Week 6 Blog assignment

Post 1: Close Reading
Due: Thursday, February 23, 11pm

1. Please pick one of the following poems, and read it as you’d normally would. Write a short description of your understanding of the poem.

Poems:

Frost: “The Road Not Taken” or “After Apple Picking”

Williams: “Spring and All” or “The Red Wheelbarrow”

Johnson: “Black Woman”

McKay: “The Lynching” or “America”

2. Using the handout How to Close Read a Poem, do a close reading. You’ll need to answer all 10 questions on your blog.

3. Once you’ve answered those questions, write a paragraph about how your understanding of the poem changed/expanded/etc.

You can find a copy of the How to Close Read a Poem after the jump.

How to Close Read a Poem

1. How is the title of the poem working?  What information is it giving?  How would the poem be different with a different title?
   
   
2. List all of words you don’t know, or think you don’t know.  Look them up in the dictionary.  Write them down.
   
   
3. Read the poem out loud.  What sounds do you notice in the poem?  Is there rhyme?  Are there any repeated sounds?  Write down the sounds you hear at work in the poem.
   
   
4. What is literally happening in the poem?  Write a paragraph describing what is going on.  Where is this happening?  Who are the people in the poem?
   
   
5. What are the images in the poem?  List five images you see in detail.  What do you know about them?  How is the poem using imagery?
   
   
6. What do you know about the speaker?  List ten facts you can infer (the If-Then game).
   
   
7. Write a paragraph describing the tone of the poem.  Remember, tone is the speaker’s attitude toward his/her subject.  Most attitudes in poetry will be complex, i.e. more that one attitude.  List 10 words you think helps set this tone.
   
   
8. Does the poem have a formal structure?  If not, what effect does the lack of structure have?  If so, what effect does the structure have on the meaning of the poem?
   
   
9. Where does the tension lie in the poem?  Poetic tension can come in many forms.  Is there any conflict in the plot/action of the poem?  Do images form a tension?  Does the speaker and/or tone create tension in the poem?  List three poetic tensions you see at work.
   
   
10. Are their any images, phrases, words, and sounds in the poem that you can't shake out of your head?  List three that resonate with you.