Poetry Analysis The Village Blacksmith Name ______by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Background info on a blacksmith, his smithy and his tools.______

What is the structure of this poem?______

Listen to the poem the first time through and try to picture what is being described. Pay attention to where the reader pauses and stops, and to the rhythm of the poem.

Discussion:______

Now with your group, look at the poem together, and find an example of an exact rhyme and write it here. ______

Let’s determine the rhyme scheme of this poem. A rhyme scheme assigns a letter to the end of each line. If any of the lines rhyme, they get the same letter.

Under a spreading chestnut-tree ______The village smithy stands; ______The smith, a mighty man is he, ______With large and sinewy hands; ______And the muscles of his brawny arms ______Are strong as iron bands. ______

So the rhyme scheme of this poem is______

Are there any slant rhymes?______Are there any internal rhymes?______

Now each team member will silently scan through the poem and try to find a simile, a metaphor and and two examples of imagery and write them below. Only after each team member has written some things can you discuss and share.

Simile______Metaphor______Imagery______Imagery______Now we will listen to the poem again. This time, try to “see” or “hear”. Are there any hidden meanings and/or symbolism? What can you tell me about the blacksmith’s character? What is the tone of this poem?

DO NOT WRITE YET. JUST LISTEN.

What did you “see” or “hear” beyond what the obvious? ______

What can you tell me about the blacksmith’s character? ______

What is the tone of this poem? ______

Are there any hidden meanings and/or symbolism? ______

What is this poem really about? ______

Ticket out the door: Using the words connotative and denotative, write two sentences about the poem we analyzed today.______