Important Notice
This printable course guide was prepared for students who mail their lesson assignments to IDL.
If you are submitting your assignments through the Web, you may still print and use this course guide; however, please ignore the instructions on completing and mailing lesson assignments and follow all instructions provided in your online course materials for completing and submitting assignments online.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
CONTINUING EDUCATION
INDEPENDENT & DISTANCE LEARNING
ENGLISH 2027 Poetry. Skills for reading and writing about poetry; attention to generic conventions and critical perspectives. 15 lessons and 2 exams. 3 hours of college credit. 9/10/2007.
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of English 1001 (English Composition) or equivalent credit. Student must have access to a CD player.
ENGL 2027 version X
A COURSE GUIDE BY:
Mary Lou Cutrera, M.A. Instructor Department of English Louisiana State University English 2027, Poetry
Copyright © 2007 LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
Mary Lou Cutrera, M.A. LSU Independent & Distance Learning
All rights reserved. No part of this course guide may be used or reproduced without written permission of LSU Independent & Distance Learning. Printed in the United States of America. LSU Independent & Distance Learning Electronic Lesson Submission
This LSU Independent & Distance Learning (IDL) orientation information from the IDL main page, select course is offered online. If you have access to a >college home>online courses>orientation from computer and the Internet, you can submit lessons the navigation menu. Most computers purchased in online instead of through the mail. Or, you may mail the past three years will have everything you need. your lesson assignments in the traditional manner, Computers at public libraries and schools also should using the U.S. Postal Service. be sufficient.
What is ISO? How soon can I begin working on my course? ISO is the online course system used at LSU IDL. Online courses allow you to submit your lesson Before you can submit an assignment, you need to assignments electronically, over the Internet. Online have your textbook and any other required materials. lessons reduce mailing delays and speed delivery of Complete the readings assigned in the course guide, your assignment to LSU IDL. Course guide materials then answer essay-style and short-answer questions are available over the Internet for many courses. using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Corel WordPerfect. When we receive your lesson assignment, it will be forwarded to your instructor. You will receive a For multiple-choice and matching items, mark confirmation e-mail to let you know your assignment answers in your printed course guide then transfer was received. them to a Word, Excel, or WordPerfect file. All questions in a lesson assignment must be Most assignments will be printed and graded by an answered in a single file. When you have completed instructor on paper. Graded paper lesson a lesson assignment, you are ready to log in to the assignments will be returned to you through the mail course and submit your assignment online. with instructor comments. If your course includes computer-graded lesson assignments, they will be From the IDL main page, select >enrolled students scored immediately. >online course login from the menu bar. If this is the first time you are accessing an online course, you How do I get started? may wish to review the orientation section of our Web site (select the orientation link from the online courses Submitting lessons online is an option, not a menu). You will be prompted for your user ID and requirement. If you would like to explore ISO, read the password. Follow the on-screen instructions to submit information below to find out what you need to begin. your lesson. Most courses allow you to upload a file that you have saved on your computer. Only one file You should also review the online orientation on our can be uploaded for a single lesson. Web site for complete step-by-step directions on how to use ISO and submit lessons online. To locate the LSU Independent & Distance Learning
How do I get my User ID and password? Recommended system requirements:
User ID: Your user ID is the six-digit enrollment Pentium class personal computer (or its number that you received with your course equivalent Apple or SUN/Unix machine) with at materials and in your enrollment least 16 megabytes of RAM. confirmation e-mail. The enrollment number is printed on your receipt and on Internet Access your lesson submission labels. You will need to be able to reach the Internet, Password: Your password is the first two letters of either through a network at your place of your last name and last four digits of business or school or through a DSL your social security number. The connection, cable modem, or dial-up modem password is case sensitive, so make from home. If you use a dial-up modem, the sure that the first letter of your last name speed should be at least 28.8 bps. If possible, is upper case and the second letter is use an Internet service provider that has a local lower case. access number, so that you can avoid long- distance connection charges. For example: John Smith Web Browser SSN: 123-45-6789 Password: Sm6789 Web browsers, such as Netscape, Internet Explorer, and Firefox are used by a computer to For each course in which you enroll, you receive a navigate the Internet. To access our courses, unique enrollment number that serves as your user ID you must use a browser that is both Java and for that course. However, your password will be the JavaScript enabled. This option needs to be set same for every course you take with LSU IDL. in the preferences of your browser.
Computer Requirements-- If you do not have Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Firefox, you can download the latest free Hardware and Software Requirements versions to install on your computer using the links on our online orientation page. Because LSU IDL online course materials are available through the Internet, you will need to E-mail Account have access to a computer and the hardware and software resources needed to access the You need to have a valid e-mail address, so that Internet. we can confirm receipt of your lesson assignments. If you do not have an e-mail Computer account as part of your Internet access, you may subscribe to one of the many free e-mail The computer you use to submit assignments services available. must be have enough memory and processing power to operate a recent version of a Web browser and to download files in a reasonable amount of time.
Minimum system requirements: Completing lessons on ISO 486 75 MHz personal computer (or its is easy and helps keep you equivalent Apple or SUN/Unix machine) with at on track to meet your least 8 megabytes of RAM. completion goal.
Table of Contents
How to Take a College Independent Learning Course...... iii College Exam Information...... vii Exam Proctor Information Form (CS-4)...... i x Where the Books Are...... x i
Course Introduction...... 1 Textbook...... 1 CD...... 1 Nature and Purpose of the Course...... 1 Special Instructions...... 3 Preparation of Lesson Assignments...... 3 Plagiarism...... 6 Examinations and Grading Policy...... 7 Transcript Information...... 7
Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry ...... 9
Lesson 2: Analyzing Word Selection and Arrangement ...... 1 5
Lesson 3: Denotation and Connotation ...... 1 9
Lesson 4: Imagery ...... 2 1
Lesson 5: Figures of Speech ...... 2 5
Lesson 6: Song ...... 2 9
Lesson 7: Sound ...... 3 1
Lesson 8: Rhythm ...... 3 3
Lesson 9: Closed Form ...... 3 7
Lesson 10: Open Form ...... 3 9
Lesson 11: Symbol ...... 4 1
Lesson 12: Myth and Narrative ...... 4 3
Lesson 13: Poetry and Personal Identity ...... 4 5
Lesson 14: Evaluating a Poem: Telling Good from Bad ...... 4 7
English 2027 Poetry
i Table of Contents
Lesson 15: Analyzing Poems from the Anthology ...... 4 9
Appendix: Acknowledgments ...... 5 3
English 2027 Poetry
ii
Introduction
Poetry
Textbook
X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. An Introduction to Poetry. Twelfth edition. New York: Longman, 2007.
It is recommended that you buy your textbooks as soon as possible. If you wait, you may not be able to find the correct textbook. During the nine months that you have to complete the course, a revised version of the course may be released. If the newer version of the course uses a more recent edition of the textbook or a different textbook from the one required by the version that you are enrolled in, you may have difficulty getting the textbook that you need for your version of the course. For that reason, you should buy your textbooks as soon as possible.
If you have trouble finding a book, be sure you check all of the recommended bookstores. If you are outside of the Baton Rouge area and try to buy your textbook locally or from an online bookstore and have difficulty locating the correct textbook or the required edition, please call one of the bookstores listed on p. xi. These bookstores try to maintain an inventory of all LSU Independent & Distance Learning textbooks. Be sure to specify that you need a textbook for the LSU Independent & Distance Learning version of the course.
CD
In addition to the textbook indicated above, you are required to purchase the CD to accompany this course guide. This CD may be purchased from the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office.
Nature and Purpose of the Course
Welcome to English 2027. Although students take this course through LSU Independent & Distance Learning for a number of different reasons, you should all have a pleasant experience. The challenges in taking this course will be similar to those in any English course; however, there will be some significant differences. First, independent study requires a healthy dose of self-discipline. You determine the due dates for your lessons, and you should pace yourself so that you do not have to rush through the lessons as deadlines approach. Also, do not allow too much time to pass between lessons, and study your returned lessons carefully so that you learn from your mistakes.
English 2027 Poetry
1 Introduction
Remember that each lesson in this course builds on the knowledge gained in previous lessons. Furthermore, errors and development/analysis problems in early lessons will not count against your grades as much as they will in later lessons. As you progress through the lessons, these errors will affect your grades more and more if you do not eliminate them. Pay close attention to the comments and corrections written on each of your lesson assignments.
Failure to follow the instructions for lessons given in the course guide may also affect your grade.
Although you may be facing deadlines because of your own personal circumstances, do not expect either yourself or the instructor to meet unrealistic deadlines. You will have to work extremely hard, and you will not be able to take full advantage of the feedback on your lessons if you try to complete this course in five or six weeks. Anything less than that is impossible. Remember that the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office will allow you to turn in only three lessons each week, and your instructor will not grade more than three lessons from each student each week.
