akoako whiti
“The art of making art, is putting it together”
– Stephen Sandhelm
te ao Māori principles
There are five key principals that we as an English Department consider important as part of a holistic study at school. Please read through these and know that we will come back to them as we begin looking at texts.
- Kaitiakitanga: Guardianship of natural resources and elements of sustainability
- Rangatiratanga: Leadership, authority, Mana, empowerment, Respect
- Manaakitanga: The process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.
- Whanaungatanga: A relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.
- Tikanga: The customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context.
Key Terms
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correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry. |
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a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound. |
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the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line. |
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the style of a piece of writing or speech. |
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visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. |
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style, design, and arrangement in an artistic work as distinct from its content. |
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the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex. |
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an idea or impression conveyed by words. |
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the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. |
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the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc. |
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detailed examination and investigation of the contributing elements or structure of something to create understanding. |
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a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with. |
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an interpretation or perspective which focuses or otherwise modifies the direction of understanding within a piece of writing. |
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the study of written and printed symbols and of writing systems. |
Learning Objectives
- To use structural elements covered throughout the unit to independently and collaboratively read poetry.
- Recognise the use of technical elements within a poem to help explore meaning.
- Extract the techniques used by the writer for specific purposes and explain those purposes.
- Construct a response to a question on the writing of the poem.
- Use terminology within the body of an analytical paragraph to explain with clarity the meaning and purpose of the techniques within a poem as well as the impact on the audience.
Exercises
Spelling
| planning | compromise | ceasefire | manufacture | crystal | savings |
| wake | historic | admire | rid | disclose | signal |
| poverty | empty | frame | convict | capacity |
comprehensive
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| barely | negotiate | mobile | psychology | actress | specialist |
| wealth | enable | arrival | conviction | ownership | personality |
Poetry Study
akoako whiti
Now it’s time to put it all together. All the various techniques that we have learned about over the previous 7 weeks. And we have covered a lot of ground!
We have looked at individual bits and pieces up to this point and we have read a lot of poems.
In his Masterclass, American Poet Billy Collins has these 10 steps to reading a poem
Follow this step-by-step guide to analyze a poem:
- Read the poem. The first time you approach a poem, read it to yourself. Go through it slowly, appreciating the nuances and details you might miss when reading it quickly. Examine the title of the poem and how it relates to the meaning of the piece.
- Read the poem again, this time aloud. Given its rhythmic patterns, poetry is designed to be read aloud. As you read a poem aloud, listen to how the words and syllables shape the rhythm. It can also help to hear someone else read the poem. Look online and find a recording of the poem, if you can. Listen to how the words flow from line to line, where the breaks are, and where the stress is placed.
- Map out the rhyme scheme. You’ll notice right away if a poem has a rhyme scheme or is written in free verse (i.e. without a rhyme scheme or regular meter). Map out the rhyming pattern by assigning each line a letter, giving lines that rhyme the same letter. See if there is a distinct pattern and a formal rhyme scheme, like terza rima (three-line stanzas with interconnected scheme of ABA BCB, etc.)
- Scan the poem. Scansion is how you analyze the meter of poetry based on the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. Mark each foot—the basic measurement of a poetic line consisting of one stressed syllable paired with at least one unstressed syllable. Next, mark the pattern of stresses throughout the line. Identify the meter based on this information. For example, a poem written in iambic pentameter will have five feet with a syllabic pattern of da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM.
- Break down the structure. Take a step back and look at the poem on the page. Notice the white space around the words. Poetry is meant to make a visual statement as well as an emotional one. Look at the details of this structure—like how many lines are in each stanza. Notice where the line breaks are. Does the end of every line coincide with the end of the thought? If not, the poet may be using enjambment, where one line continues into the next.
- Determine the form of the poem. In your poem analysis, note what type of poem you’re reading based on the elements you’ve examined. For example, if a poem has three quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a couplet, the poem is a sonnet. Other formal types of poetry include sestina, haiku, and limerick.
