Poetry Critique

Today in class you will select one poem that you find compelling and/or beautiful.

At the bottom of this post you will find links to a few sites where you will be able to find a collection of poems to browse through.

Once you have found a poem, copy it and paste it to your blog. Please cite the website where you have copied it from. Include the author, too.

Once pasted, do the following:

1. Read it at least three more times. At least one of these readings should be done aloud. When reading aloud you will hear how deliberately the words are put together that you may miss when reading silently. It's okay if you feel goofy doing this....DO IT!!
2. Explain briefly why you selected this poem. What about it do you find interesting?
3. Comment on its title. How does the title fit the work? This may be very obvious for some pieces. For others, however, you will have to work to make connections.
4. Comment on the author's use of poetic devices. Identify two devices such as metaphor, alliteration, personification, imagery, and consonance, and point out where the author uses them. Then comment on how they influence the poem. Do they create an emphasis on a certain word or words? Do they focus the reader's attention on an image? Do they create a feeling within the poem?
5. Explain the tone of the piece. What is the tone? How did the writer succeed in creating this tone? Think about the words he/she used to create images. Consider the actual sound of the words as well.
6. Visit the sites of at least two other people in your group. Read their poems and leave a comment about their selection.

Sites for poems:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/

http://www.bartleby.com/113/ (This site focuses on Emily Dickenson)

If you know the author you are interested in, then http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/ is a good site to visit. Otherwise skip this one.

If you want to use a song for this assignment that is fine.