
always watered, fed, guarded, admired,
but harnessed to a pot of dirt.
I’d rather be a tall, ugly weed,
clinging on cliffs, like an eagle
wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.
To have broken through the surface of stone,
to live, to feel exposed to the madness
of the vast, eternal sky.
To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea,
carrying my soul, my seed,
beyond the mountains of time or into the abyss of the bizarre.
I’d rather be unseen, and if
then shunned by everyone,
than to be a pleasant-smelling flower,
growing in clusters in the fertile valley,
where they’re praised, handled, and plucked
by greedy human hands.
I’d rather smell of musty, green stench
than of sweet, fragrant lilac.
If I could stand alone, strong and free,
I’d rather be a tall, ugly weed.
The pictures included really helped to show the comparison between the two parts of the metaphor. The first chart we filled out was to figure out each extended metaphor for the weed and flower in the poem. Below is a picture of my groups response:
We then shared our thoughts with the class, with many having the same perspective that we took.
The second chart we filled out was to figure out each poetic device the author used and analyze it. Below is a picture of my groups response:
I felt as this strategy really helped to put each device in perspective. This also helped me to focus on each device, and really question the author's purpose behind each device.
We were also given the option to complete an extra activity for fun, which is pictured below:
I felt that this helped to introduce more poetic devices to my writing, and it was not something that was difficult to complete. It also created a new perspective for me when reading the poem Identity, and helped me to fully understand the author's meaning.
Reflection
Today’s lesson, overall, taught me a great deal of information. Learning about many poetic devices such as extended metaphors, themes, and musical devices helped to make the prospect of writing/ reading poems not as dreadful. I am now more confident in my ability to understand the use of poetic devices. The do now allowed me to prepare myself to learn about poetic devices, and even furthered my understanding. Furthermore, the abundance of examples provided in relation to each term further helped me understand their meanings, possible uses, and application. To recap this lesson, I learned that musical devices such as cacophonous and euphonious help to create different points to the reader. I also learned how extended metaphors reveal hidden meanings and compare to unseemingly related ideas. Theme, contrary to what I previously thought, is not just a simple topic, but a critical meaning. I also learned a new strategy to employ when learning about complex devices. In closing, this lesson undoubtedly helped me understand how poetic devices can be used to convey thoughts and meanings. Therefore, after this lesson, I now confidently understand how such ideas are conveyed throughout different poems.
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