- Study the language in the poem. Poets make deliberate word choices to craft their poems. Examine each word and its significance in the line and the poem. How does it contribute to the story? If there are words you don’t know, look them up. See how the poet plays with language through the use of metaphors, similes, and figurative language. Note any literary devices used, like alliteration and assonance, that help sculpt the poem’s language.
- Study the content of the poem. As you wade through the language of the poem, look at the content and message of the piece to uncover the theme. Learn when it was written to learn the historical context of the poem. Find out where it was written, and what language the poet used. If you’re reading a translation, see if there are other variations that can show how different translators interpreted the original work.
- Determine who the narrator is. Try to identify the speaker of the poem. Is it told through first-person point of view, second-person, or third-person? What tone does the narrator convey? The speaker’s identity influences the telling of the poem based on their personal perspective.
- Paraphrase the poem line by line. Finally, go through the poem again. Beginning with the first line, paraphrase each line. In other words, interpret the meaning, writing down your summary as you go. Once you’ve gone through the entire piece, read your words to grasp the meaning of the poem.
Which is all well and good, but we have to look at the analysis of the poem. Use FLIRTS to help you with this…
FLIRTS
It’s time to apply all the techniques to a few poems – perhaps one or two – and really try to understand the poem for all it’s worth. That will take some time, but it’s a good reminder to use the acronym
F: Form and Structure
L: Language
I: Imagery and Figurative Language
R: Rhyme and Rhythm
T: Tone
S: Symbolism
This is a great way to recall all the major ingredients of a poem, and how to respond to a poetry question in an assessment situation. Remember, if you can write about FLIRTS, then you can write about poetry!
You may also like to have a go at this Revision Sheet to help you.
When it comes to finding a poem to study, your teacher will guide you with the selection that they wish for you to use. It may be drawn from the examples in this PressBook, or it may be a wholly separate poem of their choosing. The point is that you are applying the skills.
Remember, technical analysis like this work in collaboration with each other. You can’t talk about rhyme without talking about some kind of form, or imagery, or tone. They are all interrelated when it comes to analysing a poem.
Paragraph Writing
It’s time to take out those notes from the Writers Workshop. (The links for the paragraph workshops are here and here) and remember to keep up with your close attention to the reading of poems as you approach this task.
You will be asked for your interpretation of a poem in an assessment. The questions will be quite broad in scope. This allows you to be really thoughtful about what you say, as well as incorporating a lot of the knowledge you have learned in the process of writing.
- T: Topic Sentence
- E: Explanation
- X: Example
- A: Analysis
- T: Tie Back
In some classes this term (and each term following) you will be reading through some texts together. This is part of a wider reading programme that you will be required to follow throughout the term.
Here are some general questions for you to think about:
- What was your favorite part of the book?
- What was your least favorite?
- Did you race to the end, or was it more of a slow burn?
- Which scene has stuck with you the most?
- What did you think of the writing? …
- Did you reread any passages? …
- Would you want to read another book by this author?
You may also like to try using Reading Circles of five people. Each person is given one of the following roles and you can work through the story together.
- “The Leader” – facilitates the discussion, preparing some general questions and ensuring that everyone is involved and engaged.
- “The Summariser” – gives an outline of the plot, highlighting the key moments in the book. More confident readers can touch upon its strengths and weaknesses.
- “The Word Master” – selects vocabulary that may be new, unusual, or used in an interesting way.
- “The Passage Person” – selects and presents a passage from that they feel is well written, challenging, or of particular interest to the development of the plot, character, or theme.
- “The Connector” – draws upon all of the above and makes links between the story and wider world. This can be absolutely anything; books, films, newspaper articles, a photograph, a memory, or even a personal experience, it’s up to you. All it should do is highlight any similarities or differences and explain how it has brought about any changes in your understanding and perception of the book.
Billy Collins Poetry
Billy Collins – Reading Poetry
Ko te reo te tuakiri | Language is my identity.
Ko te reo tōku ahurei | Language is my uniqueness.
Ko te reo te ora. | Language is life.