World of Literature Overview

Today you will be introduced to poems written by people from America, England, and other countries. 

This task as three stages. First, you will need to read bigraphical information about the authors themselves. Take notes about key events in their lives (at least three) that you believe were influential to their careers as writers. Second, you will read one to two poems by the poet and evaluate the poem using the graphic organizer (process described below). Third, you will reflect about the reading experience. Did you enjoy reading the poems? Find information about other works by the author and record them. Perhaps you will want to read them.

It will be your job to evaluate the poems as we have done in class. You will need to determine the number of lines in each stanza, how many stanzas there are in the poem, the rhyme scheme, and the poem's rhythm. Use the graphic organizer to help you. Finally, record your thoughts about imagery and theme regarding each poem. This graphic organizer will help you write a compare/contrast essay response for a final summative grade. 

Choose one American, one British, and one other for your study. If you have time, you can do more. 1. You need to record biographical data from each person. 2. You need to evaluate one poem from each. 3. You need to explore the poetry foundation website to record other works of fiction and nonfiction related to the poet that you may want to read as a result of your webquest.

1. Poet Sylvia Plath: American

bio:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sylvia-plath

Possible poems to choose:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178960

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse/99/6#!/20588704

2. Paul Lawrence Dunbar: American

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-laurence-dunbar

Possible poems to choose:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173462

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173461

3. Mary Robinson: British

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mary-robinson#poet

Poem to consider: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182520

4. William Blake: British

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/william-blake

Possible poems to choose:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172910

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172909

5. Katherine Mansfield: Other

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/katherine-mansfield

Poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176817

6. Bei Dao: Other

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/bei-dao

Possible poems to choose:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180394

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180388

7. Czeslaw Milosz: Other

Bio: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/czeslaw-milosz

Poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179559

Thinks I hope you have learned from this:

-a deeper appreciation for poetry.

-location of poetry website for future use (HINT< HINT).

-more familiar use of poetry analysis chart.

-wider array of poets and their craft.