Aim: How can we use the poem, “This is just to say” by William Carlos Williams as an inspiration for own poems?
Do Now: Whole Class Discussion!
Consider a time when you or someone you know did something wrong and didn’t feel bad about it.
Students discussed and talked about a numerous number of times from their past when they did something wrong and didn’t feel bad about it. Some students had a story about themselves, while others about somebody they knew. For example, John said he got into an argument with someone because the kid was being annoying, so John got in trouble for it, but didn’t feel sorry, because in some way he thought he was right. Additionally, Ms. Peterson gave an example of how her cousin was taking clothing from her other cousin, ruining the clothing, and not feeling bad about it. This brings us to the point that some people might be doing something wrong, yet not feel pity or be self-conscious about it.
After talking about the Do Now, we jumped into reading a poem:
This Is Just To Say
BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
We discussed that the poem is very simple and gets right to the point. Also, it doesn’t rhyme. Poems, just as this poem, could be about anything.
Afterwards, Alyssa and John read the explanation and the story behind William Carlos Williams poem.
We figured out that Williams purposefully wrote a non-conventional poem, one day, for his wife, which later became a much liked creation and style of poetry.
Next we got to the “Your Turn Poem Challenge!!!”
We had to think of as many “This is just to say” poems in 5 minutes.
Ivan shared out his poem:
“Sorry I burned your house down,
I just wanted you to come live with me.
Next, Julianna read “Using Imagery in poetry” and we watched a video
https://youtu.be/UxASvORGoG4
We discussed what we learned through the video. Someone said that this video showed imagery with a goal of not just understanding the minimal amount, but to get a deeper understanding. Somebody else said that imagery helps a person tap into their five senses.
Milana read “Imagery in Poetry”
the clouds collapsed,
they’re touching the ground
trying to come alive,
but they can’t.
Images from a landscape are used to indicate hopelessness,
My heart was warm,
Like the swelling waters of the ocean,
Just basking in the first rays of morning sun
Natural images (ocean and sun) are used to express joyfulness I felt the end of something great,
Like when you take the last bite of birthday cake,
And all that’s left is a few powdery crumbs on your frosting streaked dish Images of birthday cake are used to create feelings of melancholy and sadness
The class discussed and came to a conclusion that imagery in poetry is shown through similes and metaphors. Also, these images make the reader feel something, happy/sad, when reading.
Next Ethan, Alyssa, and Elliot read parts of the “fast Break” poem, one by one.
A hook shot kisses the rim and
hangs there, helplessly, but doesn’t drop,
and for once our gangly starting center
boxes out his man and times his jump
perfectly, gathering the orange leather
from the air like a cherished possession
and spinning around to throw a strike
to the outlet who is already shoveling
an underhand pass toward the other guard
scissoring past a flat-footed defender
who looks stunned and nailed to the floor
in the wrong direction, trying to catch sight
of a high, gliding dribble and a man
letting the play develop in front of him
in slow motion, almost exactly
like a coach’s drawing on the blackboard
both forwards racing down the court
the way that forwards should, fanning out
and filling the lanes in tandem, moving
together as brothers passing the ball
between them without a dribble, without
a single bounce hitting the hardwood
until the guard finally lunges out
and commits to the wrong man
while the power-forward explodes past them
in a fury, taking the ball into the air
by himself now and laying it gently
against the glass for a lay-up,
but losing his balance in the process,
inexplicably falling, hitting the floor
with a wild, headlong motion
for the game he loved like a country
and swiveling back to see an orange blur
floating perfectly through the net.
Edward noticed that in this, and other poems, a stanza is equivalent to a paragraph. Eleanor said that there are no periods in this poem. John addressed the fact that everything happened quickly in each line.
After reading and discussing this poem we were sent into breakout rooms for a few minutes. We discussed literary devices and techniques.
Elliot started off by saying one literary device used was a simile and he gave an example. “For the game he loved like a country”
Julianna said another literary device which is personification: “hook shot kisses the rim”
This lesson was a two topic lesson so there were two aims.
The second aim was:
Aim: How has poetic expression evolved in the 21st century?
Do Now: Team Discussion
Do you believe technology and the 21st century are ruining literature as we know it?
Overall we said that famous literature can hardly be ruined through technology and the 21st century because of its widespread fame and knowledge. Emily said that literature can’t be ruined since it’s more of an expression of who you are. Also, she feels that people don't give enough credit to the media, that it can connect people with similar interests. Alyssa said that she sees, on TikTok, people who like to read, which shows that literature is continuing to prosper. Eleanor said that old literature is considered “classic”, but it wasn’t “classic” in the past, such as literature from the 21st century isn’t considered “classic” now, but later it might be.
Closer to the end of class, we watched a video of Rupi Kaur and Jimmy Fallon talking about Rupi’s journey in poetry.
Rupi Kaur | reading from Milk and Honey [1:12]
In the end of class we were supposed to write a short poem called “Micropoetry”, to post either on Twitter or Instagram, but we didn’t have enough time to do this in class so we were assigned to do this by ourselves after class.
Example of micropoetry: https://youtu.be/KdB5RLMtPDE
Reflection:
I have learned that poetry can come in any form you want. You can make it rhyme or not rhyme, big or small. To me it sounded it really interesting how poems can be so complex, yet so easy. I have disliked writing poetry my whole life because of the constant need of rhyming, but now that I know that poems could be regular stories, just with additional punctuation marks to make it sound good and split in correct places, I really started to enjoy it. Using factors such as similes and personifications makes it so much more exciting to write, too. These factors bring the poems alive and makes the poems so much more exciting to read and write. During the group discussions of finding literary devices, I truly had no idea that poems have so many similes and metaphors in them, I was shocked. After today’s lesson I learned so many new details that I would have never known about poetry. These details make poems 100 times better. I never knew that poetry would be a thing I loved, or even slightly liked, but now I know that poetry is amazing and so free. I will most definitely try to include poetry in my literary interests in the future!
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