Thematic Unit: Love Poetry Daily by Naomi Shihab Nye Haiku poetry by Chora, Chiyo, Basho, and Issa My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke Combing by Gladys Cardiff Harlem by Langston Hughes

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Thematic Unit LovePoetryDaily by Naomi
Shihab NyeHaiku poetry by Chora, Chiyo, Basho,
and IssaMy Papas Waltz by Theodore
RoethkeCombing by Gladys CardiffHarlem by
Langston Hughes

• English I
• ECHS
• C. Edge

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Reading Skills and Strategies Poetry

• Look for punctuation in the poem telling you
  where sentences begin and end.
• Do not make a full stop at the end of a line if
  there is no period, comma, colon, semicolon, or
  dash there.
• If a passage of a poem is difficult to
  understand, look for the subject, verb, and
  complement of each sentence.

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Daily Naomi Shihab Nye

• Quickwrite, p. 494

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Daily by Naomi Shihab Nye

• Catalog poem
• The repetition of items in the list creates a
  rolling rhythm when the poem is read aloud.

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Poetry Analysis of the Poem

• What is the poem about?
• Number of Stanzas?
• Number of Lines per Stanza?
• Speaker?
• Rhyme Scheme?
• Examples of repetition?
• Examples of imagery?
• Examples of symbolism?

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Daily  Naomi Shihab NyeThese shriveled seeds we
plant,corn kernel, dried bean,poke into
loosened soil,cover over with measured
fingertipsThese T-shirts we foldinto perfect
whitesquaresThese tortillas we slice and fry to
crisp stripsThis rich egg scrambled in a gray
clay bowlThis bed whose covers I
straightensmoothing edges till blue quilt fits
brown blanketand nothing hangs outThis envelope
I addressso the name balances like a cloudin
the center of the skyThis page I type and
retypeThis table I dust till the scarred wood
shinesThis bundle of clothes I wash and hang and
wash againlike flags we share, a country so
closeno one needs to name itThe days are nouns
touch themThe hands are churches that worship
the world
Identify the repetitive images and language in
ll. 16-18.
How does this catalog of images affect the poems
rhythm?
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Daily  Naomi Shihab NyeThese shriveled seeds we
plant,corn kernel, dried bean,poke into
loosened soil,cover over with measured
fingertipsThese T-shirts we foldinto perfect
whitesquaresThese tortillas we slice and fry to
crisp stripsThis rich egg scrambled in a gray
clay bowlThis bed whose covers I
straightensmoothing edges till blue quilt fits
brown blanketand nothing hangs outThis envelope
I addressso the name balances like a cloudin
the center of the skyThis page I type and
retypeThis table I dust till the scarred wood
shinesThis bundle of clothes I wash and hang and
wash againlike flags we share, a country so
closeno one needs to name itThe days are nouns
touch themThe hands are churches that worship
the world
What might the metaphor in l. 21 mean?
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Daily  Naomi Shihab NyeThese shriveled seeds we
plant,corn kernel, dried bean,poke into
loosened soil,cover over with measured
fingertipsThese T-shirts we foldinto perfect
whitesquaresThese tortillas we slice and fry to
crisp stripsThis rich egg scrambled in a gray
clay bowlThis bed whose covers I
straightensmoothing edges till blue quilt fits
brown blanketand nothing hangs outThis envelope
I addressso the name balances like a cloudin
the center of the skyThis page I type and
retypeThis table I dust till the scarred wood
shinesThis bundle of clothes I wash and hang and
wash againlike flags we share, a country so
closeno one needs to name itThe days are nouns
touch themThe hands are churches that worship
the world
What might the metaphor in l. 22 mean?
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• The images in this poem come from the speakers
  everyday life.
• She reveals her wonderment by giving each image a
  special role in her day and poem. Some of the
  simple things are compared to awe-inspiring
  concepts.

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Daily by Naomi Shihab Nye

• Write a catalog poem or paragraph that lists
  images of things in your daily life that are
  miracles or make you happy to be alive.

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Take notes on important elements of Diego
Rivera's The Grinder subject, colors, shapes,
the feelings it evokes, the story you see in it.
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Question 1, p. 498

• When you think of images in the world that give
  you joy or that fill you with wonder, do you look
  at ordinary things, as Nye does? Talk over your
  responses to the poets source of wonder and joy.

