Download AP English Literature and Composition Summer Reading Assignment: Analyzing Poetic Forms and more Study notes Poetry in PDF only on Docsity!
Students who will be taking Senior Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition should read The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms , edited by Strand and Boland for summer reading.
Students should start their reading early, as this is a lengthy read and the accompanying assignment will take some time and thought. Students should be sure to read the introduction; these essays offer significant insight into the study of poetry and are required for the assignment.
I. Compose a brief essay comparing Eavan Boland’s encounter with poetry to Mark Strand’s experience. Analyze how each writer approaches poetry—do not merely summarize their views. (250-500 words max., M.L.A format) II. Select 4 poems from the list below of forms from the text:
- Sonnet
- Sestina
- Villanelle
- Ode
- Ballad
- Elegy
- Open forms
For each of these poems, students should complete a TPFASTT form (directions are listed below), as well as a short analysis (no more than 250 words or 1 double spaced page, M.L.A format). In each analysis, students should briefly explain their choice of poem and then analyze the poet’s use of 2 poetic devices (see list below TPFASTT example) in relation to the speaker's attitude toward the subject (tone). Students may reference their work in the TPFASTT in analysis. All work must be word processed.
There will be a blank TPFASTT form available on the school website. Students may utilize this or create their own. Students should be aware the boxes given may need to be expanded to accommodate a response to a particular poem. Also included here is an example of a completed TPFASTT. Attach and staple the essay to the TPFASTT & analysis essays for a total number of NO MORE than ten pages (five if double-sided). Please follow formatting directions closely.
****Pages that follow these directions:**
**1. Blank TPFASTT form
- Poem
- Model TPFASTT with poetic device list
- Rubric**
Poetry Analysis: TPFASTT T Title What is your first impression of the poem based solely on the title? What do you think this poem will be about? If there is not a title or the poem is numbered, use the first line.
P Paraphrase Read the poem first at least once. Then, without interpretation or analysis, rewrite each sentence of the poem in your own words. How would you say what the poet is saying? Paraphrase by sentence rather than by line in order to understand the original meaning. Maintain both the person and tense of the original. It’s acceptable to leave simple sentences as they are
- don’t make the paraphrase more complicated just for the sake of change.
F Figures of Speech What are the literary devices used in the poem? For each one that you list, give an example or line number where it may be found. Don’t forget to include conventions of the form.
A Attitude What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the poem? Think adjectives, emotion words. A list will work here. It’s ok if some of the words on your list seem contradictory.
S Shifts What are the major shifts or changes you see in the poem? These could be shifts in structure, tone or subject. Give a line number and explain what has changed. Be sure to include those dictated by the constraints of the form.
T Title Reflect on what you wrote in the first title box. Were you on track? If not, was it a mistaken first impression on your part, or do you think the poet was intentionally misleading you?
T Theme What are the lessons the poet intends the reader to take away? Give at least two. Each of these should be a full sentence.
XXXIX
Come Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace, The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe, The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release, The indifferent judge between the high and low ; With shield of proof, shield me from out the prease Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw ; O make in me those civil wars to cease ; I will good tribute pay, if thou do so. Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed, A chamber deaf to noise and blind to light, A rosy garland and a weary head : And if these things, as being thine by right, Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me, Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see.
Poetry Analysis: TPFASTT Poem Title: Sidney’s Sonnet 39 Student Name: Bruszewski T Title I’m guessing that this poem is utilizing sleep as a metaphor for death. This is a common trope, and the reference to peace leads me to believe this poem’s speaker is longing for the peace of a final rest. P Paraphrase Come here, sleep! Oh sleep, the guaranteed place of peace, the refreshment for the mind, the healer of all hurts, the only thing of value held by the poor, the escape for the imprisoned, the neutral judge of difference; with your strong shield, protect me from all the pains of despair; calm my troubled mind; I promise to pay you back if you will do this. You can take from me my soft pillows and bed, my dark and quiet bedroom, the pleasant aroma of calming flowers and my own tired mind; and if these all, which are yours anyway, are not enough to convince you, you may also see in me, even better than in real life, images of Stella. F Figures of Speech •^ Sonnet – 14 lines, iambic pentameter, set rhyme scheme (ababababcdcdee)
- Apostrophe – the speaker directly addresses sleep
- Personification – Sleep is given human characteristics, as is Despair (which is capitalized) in line 6
- Metaphor – In the first few lines, sleep is called several different things A Attitude In the first four lines, the speaker seems to be^ praising^ sleep. In the next four, he seems to be desperate for help, for sleep. In the latter part of the poem, he seems confident in the quality of what he has to offer sleep, particularly his dream of Stella. Perhaps this is why he is so desperate for sleep. S Shifts This poem seems to utilize some of the conventions of both Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. As a Petrarchan sonnet, there is a clear shift after line 8 in rhyme, in syntax, and in subject matter – the speaker goes from what sleep can offer to what he can offer sleep. As a Shakesperean sonnet, there is a shift after each of three quatrains in rhyme and in subject matter and there is a culminating couplet. The first quatrain defines sleep, the second asks for sleep’s help, the third offers things to sleep, and the final couplet gets to what is most important to the speaker – Stella. T Title I now believe that I was incorrect in my initial assessment of the poem. I think this speaker truly desires to sleep both in order to escape the troubles of life and to embrace the pleasures of dreaming of a beloved. T Theme •^ Sleep is valuable to everyone, if for different reasons.
- Some escapes offer a relief and an improvement on reality.
- In desperation, people will seek peace wherever they may find it.
Poetic Devices: Metaphor, Personification, Extended metaphor, Simile, Hyperbole, Rhyme, Meter rhythm, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Rhyme scheme, Slant rhyme, Internal rhyme, Repetition, Assonance, Consonance