Remember, this course covers an entire semester of work or the equivalent of a classroom course lasting fifteen weeks. That means that each lesson in this course equals nearly a week of course work and will require the same time and effort on your part. Do not expect to complete each lesson in a single study session.
Because you will not be attending a class, your instructor cannot always determine when you are confused about an assignment or about the evaluation of an assignment. You must alert the instructor to problems you are having. You may enclose a note with a lesson, but only if your questions require short answers. You may also contact the instructor using email ([email protected]). Some of your questions can be answered through email, but you cannot expect detailed or extensive answers through that medium. The time required to do so is prohibitive.
For administrative problems, contact the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office.
The purpose of English 2027 is to introduce you to the study and appreciation of poetry. The course covers the types of poetry, poetic elements, and the critical evaluation and appreciation of poetry.
The lesson introductions in English 2027 offer some suggestions to supplement the comments offered in the textbook. The questions asked are intended to lead you to make close and careful examination of the poems themselves. As a result of this detailed examination, you will be able to make more valid critical judgments than would otherwise be possible. You should bear in mind that mere personal impression is not what we are concerned with, but rather your ability to demonstrate, understand, and explain the basis for your judgment of a poem.
English 2027 Poetry
2 Introduction
Special Instructions
Keep in mind at all times that this is a college-level English course; therefore, you are expected to write clear, grammatical, idiomatic English. All that you have been taught in composition courses applies here. First of all, never assume that the reader of your papers has the questions in front of him or her. Your answer should make clear what you are answering and asserting. Thus, every answer, even if it is a single paragraph, is an essay answer, starting with a clear thesis statement of what you are proving. For example, if you are asked how the level of diction in “The Fury of Aerial Bombardment” is related to the poem’s theme, your answer should begin something like this: “In ‘The Fury of Aerial Bombardment’ by Richard Eberhart, the elevated style is appropriate for the tone of moral indignation and the serious theme: humans are often guilty of inhumanity to their fellow human beings.” Such a statement gives you something to prove.
As you proceed to back up your answers, cite the material that supports your argument. Quoting short passages is useful, although not always preferable if you are able to do an accurate paraphrase. In either event you must not stop with mere quotation. You must go on to show how the material you have quoted (or cited) proves your point. Analysis is essential. In poetry, when you cite a word or words as proof, you need to show what connotations or denotations the word has that support what you are saying. The burden of proof is on you.
Sometimes students make the mistake of thinking that the analysis of poetry is a totally subjective process and that they can, thus, interpret a poem to mean anything that they want it to. This impression is by no means completely true. Although there are often varied interpretations of the meaning of passages within a poem, or even of the poem in its entirety, there are quite often interpretations that may be inaccurate. You must be sure that your interpretation of a poem can be supported by lines from the poem and that you are not reading meaning into lines that is not there or that is contrary to the actual meaning of the poem.
Preparation of Lesson Assignments
Please read, study, and follow these guidelines as you prepare all of your lesson assignments.
1. Study the Reading Assignment and Lesson Introduction thoroughly before writing your Lesson Assignment.
2. Type your work, if possible. If not, write plainly in blue or black ink.
3. Write or type on one side of the paper only.
4. If you type, double space your work; if you write, write on every other line.
5. Use regulation paper, 8½ inches × 11 inches.
English 2027 Poetry
3 Introduction
6. Put your name, subject, course number, and lesson number in the upper right-hand corner of each sheet.
7. Leave a margin of at least an inch on both edges of the paper for your instructor’s comments.
8. In order to receive the most rapid response from your instructor, mail each lesson in one of the addressed envelopes as soon as you complete it and attach the cover sheet for the grade and instructor’s comments.
9. Do not rush completion of your lessons or of this course. Sending one or two lesson assignments a week on a regular basis will provide time for your skills to develop. Complete the lessons in order; the course is organized in a precise manner.
10. Do not “save” your lessons and then mail two or three at once; mail each one as soon as it is finished and always include only one lesson in each envelope or in each electronically submitted lesson.
11. Be sure that your answers are focused on the questions asked in each lesson. Avoiding the question in your response will result in a deduction from your grade.
12. Study the section beginning on page 565, “Writing About Literature.” You should follow the guidelines there in all of your lessons. Do the same with the section beginning on page 589, “Writing About a Poem.” Note: Pay close attention to the section on “How to Quote a Poem” (609). You will be required to use the correct form and punctuation whether you quote lines or phrases from a poem. Single words referred to as words are italicized (or underlined). You can also refer to a good handbook for guidelines.
13. You might also find chapter 26 beginning on page 638 useful for its explanations of the critical approaches to analyzing literature.
14. Check and double-check your work. You must follow all instructions carefully.
The following is a list of the common editing marks that will be used to indicate grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors in your work. You should refer to a good handbook for help in correcting these errors.
English 2027 Poetry
4 Introduction
frag fragment cs comma splice fs fused sentence comma needed circle around comma=delete comma mm misplaced modifier dm dangling modifier s/v-agr subject/verb agreement error p/a-agr pronoun/antecedent agreement error shift shift in verb tense or pronoun use vb verb form error wc word choice ww wrong word ref pronoun reference red redundant poss possessive needed awk awkward ital italics needed mx mixed construction pl plural needed pron pronoun error W wordiness
You can also check any good handbook for a list of common editing symbols (such as the delete symbol) that may be used on your lessons. Remember that this is an English course, and you will be expected to use standard English in your work.
English 2027 Poetry
5 Introduction
Plagiarism
Please study the following information on plagiarism carefully.
1. Most students complete this course successfully by doing all of the analysis and writing necessary on their own. The assignments in this course do not require any outside reading or research.
2. If, however, you do chose to research the poems or poets, you must be careful when you decide to use information from those sources within the work you submit for your lessons. For the guidelines for using and citing sources, you must consult a reputable handbook or Web site. You should be using the MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines for internal citation forms and a Works Cited page. Also look at the sections “Guarding Academic Integrity”; “Acknowledging Sources”; and “Documenting Sources Using MLA Style” beginning on page 623 in your text.
3. Any use of researched material that is not properly documented is considered academic dishonesty in the form of plagiarism. The LSU Code of Student Conduct prohibits such behavior. Cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office, and the student will receive an “F” in the course.
4. Plagiarism includes not only the use of direct quotations without documentation, but also the use of paraphrases of information. Also, you cannot simply change a few words from a source and consider that to be paraphrasing. Again, a good handbook or Web site can be a valuable source of information on the subject of using quoted or paraphrased material.
5. Please remember that it is not difficult for an experienced English instructor to spot plagiarism and that the sources you may be tempted to use are also available to your instructor. If you can find them, so can your instructor.
6. Although you must be concerned with the grade you receive in the course, you should also be concerned that you are developing the analytical skills used to interpret poetry. You are not learning those skills if you are copying information from the Internet or other sources.
7. If you have questions about the use of sources, I will be happy to answer them. Short responses can be provided by email ([email protected]). However, for answers to questions that cannot be provided in one or two sentences, you will have to reach your instructor by telephone. That contact information can be sent to you in response to an email sent to the email address above.
English 2027 Poetry
6 Introduction
Examinations and Grading Policy
Each lesson will be returned with a letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F). These will be averaged using the four-point scale, with an A as four points, a B as three points, a C as two points, and a D as one point. A supervised mid-course examination after lesson 8 and a final examination after you have submitted all the written work of the course must be taken. The examinations will be taken in accordance with the standard instructions of the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office. Your exams will consist of identification items, discussion, and/or essay questions. You will need to use your textbook during both exams. The mid-course examination will cover material from lessons 1 through 8, and the final examination is cumulative. The examinations in the course will be worth 100 points each. An A grade will be assigned to any examination of 90–100 points, a B grade to any exam of 80–89 points, a C grade to any exam of 70–79 points, and a D to any exam of 60–69 points. Any exam below 60 points will receive an F grade. YOU CANNOT PASS ENGLISH 2027 UNLESS YOU RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE ON THE FINAL EXAMINATION. Assuming that your examination is of passing quality, it will be weighted 30 percent; the mid-course examination will be weighted 20 percent, and the average grade earned on your lesson assignments will count 50 percent in determining the course grade.
YOU MUST PASS THE FINAL EXAMINATION TO PASS THE COURSE.
Transcript Information
After you have completed this course, your grade will be filed with the Office of the University Registrar. If a transcript is needed, it is your responsibility to make a request in writing to:
Office of the University Registrar Louisiana State University Thomas Boyd Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Telephone 225-578-1686 Fax 225-578-5991
If you are not going to take your exam at LSU-Baton Rouge, notify us of your proctor by sending the completed CS-4 form on page ix of this course guide to the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office. Please read the exam information instructions on page vii of this course guide for further details.