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Question 2, p. 498

• What do Nyes particular images tell you about
  her life and where she lives?
• Images of planting corn and beans and frying
  tortillas suggest that Nye lives in the American
  southwest images of housework suggest that she
  has a home and a family to care for images of
  typing suggest that she writes.

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Haiku PoetryMiura ChoraChiyoMatsuo
BashoKobayashi Issa

• Quickwrite, p. 499

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Haiku poetry

• Japanese poetry form
• 17 syllables
• Line one 5 syllables
• Line two 7 syllables
• Line three 5 syllables
• Presents images of everyday life
• Usually contains a seasonal word or symbol (kigo)
• Presents a single moment of discovery or
  enlightenment (satori)

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Poetry Analysis of the Poem

• What is the poem about?
• Number of Stanzas?
• Number of Lines per Stanza?
• Speaker?
• Rhyme Scheme?
• Examples of repetition?
• Examples of imagery?
• Examples of symbolism?

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Haiku 1 Miura Chora Get out of my road and
allow me to plant these bamboos, Mr. Toad. 
What does this haiku reveal about the speakers
view of living creatures?
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Haiku 2 Chiyo A morning glory Twined round the
bucket I will ask my neighbor for water. 
In haiku, comparisons are suggested, but not
stated directly. What comparison is suggested in
this haiku?
Why does the speaker need to get water from the
neighbor?
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Haiku 3 Matsuo Basho The old pond A frog
jumps in Sound of water. 
What might the speaker be doing?
Traditional haiku contain kigo, or words
associated with a season. The Japanese would
know, for example, that snow indicates winter and
evening showers mean that it is summer. Here,
the word frog suggests spring.
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Haiku 4 Kobayashi Issa A dragonfly!The distant
hillsReflected in his eyes.
Punctuation in a haikucolons, dashes, or
exclamation marksindicate a shift in subject or
mood. Ask students to practice reading the haiku
aloud, capturing the change in the speakers mood
after his surprise at seeing the dragonfly.
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Question 1, p. 507 Haiku and Fog

• All of these poems contain images of moments and
  miracles in nature. What image in the haiku, in
  Fog, and in in Just- did you find most
  striking, original, or powerful? 

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Question 2, p. 507 Haiku

• One of the characteristics of a haiku is that it
  presents a moment of discovery or revelation. In
  your own words, describe the moment frozen in
  each of the haiku in this group of poems.

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Question 3, p. 507 Haiku

• In Chiyos haiku, the plant is a morning glory.
  How could these words also describe what the poet
  experienced at her morning encounter?

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Question 7, p. 507 Haiku

• Inside each of the haiku there is a person. Put
  yourself in each persons shoes, one by one.
  Consider 
• In the first haiku, do you wait for the toad to
  move, or do you poke it? 
• In the second haiku, do you ever use that bucket
  again? 
• In the third haiku, what do you think you were
  doing the minute before the frog jumped in? 
• In the fourth haiku, how long are you able to see
  the hills? 

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My Papas WaltzBy Theodore Roethke

• Quickwrite, p. 561

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My Papas Waltz by Theodore RoethkeElements of
Literaturerhyme

• Rhyme the repetition of accented vowel sounds,
  and all sounds following them, in words that are
  close together
• Approximate rhyme rhymes that do not rhyme
  exactly, but appear to
• Rhyme scheme the pattern of rhyme in a poem

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Poetry Analysis of the Poem

• What is the poem about?
• Number of Stanzas?
• Number of Lines per Stanza?
• Speaker?
• Rhyme Scheme?
• Examples of repetition?
• Examples of imagery?
• Examples of symbolism?

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My Papas Waltz Theodore Roethke        The
whiskey on your breath        Could make a small
boy dizzy        But I hung on like
death                                           
  Such waltzing was not easy.5      We romped
until the pans         Slid from the kitchen
shelf         My mothers countenance       
Could not unfrown itself.        The hand that
held my wrist10    Was battered on one knuckle
        At every step you missed         My
right ear scraped a buckle.        You beat
time on my head         With a palm caked hard
by dirt,15    Then waltzed me off to bed
        Still clinging to your shirt.
Listen for the waltzing rhythm created by the
words in this poem.
The/ whis/key/ on/ your/ breath da DA da
DA da DA Could/ make/ a/ small/ boy/
diz/zy da DA da DA da DA da
Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem.
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• What kind of work does the father do? What
  evidence is there in the story?
• He works with his hands doing manual labor.

