Integrated Arts Unit - Modern American Poetry

7/30/2019 Integrated Arts Unit - Modern American Poetry

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Modern American Poetry

English Grade 10 integrated Arts Unit Plan


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Modern American Poetry an English Grade 10 integrated

Arts Unit Plan

Knowledge (Content)

Students will study American poetry written after 1900.

Including

T.S Elliot - The Hollow men

Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Two Scavengers in a truck,

Two beautiful people in a Mercedes

Jim Carroll - 8 Fragments For Kurt Cobain

Final Assessment To present a Poem both visually and auditory

Overview Big Picture

Students will better understand how poetry has shaped 20th centuryAmerica.

Essential Questions

1. Poetry and its links to the world?

2. What are the skills needed to interpret poetry?

3. What are the essential literary elements of poetry?

Intentions

Students will come to see how poets utilize 'literary conventions' such as

imagery - diction, metaphor, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, irony,symbolism and juxtaposition to shape meaning and further express theirviews.

Students will come to see how; poems can be presented visually andaudit-orally to further enhance meaning and develop understanding.Students will also come to see how poetry has shaped and been shapedby historical contexts.Students will understand how creation is a process of building upon

experiences both internally and externally, cooperation, feedback and

editing.


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Objectives (Skills)

Students will read a variety of poems written by 20th century

American poets.

Students will engage in literary analysis of poetry.

Students will learn various literary terms and be able to use those

terms in written and oral analysis of poetry.

Students will be able to present their analysis in the form of a

visually interpretive performance.

Students will connect poetry to a wider set of human forms of

experience and expression.

Students will connect Poetry to the wider context of 20th century

American Literature

Shanghai American School Grade 10 English Standards &

Benchmarks addressed

Language Arts, Grade 10,

Writing Process

Standard I - Use the general skills and strategies of the writing process

Incorporate most of the following in purposefully constructed

compositions: ideas, organization, voice, sentence structure,word choice, and conventional usage

Demonstrate an ability to use strategies of the writing process

including revision of drafts to write analytical compositionsStyle/Rhetorical Technique

Standard II - Use stylistic and rhetorical techniques in a variety of written

genre

Support generalizations with detail, evidence, or examples

Use a variety of transitional devices

Use accurate diction and introduce varied sentence structure in

compositions

Grammar and Mechanics

Standard III - Use grammatical and mechanical conventions in a variety

of written genre

Build competency with grammar usage, spelling, and punctuation

to effectively participate in the editing process.


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Research

Standard IV - Use the skills and strategies of the research process

-Gather -Analyze and interpret -Respond

Use and evaluate the credibility of a variety of print and electronicsources to gather information for research topics and to draw andsupport conclusions.

Reading Process

Standard V - Use the skills and strategies of the reading process across a

variety of genre -Word analysis -Fluency -Vocabulary development

Recognize writing techniques used to influence the reader and

accomplish the author's purpose (e.g., organizational patterns,

figures of speech, auditory devices, formal and informal language,point of view, characterization, irony, and narrator).

Interpret Literature

Standard VI - Use reading skills and strategies to comprehend and

interpret a variety of genre

Recognize the relationships between literature and its historical

period, culture and societal period

Recognize stylistic techniques used in different genre to convey

viewpoints or impressions.Listening and Speaking Skills

Standard VII - Use listening and speaking skills and strategies for a

variety of purposes

Evaluate own and others' effectiveness in group discussions and

formal presentations

Shanghai American School Eagles Addressed

(norms to be promoted along with all unit/lesson plans)

Empowered

to be life-long learners to take risks, to imagine, and to innovate to interact with the world around them

to demonstrate leadership through collaboration andteamwork

Adaptable


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resilient, flexible, self-motivated learners

problem solvers, negotiators and collaborators

Globally Minded

Citizens who act with the past and the future in mind Citizens who engage responsibly in the worlds problems

Citizens who embrace diversity with compassion, empathy,

and acceptance of othersLiterate

Individuals who can analyze information to create new

knowledge and develop understandings

Individuals who can use information and communication

technologies effectively

Individuals who communicate articulately through reading,writing, speaking, listening, and artistic expression

Ethical

Human beings who demonstrate integrity and honesty to

themselves and others in words and actionsSkilled

Inquirers who reason soundly and critically Inquirers who explore other languages and cultures

(poetry in this case) Inquirers who strive for academic excellence.

Inquirers who apply content knowledge and skills to authentic

situations and broader systems

Resources/materials needed

White Board/Smart Board.

Visual Clip Examples Marlon Brando Apocalypse Now TS

Elliot The Hollow Men (YouTube)

Music - Examples of emotive musicBorn to Die Lana Del ReySonata No. 14 BeethovenArmenia - Einsturzende Neubauten

Packet - Teacher constructed

Sufficient space for students to rehearse

Access to the Internet


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Assessment

Literary Device formative quiz

Poetry Presentation summative

Interpretative writing summative

Literary Device integration explanation summative

Final reflection paper summative

Instructional Strategies

Students to read Poetry packet Both teacher and students read poems aloud.