English 2027 Poetry
7 Introduction
END OF INTRODUCTION
English 2027 Poetry
8 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Paraphrase a poem 2. State the subject and theme of a poem 3. Identify some different types of poetry and some of their characteristics 4. Recognize different types of irony
Lesson Introduction
English 2027 introduces you to the realm of poetry. Most of you have read some poetry, and some of you may have even attempted to write some. It is impossible for someone in today’s world to be unfamiliar with song lyrics, which usually have qualities in common with other poetic literature. Images, rhyme, meter, symbols, irony, and other devices are used by popular songwriters as well as “serious” poets.
Interpreting poetry is an exercise in reading comprehension similar in many ways to any other kind of reading. But because poetry is so condensed, you cannot guess at meanings from context in the way you often can in reading prose. It is essential that you know the denotative and connotative meanings of all words in the poem, particularly those in the title. Begin to prepare each lesson by getting out your dictionary, as well as your textbook and course guide.
Poetry is written to be read aloud, and for this reason we have included a recording of some of the poems from X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia’s An Introduction to Poetry. The poems are read by Dr. Don Moore who teaches English at Louisiana State University and who enthralls Baton Rouge audiences with his broadcasts on Louisiana Public Radio. The commentary on the poems was written by Barbara Sims of the English Department and read by David Blazier from LSU’s Division of Instructional Technology.
Due to copyright restrictions it was not possible to record all the poems that you will read in this course;1 however, we hope you enjoy listening to the available selections. Some of the poems recited on the CD are not included in the current edition of your textbook. You may be able to find some of them online with a simple Web search. However, you should be able to understand the meaning of the poems and why they have been included on the current CD simply by listening carefully to them.
There is no one right way to listen to the 30-minute CD, but it is suggested that you initially listen to the whole CD and allow yourself to concentrate on the spoken word. Then when you are ready to start studying the material, listen to the recorded poems that are listed under the Listening
1 Please see the appendix for a listing of copyright sources.
English 2027 Poetry
9 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry
Assignment section as many times as you need to. As mentioned on the CD, it is strongly recommended that you read all the poems aloud to yourself to gain their fullest meaning.
The poetry selections you will read will introduce you to the elements in poetry that make it a distinctive type of literature and will also show the relationship of poetry to other forms of literature. Students often have acquired many misconceptions in earlier experiences with poetry—that it is simply flowery language, that the meaning of a poem is something an English teacher dreamed up, and that only those initiated into the mysterious rite can understand it. In contrast, the explanations given in the various sections of the book will show you how to read a poem with understanding and appreciation.
In composing a poem, a writer is attempting to present you with an idea, an experience, a mood that he finds significant. If he succeeds—by means of the rhythms, the compression, the words, the imagery—your reaction ought to be something like “Why, I never saw it just that way before, but how true!” or “I know what that is like.” (It may instead bring a comment such as “I’ve never experienced anything like that at all, but I have a sense of such an experience.”) There are, of course, other reactions, but ideally, the poem ought to present an idea or experience new to you and make you register it intellectually and emotionally. Or it should present something you have already known and felt so that you re-experience it as if it were virtually a new experience.
One problem besetting many students encountering poetry is the false notion that there is so-called “hidden meaning” in a poem. The term itself suggests what bothers most of us as readers: some meanings we have heard ascribed to poems are so hidden from us that we scarcely find them. But the “meaning” of a poem is really not hidden in that sense. The poem more commonly presents a specific instance, a specific moment in the poet’s experience (or in that of some imaginary character he creates), and shows us what it is like to be in love at sixteen, or to feel betrayed because the person loved has fallen in love with someone else, or to lose a child, or to be exhilarated on a beautiful day. The “hidden” meaning is nothing more in such instances than an extension of the meaning from the particular instance the poet presents in the poem to its application to other experiences that are similar. Thus the poem takes on a general meaning that is bigger than its application to a single, isolated instance.
For example, the speaker in the first poem analyzed in the textbook, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” on page 5, speaks of his longing for the peace and happiness that he associates with a special place where he obviously spends some time. The meaning extends to more than just his private experience as we are reminded in our own lives of a retreat to which we enjoy escaping when our daily lives become hectic or overwhelming. Most of us know this feeling. Yeats’ poem takes us back to recapture the feeling.
To be sure, not all poems deal with such easily recognizable experiences; indeed, some are presentations of abstract philosophical ideas; others present experiences very different from those of most of us. But if any poem is to mean something to us, we must find some link between ideas and experiences we have known and those that the poet presents to us. It is for such reasons that the poet makes use of what we call imagery and figures of speech, such as word pictures or similes or
English 2027 Poetry
10 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry metaphors (in general, to put in familiar terms what is unfamiliar) to put in sensory imagery what is abstract and intangible.
We often feel the need for such imagery in our ordinary speech; too often, however, we fall back on dead metaphors like “mad as a wet hen” without thinking of what a wet hen looks or acts like. Ideally, when a poet uses an image, he or she attempts to present one not so worn that we think of the words as merely space fillers (as a wet hen merely adds four words to the already clear idea mad expressed in the dead metaphor given above). Instead, the poet tries to present an image fresh enough and vivid enough to make us see the similarity more clearly because of the comparison he or she makes or implies.
In the analyses the editors give you in each of the sections of the text, you will do well to read what they say, looking carefully at the poem being analyzed and seeing what the poem says to justify their comments. (For example, despite the fact that A. E. Housman in the poem “Loveliest of trees, the cherry now” on page 468 in your textbook tells you in three ways just how old he is, many students in careless reading assume he is an old man about to die; the poem says something quite different if the reader focuses on the suggestion that even for a young man with most of his life ahead of him, life is too short not to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature.)
Special Note: The reading assignments in this course are much shorter than the assignments in a drama or fiction course. This brevity gives you a chance for the careful reading and rereading expected with poetry. Poetry is not something to be consumed on the run; it takes time and care; the reward for the time and care can be considerable.
Chapter 1 serves as a general introduction to poetry, and in chapter 2, the author examines the kind of approach the poet makes through his assumed identity in the poem. The poet may be a singer or a teacher; the poet may assume a fictitious identity, known as persona; he/she may be ironic, saying the opposite of what is really believed and expecting us to see what is implied. Read with care what your textbook has to say about these approaches.
Reading Assignment
An Introduction to Poetry (hereafter referred to as Poetry), “Chapter 1: Reading a Poem” and “Chapter 2: Listening to a Voice.” Be sure to read all of the information in the chapters. You will need to study the poems listed below in the listening and lesson assignments, but you should enjoy reading all of the poems in the chapters. Your answers to the questions should reflect a careful reading of the explanation of the elements of poetry as given in your text.
Study the section on irony on pages 32–33. Reread those sections when you are asked to identify irony in later lessons. You must use precise language to identify irony, and you should always use the words “discrepancy between” in your explanations of irony. For example, Shakespeare’s play Othello is an example of cosmic irony because of the significant discrepancy between the greatness
English 2027 Poetry
11 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry to which the character Othello seems destined at the onset and the tragic fall he experiences by the end of the drama.
Listening Assignment
Track 1 Welcome message Tracks 2–3 William Butler Yeats, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” (5) Tracks 4–5 Robert Frost, “Out, Out—” (11) Tracks 6–7 Theodore Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz” (18) Tracks 8–9 Langston Hughes, “Homecoming” (not in your text) Tracks 10–11 Paul Zimmer, “The Day Zimmer Lost Religion” (not in your text)
Be sure to read the explanations of Yeats’ and Roethke’s poems in your text. These explanations should help you in your analysis of the other poems.
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. After you have listened to the poems listed above on the CD, briefly answer these questions on the two poems that do not appear in your text.
A. How does the reader’s voice as he reads the poem “Homecoming” contrast with the overall message? What irony is expressed by the discrepancy between that message and the title? B. In “The Day Zimmer Lost Religion,” what is the image of God suggested by the poet’s description of what he was taught as a young boy. How does that image contrast to his impression of God on the first day he missed mass?
2. Write a paraphrase of “Piano” (8). State the subject of the poem and explain its theme. Before you write your paraphrase, be sure to read the section “Writing Effectively” on pages 15–17. The book provides you with William Stafford’s own paraphrase of his poem “Ask Me.” Notice that the paraphrase uses prose to expand on the lines in the poem. Model your paraphrase of the Lawrence poem on that one. Read carefully the explanation and examples of theme and subject on page 6. Notice that while the subject of a poem may well be expressed as a fragment, the theme must be expressed as a complete thought. Theme should generally be an expression of the significance of the poem, probably a significance that has some universal application. Finally, theme can almost always be stated in several different ways depending on the individual’s interpretation of a poem. Whereas there may be several ways to express theme,
English 2027 Poetry
12 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry
however, remember that not just any idea may be asserted to be the theme. You must be able to justify your idea of the theme with specific ideas from or references to the poem.