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p. 563, Question 1

• How do you think the speaker feels about his
  father and the rough waltz?

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p. 563, Question 2

• How does the mother feel about the waltz? How
  would you explain her reaction? 

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p. 563, Question 3

• How would you interpret line 3, But I hung on
  like death?

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p. 563, Question 4

• Death is a word that usually has connotations of
  loss and sadness. Which other words and images in
  the poem have negative connotations? Which have
  positive connotations? You could prepare your
  response by making a chart like the one below. 

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p. 563, Question 5

• How would you express the poems message, or
  theme? (Hint Does the poem say anything about
  love?) 

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p. 563, Question 6

• The title promises music, and Roethke delivers a
  three-beat waltz rhythm and a regular rhyme
  scheme. Scan the poem to show its meter. What is
  the rhyme scheme? Read the poem aloud. Do you
  think it sounds happy or sad?

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CombingBy Gladys Cardiff

• Quickwrite, p. 566

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Combing by Gladys Cardiff

• Repetition
• Alliteration
• Assonance

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Poetry Analysis of the Poem

• What is the poem about?
• Number of Stanzas?
• Number of Lines per Stanza?
• Speaker?
• Rhyme Scheme?
• Examples of repetition?
• Examples of imagery?
• Examples of symbolism?

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Bending, I bow my headAnd lay my hand uponHer
hair, combing, and thinkHow women do this
forEach other. My daughters hairCurls against
the comb, Wet and fragrantorangeParings. Her
face, downcast, Is quiet for one so young.I
take her place. Beneath My mothers hands I
feelThe braids drawn up tight As a piano wire
and singing, Vinegar-rinsed. SittingBefore the
oven I hear The orange coils tick The early
hour before school.She combed her grandmother
Mathildas hair usingA comb made out of bone.
Mathilda rocked her oak-wood Chair, her face
downcast, Intent on tearing rags In strips to
braid a cottonRug from bits of orange And
brown. A simple act,Preparing hair. Something
Women do for each other, Plaiting the
generations.
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Repetition

• Find examples of alliteration in this poem
• Find examples of assonance in this poem

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• Plaiting or braiding is the act of tying strands
  of hair together into one bigger strand. The
  bigger strand is obviously stronger than the
  individual hairs are. What do you think this
  symbolizes in this poem?
• What other activity in the poem could be seen in
  a similar way?

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Question 1, p. 568

• What gifts are giving in Combing?

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Question 4, p. 568

• What do you think the poet means in Combing
  when she refers in the last line to women
  plaiting the generations?

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Question 5, p. 568

• What other things do family members do that tie
  or braid generations? What other gifts do
  parents give children?

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• Scansion
• Rhythm
• Meter
• Feet
• Common types of feet
• iamb
• Trochee
• Anapest
• Dactyl
• Spondee

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Harlemby Langston Hughes

• Quickwrite, p. 590

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Poetry Analysis of the Poem

• What is the poem about?
• Number of Stanzas?
• Number of Lines per Stanza?
• Speaker?
• Rhyme Scheme?
• Examples of repetition?
• Examples of imagery?
• Examples of symbolism?

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• Tone
• Figure of speech
• Simile
• Metaphor

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  What happens to a dream deferred?        Does
it dry up        like a raisin in the
sun?        Or fester like a sore 5      And
then run?        Does it stink like rotten
meat?        Or crust and sugar over       
like a syrupy sweet?         Maybe it just
sags10    like a heavy load.        Or does it
explode?  
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• What does Hughes compare a dream to?
• How would you describe his tone?

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Question 3, p. 596

• The word deferred in line 1 of Harlem means
  delayed, postponed, What is the dream that
  is being postponed here?

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Question 4, p. 596

• What are the five similes that Hughes uses to
  restate the first questionthat is , what does he
  compare a dream deferred to?

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Question 5, p. 596

• What final metaphor is implied with Hughes uses
  the word explode what are we to understand that
  the dream might become? Why might a dream
  deferred one day explode?

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Question 9, p. 596

• Harlem was published in 1951. What conditions
  still exist that make this poem relevant to
  peoples lives today?