Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Highwayman - Alfred Noyes

Structural Observations:

1. there is a rhyme scheme that we notice - AABCCB
Could have googled the poem and found out that it is a NARRATIVE POEM (story poem) or a BALLAD (of a type)
it uses REPETITION
it has ONOMATOPOEIA - “Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot!”
it has STANZAS - (eleven, even)

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/page_2.html

You Are Going to Have A Poetry Assignment!

Find ANY poem.

Come up with a way of analysing that poem.

You should think about STRUCTURE and MEANING.

Structure - the way it is written, the language, the pattern, the words...(poetic devices)

Meaning - the theme (big ideas)(level 4 area), setting (mood), plot (what happens), character (or POV)

Might it be a good idea to tell a little bit about the poet? (yep)

Put your questions (or activities) on a... POSTER!

Make sure YOU answer at least 4 of the questions yourself, but feel free to work in groups.

Maybe one thing ANYONE could talk about is their connection to the poem.

Maybe you could write a similar poem and include it in your poetry assignment.

Hey, Welcome to Shakespeare!

Who is/was Shakespeare?

There is a known problem in English classes in Canada (for some students).

They often HAVE to read a play written by this old, dead, white guy from England.

This old, dead, white guy wrote a bunch of famous plays (about 37), but he wrote them A LONG TIME AGO.

He was most known as an actor/writer around the turn of the 16th century - around the late 1500s and early 1600s.

Some students find reading his plays VERY CHALLENGING.

Why would I make you read one of these difficult plays?

Reading something difficult is good for your brain. Especially when you are young.
This old, dead, white guy invented MANY of the words and phrases we use every day.
His work is some of the earliest type of drama and storytelling that we know of, that still influences modern drama and storytelling. He was key in creating patterns that are still in use.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Hey, these names sound Greek! Hey! They ARE.

This play takes place in Ancient Greece, and some would say, in an imaginary Ancient Greece.

First Job: Find out (with Mr. Google) who the characters in this play are based upon.

GO! Choose the KEY FIVE CHARACTERS and tell me a bit about them.

Theseus
Hippolyta
Hermia
Helena
Puck
Bottom
Philostrate
Snug
Lysander
Demetrius, etc