3. Explain why “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” (8) is a good example of a lyric poem. Read the poem aloud several times and really listen to its sounds. What feelings is Adrienne Rich expressing in the poem? What are her feelings about Aunt Jennifer? About the tapestry Aunt Jennifer has created? How are those feelings expressions of the split that Rich describes on page 15 in the text?
4. How does “Out, Out—” (11) fit the description of narrative poetry given in your text? What is the relationship of the allusion to Macbeth in the title to the poem’s theme? Be sure that your answer explains exactly what the theme is.
5. Discuss the tone of “For a Lady I Know” (19). How is this tone achieved? Explain specifically how the following words and phrases contribute to the tone: even, snores, poor black cherubs, and celestial chores.
6. Describe the persona of the speaker in “A Glass of Beer” (30). What sort of ironic contrast is there between the melodramatic exaggerations of the speaker and the cause of his displeasure? Which lines do you find the most amusing and why?
7. How does “The Unknown Citizen” (34) provide examples of ironic point of view and dramatic irony?
8. In the poem “In Westminster Abbey” (36), is the speaker male or female? How do you know? What is the persona’s attitude toward religion? Provide several examples to explain how this attitude is made clear.
9. Answer the question in “Exercise: Telling Tone” on page 42. (Before you begin answering this question, look at the section on textbook page 606 on comparing and contrasting.) Compare and contrast the themes and tones of the two poems. Provide specific references to the poems as you write out your answer.
END OF LESSON 1
English 2027 Poetry
13 Notes
14 Lesson 2: Analyzing Word Selection and Arrangement
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Appreciate the importance of diction in poetic language 2. Identify poetic devices such as allusions 3. Recognize various levels of language and diction
Lesson Introduction
This lesson is devoted to emphasizing words—their order, their precision, their varied meanings. Obviously, in literature intended for close reading, as the poem normally is, the very compression of the form demands that we pay close attention to the words that poets use and how they arrange them—say, in colloquial order, out of order normally used, etc. Unless the poet is inept, he or she has chosen and arranged words with a purpose in mind. We must examine such details carefully.
It is also very important to understand the distinctions between concrete and abstract diction discussed in your textbook. You should be willing to spend the time necessary to look words up in a dictionary if you are unsure of their exact meanings. A familiar word (such as the word aftermath in the poem with that title on page 55 in Chapter 3) may be used in an unusual way. You will be expected to understand the precise meaning of each word in the poems you analyze, and your own word choice should also be precise.
Think about what your answers would be to the questions raised about each of the editors’ examples, even though you are asked to submit in writing only your responses to the questions in the course guide. Work carefully through the poems for review at the end of each section, trying to apply as well as you can what has been emphasized in the sections preceding the review poems.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 3: Words”
English 2027 Poetry
15 Lesson 2: Analyzing Word Selection and Arrangement
Listening Assignment
Tracks 12–13 William Carlos Williams, “This Is Just to Say” (51) Tracks 14–15 Peter Davidson, “The Last Word” (not in your text) Tracks 16–17 Josephine Miles, “Reason” (not in your text) Tracks 18–19 Thomas Hardy, “The Ruined Maid” (63) Tracks 20–21 William Wordsworth, “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold” (not in your text)
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. After you have listened to the poems listed above on the CD, briefly answer these questions on the two poems that do not appear in your text.
A. “The Last Word” is a poem about something most of us have experienced, either by having the last word in an argument or by hearing it. What is the image presented in this poem of the effect that the last word can sometimes have on the hearer? What is the comparison made? B. What are the two meanings of the word reason in the poem by that name? How are these meanings important to the poem? C. Describe the tone of “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold.” What words in the poem contribute to the tone?
2. How would the father in “Silence” (52) describe the people he likes? What specific language in the poem provides vivid pictures for you? What is the distinction made in lines 13–14 between two similar words?
3. Answer the three questions on page 56 at the end of “Aftermath” (55).
4. Explain the allusions in “Friend, On This Scaffold Thomas More Lies Dead” (57).
5. Why does ’Melia in “The Ruined Maid” (63) feel so proud of being “ruined”? What was being “ruined” supposed to mean for a young woman in Victorian times? How does ’Melia contrast with the other speaker in the poem? How are they similar? How does the use of dialect help to characterize the two speakers?
6. Answer the two questions on page 68 at the end of the poem “The Names” (67).
English 2027 Poetry
16 Lesson 2: Analyzing Word Selection and Arrangement
END OF LESSON 2
English 2027 Poetry
17 Notes
18 Lesson 3: Denotation and Connotation
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize the importance of the connotations of words chosen by poets
Lesson Introduction
Chapter 4 of your textbook once again emphasizes the need to consult a good dictionary. A collegiate dictionary will ordinarily be quite enough, whereas a pocket dictionary will not have sufficient information for much of this portion of the course. A good online dictionary, such as dictionary.com, can also be used. You need to be aware of the variant meanings words have, how they are used in conjunction with other words, and what these words suggest by way of connotation.
Consider, in addition to the text’s illustrations of the use of connotation in advertising, the fact that a deodorant commercial does not begin “Ladies, do you stink of sweat?” Both stink and sweat have connotations which Ban, Right Guard, and Sure do not want women to associate with their products. On the other hand, no man goes down to the track to run around and “work up a good healthy perspiration.” Obviously, there are male and female connotations to these expressions. Many words have such coloration. The poet expects you to respond to them. If a word is unfamiliar, you should look it up and try to determine what its associations are.
Let us consider for the moment two more examples: omnipresent and ubiquitous, both meaning “being everywhere at once.” Yet we use one of God and the other of a nosy neighbor. Make sure you know which is which. Sometimes the poet throws the unlikely word into a context where it is not normally used to jar us into thought and response. Sometimes the inexpert speaker or writer simply misuses the word and creates an unintentionally funny effect. Thus the student who finds that suave means smooth but fails to find out that it is applied to people and suggests oiliness and even insincerity may err as a student did when he used it in a sentence and wrote this: “Ice cream is suave.” (Not a pleasant suggestion.)
Being responsive to language and its suggestions is essential in reading anything; it is particularly important in a compressed form like poetry. So read very carefully “Cargoes” and “London,” the first two poems in chapter 4, studying what the editors tell you about the language in these two poems. Then go on to the questions asked in the lesson assignment. Be sure to include specific references to words and passages in each poem as you answer the questions.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 4: Saying and Suggesting”
English 2027 Poetry
19 Lesson 3: Denotation and Connotation
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. In “Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock” (79), what is the contrast between the people who live in these houses and the old sailor? How do the connotations of specific terms associated with each help to characterize them and show the speaker’s attitude toward them? Explain the title of the poem. Be sure to read the questions at the end of the poem for clues.
2. The famous saying alluded to in “Epitaph” (80) is “Silence is golden.” What is the irony of using this allusion in the epitaph for Sir Tact? What are the differences in connotation of golden and yellow that make this irony clear?
3. “Fire and Ice” (81) is a wonderful example of understatement. Frost is suggesting much more than he says. Is he simply giving an evenhanded treatment of two ways that the world might end? Or do the connotations of fire and ice suggest that one is more to be dreaded? Explain. Also, consider the structure of the poem; what is the effect of putting the discussion of ice in climactic position? (Consider the real possibility that ice does not refer to hatred, which is generally very passionate.)
4. Answer the three questions on page 82 at then end of “Final Love Note” (81).
5. Although “Harlem [Dream Deferred]” (381) is a short poem, much is suggested by the comparisons that Hughes employs. What are some of these suggestions? (You may find it interesting and helpful to read the brief biography of Hughes on page 374 of your text, his own comments on his work on pages 382–85, and the comments from critical studies of his work on pages 385–92.)
6. Do exercise 5 suggested on page 86 of the text under “More Topics for Writing.” Be sure to include the clipping or photocopy of the ad you are using with connotative language clearly marked. Your essay accompanying the ad should be approximately 200 words in length.
END OF LESSON 3
English 2027 Poetry
20 Lesson 4: Imagery
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize various types of imagery used in poetry 2. Understand the features of a haiku
Lesson Introduction
Since poetry is an especially vivid type of writing (if it is good poetry), it relies heavily on language that is concrete and appeals to the senses. Imagery in poetry means not only words appealing to the sense of sight (such as “withered leaves about your feet”) but also words appealing to the senses of smell and taste (“smell of steaks”), the sense of touch (“As I lift the mailbox door, I feel its cold iron”), the sense of hearing (“gong clangs/ siren howls/ and wheels rumbling”) and even bodily sensation (“The hare limped trembling”). These examples and many others in the poems in this chapter—and indeed throughout the text—help to make the language of poetry memorable and abstract ideas clearer.
Chapter 5 introduces you to the haiku, a poetic form made almost entirely of imagery. Many students who have never tried to write other types of poetry find that they enjoy attempting the haiku form—and not just because of its brevity. It is fun to try to present an image that will make the reader keep thinking, “getting on where the poet got off” as your text says. The important thing to remember about a haiku in English is not that it must slavishly follow the seventeen syllable (five- seven-five) structure of the Japanese haiku but that it must consist of vivid imagery.
