Poetry Lessons

Note-Taking Time

Time to be positive. What makes America so special?

Time to be negative. What Are America's biggest problems?

What is poetry to you?

Reading Whitman's "I Hear America Singing."

On the poem itself, answer these questions:

1. Do you think that all of the singing in the poem is actual singing (as in, "la la la") or metaphorical singing? Is all the singing the same? How can you tell?
2. The poem describes many individuals; what about them makes them different from each other? What makes them the same?
3. What attitude does Whitman/the speaker have about work? What attitude do the workers in the poem have?
4. Describe the tone--the author's attitude toward the subject--and spirit of the poem.
5. How does Whitman/the workers' idea of work relate to or create a definition of "the American Dream"?
6. What is the effect of all of the long lines in the poem? How do the long lines intersect with the vision of America that Whitman presents?

Discussion Questions:

1. Rather than reference politicians or wealthy businessmen, the poem talks about average American workers. Why do you think this is? By doing this, what is the poet trying to say about America?
2. Do you think that Whitman's view of manual labor is overly rosy? Is he ignoring any truths about what it means to work a hard job?
3. If Whitman were writing the poem today, do you think he'd be writing about the same sorts of folks? Or would he be writing about checkout cashiers, flight attendants, and call center workers? How has labor changed in the good ol' US of A in the past 150 years?

Final Task:

1. The poem seems to focus on two topics, the nature of work and individuality. Write a theme statement that includes one of these topics.

"I, too, sing America" by Langsotn Hughes

On the poem itself, answer these questions:

1. Based on the information given in the poem, describe the speaker. Who is he? What might he do for a living?

2. Who is the "they" that the narrator refers to? Do you think he is addressing actual humans, or society as a whole?

3. Explain how this poem presents America.

4. Explain the conflict found in this poem. Is it internal or external, or both? Is it between the narrator and himself, the narrator and another human, the narrator and society, or the narrator and nature? Explain.

5. Does the narrator feel that the "American Dream" is within his grasp? Why or why not?

6. From the narrator's perspective, what is the "American Dream"?

7. Explain the significance of the title "I, Too, Sing America".

8. Explain the difference in tone/attitude between this poem and Whitman's "I Hear America Singing".

Discussion Questions:

9. This poem was written in the early 1900s, but may take place during the era of slavery. Do you think the idea in this poem could apply today? Why or why not?

10. In today's society, who is left out of the "singing"? What kinds of people are excluded from the American Dream, and why?

Whitman and Theme Statements: What is a Theme in Literature?

Langston Hughes Poems: What was the Harlem Renaissance?

Helene Johnson Poems:What is Tone? (From Poetry for Dummies:))

What is Double-Consciousness?

Claude McKay Poems: The Harlem Dancer, America, The White House

Analyze/Unpack the final couplets

More Hughes: Mother and Son, Trumpet Player:

Choose a way to look at and analyze these poems: 1) Break the Poem into Sections. 2) Play the Pronoun Game 3) Choose Key Images that convey the poet's vision? 4) Unpack a central metaphor

Write two possible theme statements for the work.

Classwork:

Find similes in your poems if there are any.

1) My Papa's Waltz. Is this a "tough" poem or a "tender" poem? How might it be both? Find and present evidence.

2) Poem (as the cat). How would you describe the style of the poem? How does the style suggest the poet's philosophy for what poetry should be like?

3) Maggie and Millie and Molly and May. What big ideas are suggested in the last three lines? What do you personally "find" at the ocean?

Creative Writing Exercise: It's Your Turn Now