Teaching Poetry Like a Teacher

I am turning over the dry-erase marker to you. In an attempt to cram

more poetry analysis in to an already analysis-packed curriculum, I am
making you teach the class some of your favorite poems.
Heres what to do:
1. Find a poem that you like:
Take some time to fnd a poem that you really enjoy from the
website Poetry ut !oud. "on#t just pick the frst thing you fnd,
but rather, choose one that has meaning or some importance to
you. Poems need to be a minimum of ten lines long. $If you
really want to work with a poem that is shorter than that, and
you can make a really strong case for it, come discuss it with
me%. No song lyrics.
2. Pick a date to teach the class:
&ames will be drawn in an upcoming class, and you will be given
a chance to pick the date that you will teach the class.
3. Analyze the poem
ne of the basic ways that you can begin to analy'e the poem
can be remembered with the acronym TP-()*TT that stands for+
Title , Ponder the title before reading the poem.
Paraphrase - Translate the poem into your own words.
Connotation , (ontemplate the poem for meaning beyond
the literal.
Attitudes , bserve both the speaker#s and the poet#s
attitude $tone%
Shift , &ote shifts in speaker#s attitude.
Title , -.amine the title again, this time on an interpretive
level.
Theme , "etermine what the poet is saying.
$(ourtesy of The (ollege /oard Pre-)P 0
nd
-d. 0110%
/ut don#t forget about other important literary elements like
symbolism, imagery, rhythm, structure, fgures of speech
$similes, metaphors, personifcation%, historical aspects and the
list goes on.
2ou will also need to support or contrast your analysis with other
people#s analysis $criticism% by researching on the web or
through an online database. *ee if you have similar insights or if
you learn something that you had not thought about. It is okay
$really good, in fact% to use others# info as long as you cite it.
3According to So-and-so. which I thought was really interesting
because.4
4. emorize the poem
Please refer back to 3In "efense of 5emori'ation4 by 5ichael
6no. /eran, and stop whining.
!. "ecite and teach the poem
n your chosen day, you will start the class o7 by reciting your
poem and giving a brief analysis to the class. Presentations
should be between fve and ten minutes. They will be casual,
and you can use notes help you with the presentation of the
poem analysis. The recital of the poem must be from memory. I
will grade the presentation as you give it based on the scoring
guide. It will be out of 801 points.
#. $earn and synthesize other students poems.
n the days that you are not teaching a poem, you will be
responsible for taking notes on other students# presentations.
2ou will take home the notes you took on the poem and type up a
paragraph summary based on the presenter#s analysis. I would
like to see your paragraph along side a copy of the poem. )t the
end of the semester you will turn in a fnal, organi'ed, and
tastefully formatted collection of all students# poems. The fnal
collection will be out of 91 points.
The :riar#s opening monologue in )ct 0, scene ; omeo and !uliet
<illiam *hakespeare
Presented by )le. *mith on *eptember 0=, 0180
The grey-ey>d morn smiles on the frowning night,
(heck>ring the -astern clouds with streaks of light?
)nd @ecked darkness like a drunkard reels
:rom forth day>s path and Titan>s fery wheels.
&ow, ere the sun advance his burning eye $A%
The day to cheer and night>s dank dew to dry,
I must up-fll this osier cage of ours
<ith baleful weeds and precious-juiced @owers.
The earth that>s nature>s mother is her tomb.
<hat is her burying grave, that is her womb? $81%
)nd from her womb children of divers kind
<e sucking on her natural bosom fnd?
5any for many virtues e.cellent,
&one but for some, and yet all di7erent.
, mickle is the powerful grace that lies $8A%
In plants, herbs, stones, and their true Bualities?
:or naught so vile that on the earth doth live
/ut to the earth some special good doth give?
&or aught so good but, strain>d from that fair use,
Cevolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse. $01%
Dirtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,
)nd vice sometime>s by action dignifed.
<ithin the infant rind of this small @ower
Poison hath residence, and medicine power?
:or this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part? $0A%
/eing tasted, slays all senses with the heart.
Two such opposed kings encamp them still
In man as well as herbsEgrace and rude will?
)nd where the worser is predominant,
:ull soon the canker death eats up that plant $;1%
In the :riar#s opening monologue, before Comeo interrupts him
with news of the previous night#s tryst, he is re@ecting on di7erent
aspects of nature and the dichotomies inherent in nature. Fe starts o7
describing the morning and how it transforms from darkness to light,
which is appropriate because Guliet is often compared to images of light
in contrast to the darkness around her. The :riar then speaks about a
plant that he is looking at and uses it as a metaphor for humankind.
Fe states that this particular plant has both positive and negative
attributes - 3grace and rude will4. If it contains too much 3rude will4
then it will lead to its demise. *hakespeare uses an abundance of
imagery in this passage to illustrate and foreshadow some of the
dichotomies like lightHdarkness and lifeHdeath that will continue to play
out. ne of the major themes of this passage is that humans all have
the capacity for good and evil, but we need to practice virtue in order
to not harm ourselves or others around us.