As you move from chapter to chapter in studying your poetry textbook, it is important to realize that each new chapter overlaps with the other chapters that you have already studied. For example, when you go on to the study of figures of speech in chapter 6, you will of course still find imagery in those poems. The various aspects of poetry are not mutually exclusive; the textbook must focus on one aspect at a time for instructional purposes. So keep looking for elements of poetry you are already familiar with as you approach new poems in the text.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 5: Imagery”
English 2027 Poetry
21 Lesson 4: Imagery
Listening Assignment
Tracks 22–23 Theodore Roethke, “Root Cellar” (89) Tracks 24–25 Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Pied Beauty” (94)
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. What type of city neighborhood does T. S. Eliot describe in “The winter evening settles down” (89)? Analyze the various types of imagery that the poet uses to develop the overall picture. What mood is evoked in the poem as a result of these images?
2. There are many visual images in “Root Cellar” (89); this is the easiest type of imagery to spot and the most often used, since we rely most heavily on our sense of sight. However, there are numerous other sensory appeals in this poem. Give a detailed analysis of the appeals to senses other than sight. What effect is created by all of the imagery used in the poem? Is the overall view of the cellar positive or negative? Explain.
3. Give several examples of the most vivid images that you find in “The Fish” (90–91). How does the imagery used in the poem help to demonstrate the speaker’s attitude toward the fish? Is the expression “everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!” abstract or concrete? Were you surprised at the way the poem ends? Why or why not?
4. Explain what all the images presented in “Pied Beauty” (94) have in common. For what exactly is the speaker praising God? (There are some unusual words in this poem. Make sure you look them up so that you present the correct answer here.)
5. Read the examples of haiku on pages 94–97 carefully, and then write a response of at least one hundred words to one of the eight haiku on page 97. In other words, what train of thought does this haiku set in motion for you? Don’t worry; there are no right or wrong answers here. This is just your own subjective response to the poem.
6. Now that you have read and thought about a number of haiku, try to write a haiku of your own. Remember that your poem does not have to rhyme, that it should consist mainly of imagery (perhaps appealing to a number of senses), and that it should roughly follow the haiku form. This exercise will give you some idea of what it is like to be a poet, along with a taste of the difficulties and rewards of this form of expression.
English 2027 Poetry
22 Lesson 4: Imagery
7. Describe at least five images included in “Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter” (99). What overall impression of the experience is presented?
8. What are the two contrasting images presented in “Embrace” on page 100? What is the theme of this poem developed by those images?
9. Stevie Smith got the idea for “Not Waving but Drowning” (101) from a newspaper article about a similar event: a man had died when his friends—thinking he was gesturing in fun—mistakenly waved back to him as he was drowning. What sort of universal truth does Smith find in this occurrence? How are sensory appeals used to create the poem’s rather horrifying effect?
END OF LESSON 4
English 2027 Poetry
23 Notes
24 Lesson 5: Figures of Speech
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Identify and understand the various figures of speech used in poems
Lesson Introduction
The element that provides much of the surprise, the sudden recognition of a truth, and the pleasure in reading poetry is figurative language. The inexperienced student of poetry frequently thinks of it as something used to decorate or expand the poem, when a simple statement would be clear. Actually, the effective figure of speech makes more vivid to the reader something he or she otherwise grasps less easily. Often it puts in sensory terms something more abstract—“My love is like a red, red rose/That’s newly sprung in June.”
There can be figures of speech that get in the way of clarity, that are mere decoration, but these are the adjuncts of bad poetry as they are the adjuncts of bad writing and speaking wherever they occur. The figure of speech should effectively illuminate something—a way of looking at a subject, a feeling, an association. To call the gangling boy of the class a “beanpole” is unkind, but it does call up an image. At its lowest level, that is what figurative language does. At its best, it does far more, as the current lesson attempts to show.
Some of the terms used in chapter 6 will be new to you and will require some study on your part. This chapter is more difficult than the previous one on imagery, so be sure to spend some time studying the information presented here and carefully reading and analyzing the poems asked about in the questions below.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 6: Figures of Speech”
Listening Assignment
Tracks 26–27 Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Eagle” (111) Tracks 28–29 Emily Dickinson, “It dropped so low—in my Regard” (116) Tracks 30–31 Theodore Roethke, “I Knew a Woman” (not in your text)
English 2027 Poetry
25 Lesson 5: Figures of Speech
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. After you have listened several times to Roethke’s “I Knew a Woman,” identify the following figures of speech found in the poem:
A. “lovely in her bones” B. “When small birds sighed” C. “Of her choice virtues only gods should speak” D. “She was the sickle; I, poor I, her rake” E. “Love likes a gander, and adores a goose” F. “I swear she cast a shadow white as stone”
2. Contrast the use of figurative language in Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” (111–112) with Howard Moss’s version of the same poem (112). Be specific in identifying the figures of speech. (This will require studying the explanations of the various figures of speech throughout the chapter.) What is the difference in the effect created in the two poems?
3. In “Metaphors” (115), what is the “riddle” to which the speaker refers in line 1? Explain the appropriateness of the metaphors used in the poem for its subject matter. What is the speaker’s tone? Is it consistent or does it change throughout the poem?
4. In “It dropped so low—in my Regard” (116), the whole poem is an implied metaphor. Explain the metaphor; what do you think “it” is?
5. Explain the implied metaphor expressed in the title of “The Pulley” (122). Identify and analyze the uses of paradox, pun, and synecdoche in the poem.
6. Analyze the use of similes in “The Suitor” (125) to develop the poem’s theme. What is the similarity between all of the similes?
7. Do Exercise: Figures of Speech on page 126.
8. Using “Oh, my love is like a red, red rose” (128), do exercise number 4 suggested by your textbook on page 130. You do not have to make your poem rhyme, but do be sure to eliminate every figure of speech. Make your commentary on your version of the poem at least 150 words in length.
English 2027 Poetry
26 Lesson 5: Figures of Speech
END OF LESSON 5
English 2027 Poetry
27 Notes
28 Lesson 6: Song
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize the poetry in many song lyrics
Lesson Introduction
The combination of poetry and music that results in song is very pleasing to most people. Often song lyrics are simple, and the melody of the song is what mainly engages our interest and our ear. However, song lyrics can be complex and thought provoking. Think of some of your favorite popular songs; maybe you have discussed with friends your interpretation of these songs. If so, then you have—perhaps without realizing it—been discussing poetry. As you listen to songs, try to apply what you are learning about the elements of poetry to the work you are hearing. What is the tone of the song? Is the imagery vivid, etc.? This approach may increase your appreciation of and pleasure in the songs you hear.
Your textbook also provides you with a discussion of some of the terminology used in the structure of song and with a brief history of song. Note especially the origins of poetry in song. Also, pay special attention to the explanation of the ballad form. Folk ballads have long been a way to hand down traditional narratives, and this form continues to be used by contemporary poets such as Dudley Randall, whose “Ballad of Birmingham” appears in your text.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, chapter 7
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Study carefully Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” (136) and Simon’s song lyric of the same title (136–37); then write well-developed responses to the following questions:
A. In making his song, Simon admittedly took liberties with Robinson’s poem. Which of these changes seem necessary to make the story singable? What suggestions in the original has Simon picked up and amplified?
English 2027 Poetry
29 Lesson 6: Song
B. How has Simon altered the character of Richard Cory? Is his Cory a “gentleman” in Robinson’s sense of the word? What is the tone of Simon’s line, “He had the common touch”? Compare this with Robinson: “he was always human when he talked.” Does Robinson’s Cory have anything more than “Power, grace and style”?
C. In the song, what further meaning does the refrain take with its third hearing, in the end, after the news of Cory’s suicide?
D. What truth about life does Robinson’s poem help us to see? Is it merely “Money can’t make you happy” or “If you’re poor, you’re really better off than rich people”? Does Simon’s speaker affirm this truth, deny it, or ignore it?
2. Since ballads are from an oral tradition, naturally numerous versions of the same song developed. Read “Bonny Barbara Allen” as it appears in your text on pages 137–38, and then read the alternate stanzas from the American version of the ballad printed on pages 138–39. Explain why you do or do not prefer this ending of the song.
3. Analyze the use of traditional ballad techniques employed in the modern “Ballad of Birmingham” (140–41).
4 Answer the questions on “The Times They Are a-Changin’” on page 148.
5. Choose a song that in your opinion has lyrics that could justifiably be called good poetry. Analyze these lyrics in detail to support your judgment. Be sure to include a readable copy of the song lyrics with your lesson. You might want to look ahead to chapter 17 in the text before you do this assignment.