Direct instruction of literary terms with an accompanying

Poetry packet for students. (in class annotation of poems)

Short Poetic device assessment

Students to give poetry presentations

Peer Evaluation of visual presentations

Students to hand in final poetry project

Lesson overview

All classes at Shanghai American School are 85 minutes

Lesson 1

Students to read the T.S Eliots biography and chose 5 significant aspectsof his life that may have a bearing on the type of poetry that he couldwrite. Once completed students to go online and research T.S Eliots lifeand find 5 more points that could have a bearing on his writing. Once

completed students to in a paragraph make a now educated prediction asto what his poem the Hollow men could be about.

Homework

To read through the section of poetic terms found in their poetry packet inpreparation for a short formative quiz concerning poetic devices to begiven in the next class.

Lesson 2


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Short quiz given to class Poetic Devices (quiz 1 this quiz will berepeated in a slightly modified form in later lessons and the best of thebest score of the two quizzes will be recorded falling in line withShanghai American Schools move towards summative assessmenttechniques) Quiz to be marked with the class and questions to be fielded

direct feedback)

Students then to read through The Hollow Men annotating the poem forpoetic devices as they read.

Once complete Teacher to read through the poem and point out poeticdevices.

Students then directed to a Hypertext version

http://www.aduni.org/~heather/occs/honors/Poem.htm

Students asked to read through hypertext version making poignantnotes/annotating their own versions in their packets once again.

Homework

Students to write a brief reflective paragraph discussing how their originalpredictions may or may not have coincided with what they have nowlearnt by reading the poem in class and reading through the hyperlink.

Lesson 3 (how sound and visuals can seriously affect/enhanceunderstanding)

Students to listen to the opening bars of Lana Del Reys song Born to dieThey then need to make predictions as to what the song may be about.

Next they listen to an excerpt from Einsturzende Neubautens Armeniaand once again make a prediction as to what the song may be about.Once completed the students are given the actual lyrics and asked tocheck how close they may have been to the actual meaning of the music.

Finally students watch Marlon Brandos The Hollow Men from ApocalypseNow. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3QkDCdDwmk )

They are then given the link and asked to outline how, the music and thevisuals add to/enhance their now understanding of the poem. The use ofand enhancement of poetic devices must be integrated into the paragraphthat they will need to complete for their next class.

Lesson 4

Part I
http://www.aduni.org/~heather/occs/honors/Poem.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3QkDCdDwmkhttp://www.aduni.org/~heather/occs/honors/Poem.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3QkDCdDwmk


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Begin the lesson by explaining that any assumptions the students mayhave gleamed from the clip and its enhancement of the poem now needto be tempered by the reasons why the poem was filmed in this way.

Marlon Brando was paid $1 million in advance. He threatened to quit andkeep the advance. Brando eventually turned up late, drunk, 40kgoverweight, and admitted he hadn't read the script or even "Heart ofDarkness", the book it was based on. He read Coppola's script, andrefused to do it. After days of arguments over single lines of dialogue, anad-lib style script was agreed upon, and this was shot according toBrando's stipulations that he appears in shadows.(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/trivia)

Ask the students to think and consider what you have just read to them.- Does it change how they feel about the poem and the assumptions

they have already made in the paragraphs they wrote forhomework?

Ask them in groups to discuss this amongst themselves. Give themtime and then ask each group to prepare a brief feedback report.

Part II1. Keep the students in their groups and read through Lawrence

Ferlinghettis poem Two Scavengers in a truck, Two Beautiful

people in a Mercedes2. Divide the stanzas of the poem equally amongst the groups and ask

them to scan for Poetic Devices and annotate them. The othergroups are not allowed to know which group has which stanza (ajigsaw exercise)

3. Using the same groupings ask the students to create a Tableaux oftheir assigned stanza. (This will help the students explore anddemonstrate the ways authors reveal imagery in a text throughdramatization)

4. Give the students time to prepare and then run a Tableaux

Homework

Ask students to write a brief paragraph reflecting on their experiencewith using the Tableaux to illustrate the poem and ask them to makereference to how the Tableaux has further their understanding ofpoetic devices.

Lesson 5/6

Distribute the Multi Media Poetry Project handout to the class.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/triviahttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/trivia


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The Class is to read through the requirements and given the leeway toform their own groups. (As I have three Grade 10 classes I myself wasnot adverse to them forming groups within their year group. Thereason for this was to give my students maximum creative control,both in the casting and the production.)

Groups though I stipulated should not be larger than three. The reasonI gave was that I wanted complete commitment from each and everyone in the group. Individual students were allowed to work through theproject on their own if they so desired.

