I. Analyzing a Poem

Name(s)______Block ______Date ______

I. Analyzing a poem Directions: First read the poem, then answer the questions in complete sentences.

Look, Medusa! by Suniti Namjoshi

Medusa lived on a remote shore troubled no one: fish swam, birds flew, and the sea did not turn to glass. All was as before. A few broken statues lay untidily on the lonely beach, but other than these there was nothing wrong with that peaceful scene. And so, when the hero, Perseus, came to seize the Gorgon’s head, he thought he might have been mistaken. He watched for a while, but she turned nothing to stone. The waves roared as waves will, till at last the hidden hero burned to be seen by her whom he had come to kill. “Look, Medusa, I am Perseus!” he cried, thus gaining recognition before he died.

1. What does the title tell you about the poem? Pay special attention to the punctuation. ______

2. How does the plot of the story we read about Perseus differ from the plot of the poem? ______

3. What is the message or moral of the poem? ______

4. Do you agree with the portrayal of Perseus as a hero (as in the class story) or Perseus as murderer (in the Namjoshi poem)? Why? ______

II. Writing a Sonnet

Definitions 1. Shakespearean sonnet: A Shakespearean sonnet is a poem composed of fourteen lines: three quatrains followed by one couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. 2. quatrain: a four lined rhyming stanza of a poem 3. couplet: two lines of a poem that rhyme

Directions: Go back to the Namjoshi poem and label the lines according to the rhyme scheme. Use the letters abab cdcd efef gg.

Now, think about the story of Perseus. Remember all of the events that took place. There is the oracle, the imprisoning of Danae, rape by Zeus, fighting of Medusa, meeting the Graea, killing the Gorgon, freeing Andromeda, killing of Acrisius, and many more!

Choose one event from the story. Write a Shakespearean sonnet about the chosen event. Give it a title. Refer back to the Namjoshi poem for an example. Remember the rhyme scheme! Write your poem here.

TITLE: ______(a)______(b)______(a)______(b)______(c)______(d)______(c)______(d)______(e)______(f)______(e)______(f) ______(g)______(g)______