END OF LESSON 6
English 2027 Poetry
30 Lesson 7: Sound
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize various devices of sound used in poetry
Lesson Introduction
In chapter 8 of your textbook, the important relationship between sound and meaning is explained. Poetry is not made up entirely of pleasing euphonious sounds; the poet may desire a harsh cacophonous effect. The poet may also use repetitions of vowel sounds (assonance) or of consonant sounds (alliteration). As your text emphasizes, be sure that you are paying attention to sounds and not to how a word is spelled. English spelling is treacherous, and the same sound may be spelled in different ways, so when you are trying to determine patterns of alliteration and assonance, trust your ear rather than your eye.
Although a lot of modern poetry is unrhymed, most traditional poetry rhymes, and rhyming is a poetic device that has great ear appeal. The various types of rhyme are explained in your textbook, and you should familiarize yourself with this terminology.
Additionally, this chapter offers detailed advice on reading and hearing poems aloud. Perhaps you have not been taking the time for this important step in your lesson preparation. If that is the case, try to make a real effort to follow your editors’ suggestions for increasing your understanding of poetry through careful reading aloud and concentrated listening to poetry read by others.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, chapter 8 and “Upon Julia’s Clothes,” Robert Herrick (60–62)
Listening Assignment
Tracks 32–33 John Updike, “Winter Ocean” (The CD instructs you to read the poem after you have listened to it. You cannot do so, however, because the poem is omitted from the current edition of your textbook. Simply listen to the poem several times.) Tracks 34–35 A. E. Housman, “Eight O’Clock” (158) Tracks 36–37 Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The splendor falls on castle walls” (159)
English 2027 Poetry
31 Lesson 7: Sound
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. How is playfulness indicated by the sounds found in John Updike’s light verse “Recital” (155)? Do you find this poem to be an example of onomatopoeia? Explain.
2. In Housman’s “Eight O’Clock” (158), what is the dramatic situation? How is this related to the title? Give several examples of both initial and internal alliteration.
3. Explain how “The Hippopotamus” (163) is an example of either masculine rhyme or feminine rhyme, and also explain the effect created by this type of rhyme.
4. Write a short essay analyzing the use of at least four different sound devices in “Desert Places” (166). Define and identify these devices. Then, explain how the devices contribute to the development of meaning in the poem.
5. Do “Exercise: Reading for Sound and Meaning” on page 168.
END OF LESSON 7
English 2027 Poetry
32 Lesson 8: Rhythm
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize the contribution that rhythm makes to poetry
Lesson Introduction
Most poetry is designed for oral delivery, so rhythm plays an important part in the effect achieved by the poet. In fact, most definitions of poetry allude to rhythm as an essential element, as do the following: “the imaginative expressive of strong feeling, usually rhythmical” (Wordsworth); “the rhythmical creation of beauty” (Poe); and “musical thought” (Carlyle).
Read with care what the text tells you about rhythm in poetry. Listen to the speech of people talking around you. Note the effect that merely sound and rhythm have on you. Listen to the rhythm of the end of the Gettysburg Address: “government of the people, by the people, for the people. . . .” Try varying that rhythm and see what is lost.
Try to recall children shouting taunts at other children: “Georgie, Porgy, pudding ’n’ pie,” etc. The chant means little. Sounds, rhythms, repetitions are as much a part of the tormenting taunt as any meaning the verse has. The verses to which children skip rope have the same appeal. The rhythm and rhyme make it easy for most people to remember the number of days in September, April, June, and November. The lack of both in the remainder of the mnemonic device leaves most people stumbling and not very happy with the rest. (See page 3 of your text. Did you ever hear the last lines?)
Consider the pleasure people get from the rhythmic lapping of the waves on the beach or from mild swinging or rocking. It is obvious that the appeal of rhythm (as in the swing or the rocking chair) is extensive. Poetry uses this device to enhance its effect. How such an effect is achieved is part of the study in this lesson.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, chapter 9
Listening Assignment
Tracks 38–39 A. E. Housman, “When I was one-and-twenty” (188)
English 2027 Poetry
33 Lesson 8: Rhythm
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Read “With serving still” (179) aloud and listen for the pauses in the poem. Are all the pauses of the same length, or do you find heavier pauses at certain points in the poem?
2. Dorothy Parker called her poems “verses” and not poetry, but as you can see, her light verse is not necessarily trivial in theme. If you are familiar with Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, you might see a similarity in meaning to “Résumé” (180). Notice that every line of the poem is end-stopped and has a self-contained statement. How does this structure enhance the tone and theme of the poem?
3. Try to scan “Résumé” and determine its overall metrical pattern. (Hint: There are variations in the fourth and eighth lines. What is the different meter of these two lines?)
4. Do “Exercise: Meaningful Variation” on page 186.
5. “When I was one-and-twenty” (188) has a very regular metrical pattern. What is this pattern, and what does this regularity in rhythm contribute to the poem’s effect?
6. What is the irony of the last two lines of the Housman poem?
7. Hughes’ “Dream Boogie” (190–91) begins with a metrical beat but then departs from it in the italicized interruptions. How do these shifts in meter underlie the poem’s meaning? Review the biographical sketch of Hughes on page 369 to help you determine the meaning of this poem. The word daddy is slang here and does not refer to a biological father. Also, to whom does the pronoun their refer in line 6?
END OF LESSON 8
It is now time to prepare for and take the mid-course examination. If you are not going to take your exam at LSU-Baton Rouge, notify us of your proctor by sending the completed CS-4 form on page ix of this course guide to the LSU Independent & Distance Learning office. Please read the exam information instructions on page vii of this course guide for further details.
English 2027 Poetry
34 Lesson 8: Rhythm
About the Mid-Course Exam
The mid-course exam will cover lessons 1 through 8 and will consist of identification items, discussion, and/or essay questions. You will need your textbook and a dictionary for the exam. You will have three hours to take your mid-course exam.
You should study the terms to which you have been introduced so far in the course. Also, look over the poems that you have been assigned. You will be asked questions about those poems and about poems that you will see for the first time on the exam.
English 2027 Poetry
35 Notes
36 Lesson 9: Closed Form
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize various closed forms and their characteristics
Lesson Introduction
Poems in closed form have a discernible regular pattern. Although modern poets tend to favor open form poetry, most of the best known traditional poems are in closed form. Some poets appreciate the discipline imposed by a set pattern. You are probably familiar with some of these forms from your study of poetry in high school literature courses. For example, you were perhaps introduced to the sonnet form and may have learned to distinguish the Shakespearean (or English) sonnet from the Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet. The sonnet form has been used often by major poets; they seem to have found its length (fourteen lines) and meter (iambic pentameter) to be especially appropriate in accommodating poetic expression.
Other set poetic forms that you encounter in chapter 10 of the text may be unfamiliar to you. Take a close look at the patterns of the villanelle, the sestina, the rondeau, etc. It takes a very good poet to skillfully employ one of these forms, making the arrangement of lines seem to be the most natural one for the ideas and images conveyed and not appearing to wrench the words into awkward order merely to fit a rigid formula.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 10: Closed Form”
Listening Assignment
Tracks 40–41 Dylan Thomas, “Do not go gentle into that good night” (211)
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. What are the short stanza forms that are combined to form the stanzas of John Donne’s “Song” (198)? How is the speaker’s tone related to the theme of the poem?
English 2027 Poetry
37 Lesson 9: Closed Form
2. Describe the closed form used in “First Poem for You” on page 204. Compare and contrast this poem to the more traditional sonnet form. How effective is the sonnet form in this very modern poem?
3. What type of sonnet is Jarman’s “Unholy Sonnet” (204)? Explain how you determined your answer. Is there a turn of thought? Where? What is the theme of the poem?
4. Which of the epigrams on pages 206–209 is your favorite? Explain the poem and why it appeals to you.
5. Analyze, in detail, the villanelle form of “Do not go gentle into that good night” (211) and state its rules. Do you think Thomas has done a good job of making his wording seem natural even though it fits into an elaborate pattern? Does the form fit the subject matter and theme? Explain.
6. Elizabeth Bishop weaves the six words that end the lines of her poem “Sestina” (212–13) into a complicated relationship. What seems to be the background situation in the poem, and why do you think the poet chose these six words to receive emphasis by their repetition at the end of the lines of each stanza?
END OF LESSON 9
English 2027 Poetry
38 Lesson 10: Open Form
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Appreciate the various effects created by open form poetry
Lesson Introduction
As your textbook editors point out, writing a good open form poem is no easier than writing a good sonnet. In both cases the final form that the poem takes should appear to be the natural and inevitable arrangement of the words and lines for the ideas and emotions expressed. Poets writing in open form still select their words with great care, and they pay attention to phrasing and emphasis in determining where to break their lines. Open form poems may include some rhyming but usually are unrhymed, just as they ordinarily follow no regular metrical pattern.
