"Poetry is the human soul entire,
squeezed like a lemon or a lime,
drop by drop,
into atomic words."
--Langston Hughes
"Poetry is the human
soul entire,
squeezed like a lemon or a lime,
drop by drop,
into atomic words."
--Langston Hughes
The goal of these activities is to bring poetry out of the textbook and closer to the lives of students. This section of the Newsroom deals with poetry on a variety of levels. The activities and the major emphasis is listed below.
* POETIC NEWS - This introductory activity deals with seven important poetic devices. Students look for them in news items and then try to re-write a story in the news with some of these devices. This is a different way of introducing these literary forms. (Adapted from CNN Media Literacy Project, November 18, 1994)
** NATURE
AND THE POET - Frost is widely
taught throughout the world. This higher level worksheet
focuses on his use of nature. This activity guides the
student into a basic understanding of this aspect of poetry.
**THE
BEAT OF LOVE - This activity deals with love and
poetic descriptions of women. The poems included are some
verses from the Song of Songs, 2 sonnets
by Shakespeare, a poem by William Carlos Williams and one
by Langston Hughes. The students are asked to find a song
lyric and relate it to the poems included.
**ART AND POETRY - Poets often respond to art in their poems. This activity deals with the connection between art and literature. The students deal with the connection to a painting by Bruegel, the myth of Icarus and the poem by W.H. Auden. And then choose other art to help them understand the importance of this myth and its place in art. It is also possible to add the poem Landscape of the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams.
*EVERYDAY LIFE AND LANGUAGE AS POETRY - Poetry is often written about very mundane experiences. This activity has the student look at poetry as an express of the common place. The students try to create a poem of this type and this will bring them closer to poetry in general.
NOTE TO TEACHERS OF ISRAELI BAGRUT:
Since the students will be asked to look at different poems for
the activities, the selections might not always be identical to
those chosen by their classroom teacher. In general, any
poems covered should be acceptable for the Literature Section of
the Israeli Oral Bargut Exam. However some of the
activities have been geared to frequently taught poets in the
Israeli School System.
Link to the AMALNET page of poems.
Sincerely, Gail Shuster-Bouskila
ACADEMIC ADVISOR FOR
POETRY ACTIVITIES:
Dr. Chanita Goodblatt, Dept. of Foreign Literatures
and Linguistics,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
LITERARY LINKS AND
OTHER RESOURCES:
English
at Emory
Using
Poems by Langston Hughes
English Teachers Web
Literary
Resources
REDFROG - Poems
from the Planet Earth
Allusion,
Artistry, and the Fall of Icarus
THE
MORE LINKS THE MERRIER!! More
excellent links from an Israeli colleague:
"Here are some wonderful, soul squeezed words for you
& your students:"
Best Wishes, Arieh Sherris
www.poets.org
www.favoritepoem.org
www.poems.com
wings.buffalo.edu/epc
www.poetrysociety.org