Chapter 11 will introduce you to prose poems (which you may have some difficulty in accepting as poetry) and to visual poetry. Visual poetry can be quite ingenious, as “Easter Wings” and “Swan and Shadow” will demonstrate, or it can be highly amusing, as in “Concrete Cat.” The study of open form should help you to come to recognize the great variety of possibilities that exist in the world of poetry and perhaps to better appreciate poems in which a poet seems to have selected just the right form.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 11: Open Form”
Listening Assignment
Tracks 42–43 William Carlos Williams, “The Dance” (222)
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Read “Buffalo Bill’s” (221) and then consider the prose arrangement of the poem that follows. What difference in effect is achieved by the original arrangement that the rewritten version lacks? What is your interpretation of this poem?
English 2027 Poetry
39 Lesson 10: Open Form
2. After reading aloud “The Dance” (222) and listening to it read on the course CD, answer questions 1– 4 on page 223 at the end of the poem.
3. Using a detailed analysis of “The Colonel” (227) to support your position, explain why you think this piece of writing should or should not be considered poetry.
4. Describe how the open form used in “Swan and Shadow” (229) affects your reading of specific lines in the poem. How does it affect your overall response to the poem?
5. Respond to the questions following “Concrete Cat” (231).
6. After carefully reading “Yield” and the discussion of “found poetry” on page 232, follow the instructions for “Experiment: Finding a Poem” on page 233. Remember that the rules for this type of poetry allow you to “excerpt, delete, repeat, and rearrange elements but not add anything.” Be sure to include a copy of the original source for your poem, and to make your discussion of what this experiment shows you about poetic form and ordinary prose at least 100 words in length.
7. Answer the question at the end of “I Shall Paint My Nails Red” on page 234.
8. Answer the question on page 235 at the end of “Failure.”
END OF LESSON 10
English 2027 Poetry
40 Lesson 11: Symbol
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize and analyze the use of symbols in poetry
Lesson Introduction
Symbols are a part of our everyday experience. The American flag symbolizes what we love and respect about our country, its history, the exploits of our soldiers in battle, etc. Of course, for some it may be a symbol of oppression. However, either way this material object conjures up a rich and complex reaction in the viewer. Although we easily recognize everyday symbols such as the flag, symbolism in poetry may nevertheless seem a bit intimidating. Symbolism is a poetic device to extend meaning beyond the single literal instance the poet presents us. In the pursuit of symbols, the reader may lose sight of what the poem says literally. A thing cannot be a symbol if it has no literal meaning. A triangle (symbolic of the Trinity) is a triangle first. The star is a five-pointed or six-pointed figure first, not purely a symbol of Hebraic or Christian significance.
Of all the elements we have considered, this one is perhaps the hardest to deal with. For once a reader takes off into the realm of symbolism, it is easy to go wild. In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, one character mentions the danger of finding symbolic significance in everything, “sermons in stones.” Remember in examining symbolic meanings not to lose sight of the work at its literal level. Further meanings must fit with that literal meaning.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 12: Symbol”
Listening Assignment
Tracks 44–45 Thomas Hardy, “Neutral Tones” (241) Tracks 46–47 Emily Dickinson, “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” (362) Track 48 Conclusion
English 2027 Poetry
41 Lesson 11: Symbol
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. In reading “The Lightning is a yellow Fork” (240), are you filled with a sense of dread, awe, admiration, or other emotions in contemplating the “never quite disclosed” mansions mentioned in the poem? Of what is the lightning a symbol? Why is the lightning a powerful symbol in this poem?
2. Notice that in “Neutral Tones” (241) there is a time gap between the scene depicted in the first three stanzas and the speaker’s ultimate reaction to it. What has happened “since then,” and how does the speaker feel toward the other person now? The title indicates that color symbolism is important in this poem. Give a detailed analysis of the colors used in the poem. Does the speaker really feel “neutral”? Are there other tangible objects, actions, or gestures that function symbolically in “Neutral Tones”? Explain.
3. One reason people look for symbolic meaning is to be found in a reading of Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” (362). Part of the meaning is quite clear; some of it is more than mildly puzzling. Such terms as “Fly,” “King,” and “Windows” must be used symbolically. Explain these symbols. Considering this symbolism, what is your interpretation of the poem?
4. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” (245) is deceptively simple, and one might be tempted to read it completely on a literal level. What evidence in the poem is there for the necessity of a symbolic interpretation? What is your symbolic interpretation?
5. Answer questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 at the end of “Uphill” on page 246.
6. Do the exercise in “Symbol Hunting” that your text suggests on page 247. In reading “The Term,” “Carrie,” “Tree,” “An Evening Walk,” “Popcorn-can cover,” and “Anecdote of the Jar,” if you determine that a poem has a central symbol, then also explain the symbolism.
7. Read “Running on Empty” on page 493. What does the poet mean, both literally and figuratively, by the phrase used as the title? What is the symbolism used here, and what does it reveal about the speaker’s relationship with his father?
END OF LESSON 11
English 2027 Poetry
42 Lesson 12: Myth and Narrative
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Recognize and analyze the use of personal myths in poetry 2. Recognize and analyze the use of cultural myths in poetry
Lesson Introduction
Like symbolism, references to mythology in poetry are a way to give extended meaning to work. Myth and archetypes have affected us in many ways, as your textbook editor points out. Be sure to take note of the broad sense in which the term myth is used in this chapter. We sometimes say in ordinary conversation that something is a myth when we wish to deride the idea. But technically the term refers to any body of profound belief which people hold, and it is not meant as a judgment of the truth or falsity of the belief. Therefore, you should not be offended, for example, at a reference to “Christian mythology.”
Although you probably have some familiarity with Greek and Roman mythology from your previous study of literature, you may be surprised to find that this chapter on the use of myths in poetry also includes widely held beliefs about American frontier lore, UFOs and aliens from outer space, superheroes, fairy tales, etc. All of these have become part of the mythology of our popular culture. You will also find that some poets have been inspired to contrive their own elaborate personal mythologies, complete with supernatural beings. These poets require a little extra effort on the reader’s part.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 13: Myth and Narrative”
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Answer the questions on page 255 at the end of “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”
2. In “The world is too much with us” (256), what bothers the speaker about the world in which he lives? Since the speaker says “I’d rather be a Pagan,” we know that he is not a pagan but part of a Christian culture. What does the speaker seem to believe that pagan mythology had to offer that is now lost?
English 2027 Poetry
43 Lesson 12: Myth and Narrative
3. Very carefully read the discussion of Yeats’ personal mythology along with his poem “The Second Coming” (261). What is your evaluation of this poem? Give details and examples from the poem to back up your position. Do you appreciate the poet’s attempt to come up with his own system of myth, or do you think it would have been better for Yeats to stick to mythology already familiar to the reader?
4. Write an explication (see page 598) of “Taken Up” (265) focusing on the mythology the poem employs.
5. Answer the three questions at the end of “Snow White” on page 266.
6. What is the tone of Sexton’s “Cinderella” (267–69)? Cite specific evidence from the poem to back up your assertion. What has been the traditional romantic interpretation of the ending of the Cinderella story? What is Sexton’s view of the ending?
7. Do either topic 4 or 5 on page 276.
END OF LESSON 12
English 2027 Poetry
44 Lesson 13: Poetry and Personal Identity
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Appreciate the use of personal experience in poetry 2. Recognize confessional poetry
Lesson Introduction
As you have seen from your study of earlier chapters of the text, poets often adopt voices other than their own. These adopted voices may even be nonhuman or may speak from beyond the grave, as in Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died.” Therefore, the sophisticated reader realizes that not every poem is autobiographical but may merely be an exercise of the poet’s imagination in creating a speaker (somewhat like the novelist who creates many different characters).
However, sometimes poets do write works that are openly autobiographical, and they do speak in their own voices. The Confessional Poets, especially, write works of an extremely personal nature and are very candid in their revelations. Personal reactions to matters of race, ethnicity, gender, and religion also provide poets with ideas and emotions to explore. In trying to understand the poetry of personal identity, we may go beyond merely seeing issues from the point of view of one other person. We may sharpen our awareness of the complexity and diversity of viewpoints within our society. Poetry may help to bridge the gaps that separate us.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 14: Poetry and Personal Identity”
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Sylvia Plath not only contemplated suicide but ultimately did succeed in killing herself after several failed attempts. Her poem “Lady Lazarus” (278–80) shows her fascination with the prospect of taking her own life. Explain several symbols that Plath employs in her poem; how do these reflect her attitudes? What do you find most disturbing about this poem?
2. Answer the four questions at the end of “Bilingual/Bilingüe” on page 281.
3. After reading “Quinceañera” (284), answer the three questions at the end of the poem.
English 2027 Poetry
45 Lesson 13: Poetry and Personal Identity
4. Answer questions 1 and 2 on page 286 at the end of “Facing It.”
5. “Men at Forty” (289) and “Women” (289) are both very much products of the sexual identity of the poets. How would you explain to members of the opposite sex the experience described by the speaker in each poem?
6. “Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead” (290) explores differing religious identities produced by a generation gap. How does the son’s view of the possibility of an afterlife contrast with his father’s view? What is the son’s attitude toward his father’s beliefs?
7. “Aubade” (292–93) was the last significant poem that Philip Larkin wrote, although he did not die until eight years later. What clues does the poem give you to why Larkin might have been unable to continue with his writing? How does this confessional poem violate a social taboo about discussions of death?
END OF LESSON 13
English 2027 Poetry
46 Lesson 14: Evaluating a Poem: Telling Good from Bad
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Evaluate various poems using the terms and concepts you have learned in this course
Lesson Introduction
After having covered so much material in your text, you should be in a position to read a poem with more assurance than you may have originally had and to feel that you are aware of what the poem is saying and suggesting. If so, you are in a position to be able to explain to others—by analyzing the elements you have been examining in the previous lessons—what the poem is saying and suggesting and how you know that you are on reasonably solid ground. If you are reasonably sure of your ground, you should by now have begun to decide, with certain examples that the text has provided, that some of what you have read is better or worse than other selections.
In this lesson, you are given further exercises in making such analyses and judgments. Remember that a poem is not necessarily good because it is difficult to work out, nor necessarily bad for the same reason. An idea in a poem may be a good one, but the technical execution of that idea in the poem may be inept. The reverse may be true. Some of what you have seen is trivial stuff, but funny, and it did not pretend to be anything more.
Your educated judgment of what you read should be more solidly based than just liking or disliking a poem; your study thus far should make it possible for that judgment to be an educated one.
Reading Assignment
Poetry, “Chapter 17: Recognizing Excellence”
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Give examples of word choice in “O Moon, when I gaze on thy beautiful face” (331) that make it impossible to take this poem seriously. Explain.
2. Do you think the comparison of life to “a jagged tooth” in Treasone’s “Life” (331) is a good one? Justify your evaluation by considering how this comparison is worked out in the rest of the poem.
English 2027 Poetry
47 Lesson 14: Evaluating a Poem: Telling Good from Bad
3. Do the exercise on pages 332–33 on “Ten Terrible Moments in Poetry,” doing any five selections you choose. Be as detailed and exact as possible in explaining what went wrong.
4. After carefully reading the discussion of sentimentality and bathos (negative terms) on page 333–34, read and compare “Thoughts on Capital Punishment” (334) and “Traveling Through the Dark” (335). Which would you consider guilty of sentimentality and why? Why is the other poem not guilty of sentimentality? What is the significance of Stafford’s title?
5. Answer the four questions at the end of “The Whipping” on page 341–42.
6. What is the extended metaphor used in “O Captain! My Captain!” on pages 346–47? Considering the occasion of the poem, explain several elements of the comparison. How would you judge this poem? Why?
7. Write a brief evaluation of “Annabel Lee” on page 350. Include a specific discussion of several poetic elements.
END OF LESSON 14
English 2027 Poetry
48 Lesson 15: Analyzing Poems from the Anthology
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: 1. Feel confident about your ability to analyze poetry
Lesson Introduction
The anthology in your textbook (“Chapter 19: Poems for Further Reading” on pages 418–535) is a great source for further exploration in reading poetry. Although you do not have the editors’ helpful comments preceding these poems, you should nonetheless feel prepared by your previous study to attempt interpretations on your own. Read the following assigned poems with care, examining them in the light of the various devices and elements that have been treated in the foregoing lessons. Remember first of all to see (by way of paraphrase) what each sentence in each poem is saying. Some of these are easier than others because of less convoluted syntax (Donne, for example, presents some problems in syntax at times).
As you read, identify the themes and consider whether any of these poems appear to deal with the same theme. The tone with which the poet approaches his subject is also significant. You will be asked to compare poems in the group on the basis of the elements of poetry that you have already studied. As you go through the poems, think also of what you find effective and ineffective in each selection.
Reading Assignment
Arnold, “Dover Beach” (422) Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (446) Hardy, “The Convergence of the Twain” (457) Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” (466) Housman, “To an Athlete Dying Young” (468) Keats, “When I have fears that I may cease to be” (473) Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress” (483) Slavitt, “Titanic” (508) Updike, “Ex-Basketball Player” (521)
English 2027 Poetry
49 Lesson 15: Analyzing Poems from the Anthology
Lesson Assignment
Following the guidelines given in the Special Instructions and Preparation of Lesson Assignments sections on pages 3–4 of this course guide, answer each of the following questions.
1. Compare Housman’s poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” to Updike’s “Ex-Basketball Player.” What is the theme or main idea of each? How are they alike or different in the attitudes of the speakers toward their subjects? (The answer to the latter question suggests each author’s tone.)
2. In “Dover Beach,” what light do the two see in the distance? Specifically, where are the two people in “Dover Beach”? Explain the allusion used in stanza 2. What is the basic metaphor Arnold uses to express his fundamental theme in the beginning of the third stanza? What is this main idea? Explain at least two other poetic devices that Arnold uses here.
3. Define and describe at least five figures of speech used in Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” Explain how each of these contributes to meaning in the poem.
4. Compare the Herrick poem and the Marvell poem. Discuss the theme and tone of each. Be specific with evidence from the poems to support your assertions about theme and tone.
5. The last sixteen lines of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” contain a single long image, one of the most widely admired images in all poetry. Explain exactly how that image is related to the idea Donne is developing in those lines. (Students sometimes go astray because they do not understand what kind of compass Donne is talking about. Consider both the geometric and directional compasses as possibilities. One of these will fit; the other will not.) Show specifically how each detail of the image is matched to what Donne is saying about his relationship with the woman addressed.
6. Compare and contrast “The Convergence of the Twain” to “Titanic” in terms of subject, language, tone, attitude of speaker, and theme.
7. Identify the meter and rhyme scheme in Keats’ “When I have fears that I may cease to be.” What other sound devices are used in the poem? How do these devices affect your reading of the lines? How do they contribute to meaning in the poem?
END OF LESSON 15
It is now time to prepare for and take the final exam.
English 2027 Poetry
50 Lesson 15: Analyzing Poems from the Anthology
About the Final Exam
The final exam is comprehensive (i.e., it will cover the entire course) and will consist of identification items, discussion, and/or essay questions. You will need your textbook and a dictionary for the exam. You will have three hours to take your final exam.
To prepare for the final, you should study all of the terms that you have learned in the course and look over the poems that featured those devices. You will be asked to identify poetic devices in poems you have studied in your lessons, and you will be asked to do the same with poems you have not been assigned previously.
Transcript Information
After you have completed this course, your grade will be filed with the Office of the University Registrar. If a transcript is needed, it is your responsibility to make a request in writing to:
Office of the University Registrar Louisiana State University Thomas Boyd Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Telephone 225-578-1686 Fax 225-578-5991
Congratulations on finishing the lesson assignments for your course. We hope you will continue your education by taking another course with us. If you would like to receive a copy of our latest bulletin, please call us at 800-234-5046, or if you know which course you want, please complete the enrollment form at the end of this course guide and send it to us. We look forward to hearing from you!
English 2027 Poetry
51 Notes
52 Acknowledgments
Appendix Notes
54 Appendix: Acknowledgments
LSU Independent & Distance Learning gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint the following material on CD:
“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats from The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. Reproduced with permission from A. P. Watt Ltd., on behalf of Anne Yeats.
“Out, Out—” by Robert Frost. From The Poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1916, 1936, 1944 by Robert Frost, copyright © 1964 by Lesley Frost Ballantine, copyright © 1969 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
“My Papa’s Waltz,” “Root Cellar,” and “I Knew a Woman” by Theodore Roethke from The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Reproduced with permission from Doubleday.
“Homecoming” by Langston Hughes from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Reproduced with permission from Random House, © 1959.
“The Day Zimmer Lost Religion” by Paul Zimmer. Reproduced with permission from Paul Zimmer.
“This Is Just To Say” and “The Dance” by William Carlos Williams from The Collected Poems, Vol. 1, 1909–1939 and The Collected Poems, Vol. II, 1939–1962. Reproduced with permission from New Directions Publishing Corporation.
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas from The Poems of Dylan Thomas. Reproduced with permission from New Directions Publishing Corporation.
“The Last Word” by Peter Davison from Four Love Poems #IV from Pretending to be Asleep. Reproduced with permission from Peter Davison.
“Reason” by Josephine Miles from Poems 1930–1960. Reproduced with permission from Indiana University Press.
“It dropped so low—in my Regard” and “I heard a fly buzz” by Emily Dickinson. Reproduced by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
“Winter Ocean” by John Updike from Telephone Poles and Other Poems. Reproduced by permission of Alfred A. Knopf.
English 2027 Poetry
55 Notes
56