This project is estimated to take the students at least two full classperiods to prepare for.

Multi Media Poetry Project

This assignment is to present a poem visually and auditory.

You are to choose a poem, which will be presented to the class.

To create your presentation you must assign images, clips, and music to

enhance the images, tone, atmosphere and message of your chosen poem.

The poem you choose must be written by an American author/poet.

You may work alone, or with two classmates. Groups can be no more than three

to a group.

Step 1: You can go to the website http://www.americanpoems.com/or you can

trywww.poetryoutloud.org/poems or choose a poem from your packet or any

other American poet you can find. The one stimulation is that it is an American

Poet and the poet was born or writing after 1900.

Step 2: After reading it and interpreting it as best you can, assign images, music

or visual clips to the verses.

Step 3: You need to make a voice over the poem has to be presented (read

think carefully how you are going to do this depending how your poem is readwill determine the impact that your reading will achieve)

Step 4: create your presentation. Your presentation can be done using various

formats Powerpoint, Imovie, Pages, or even an actual performance to the class.

(Remember your presentation must include, sound, visuals and a voice over)

Step 5: Present your work to the class

Each multimedia presentation must be at least 5 minutes long(any less or more than 5-7 minutes will incur a penalty)

With the above in mind choose your poem wisely.
http://www.americanpoems.com/http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poemshttp://www.americanpoems.com/http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems


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If your poem seems to short consider adding an introduction andperhaps a biographical introduction or epilogue concerning thepoet into your presentationYour images, clips and music must relate to your interpretation ofthe poem.

Try and include all members of your group within yourpresentation.

Handing it in

Each member of your group must

1. Digital copy of your presentation. (Just one copy is sufficient)Then individually each member of your group must hand in

2. An Interpretative Paragraph which has to be not less than 200 words.(An example of which is attached below each member of the group mustwrite their own interpretive paragraph)

3. An additional paragraph of no less than 200 words that explains howyour images, music, clips contribute to the overall tone, atmosphere andmessage of the poem you have chosen

4. And finally a reflective paragraph explaining (a) how you feel theprocess went for you. (b) What you feel you have learnt from the process.Do you think that you now have a better understanding of poetry now andwhy or why not? (Not less that 200 words)

All together the written aspect should be more or

less a page. This work has to be font 12, single-

spaced, Ariel or Times New Roman.

An Example of an Interpretative Paragraph:

The poem Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost is a meditation on the blessing

of things that are beautiful, but this idea is tempered with the knowledge that

such beautiful things are only temporary; Frost uses nature to demonstrate this

concept within the poem. Frost uses leaves as an extended metaphor; the

leaves are initially green and then turn to gold, signifying the metamorphosis of

the seasons from spring to autumn. He complements this metaphor with a

comparison of the leaves to the fall of Man (the connotation involved with Eden)

and how day turns into night. The central message of the poem, as

demonstrated through the extended metaphor of leaves and the connotations of

Eden and night is that we receive blessings in our lives that are beautiful, but

these blessings ultimately expire; and, just as nature is part of life, so is the

expiration of blessings in human existence.

Notice that the example above mentions poetic devices, your examplemust make mention of at least three poetic devices. (This is imperative)


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Tips to consider when choosing your method of

presentation and the supporting material you will use.

1. What is the form/structure of the poem? Does this have an impact on themeaning? If so, in what way (s)?

2. Consider the title of the poem.3. What is the tone of the poem and how is it achieved? What words

(diction) and images contribute to the tone?4. Consider the rhyme scheme and rhythm of the poem.5. Examine the poem in a more detailed way look for figurative language

(metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole, irony,symbolism, imagery, paradox, oxymoron, allusion, pun, euphemism).What are the effects of these devices?

Assessment

1. Interpretive Paragraph and explanation paragraph: 20points (standard writing rubric)

2. Poem presentation: 40 points

Actual rubrics will be attached with this assignment.

Lesson 7 Performance

The projects themselves will be shown to the class via the WhiteBoard/smart Board.

Optional allowing students to self assess the performance using therubric, or restricting the assessment to only the teacher.Assessment of the Performance and the writing component is based onthe below rubrics.

The performance Rubric is self designed.The Writing Rubric is a modified Language and Literature IBO writingrubric.


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Poetry Performance Assessment Rubric

Level of

Achievement

A - Ability to captivate the Viewer B - Voice and Articulation C - Dramatic AppropriatenessD Nuts and bolts.

12 Unfocused; the Project lacks direction Inaudible; slow; distracting rhythm; singsong;

hurried; mispronunciations

Poem is overshadowed by significant distracting

inflections or accents; acting out of poem;

singing; over-emoting; inappropriate tone,

inappropriate visual and auditory support.

Project visuals have little to do with the topic.Project is not organized and does not catch the eye of theaudience

34 Some focus, but lacks continuity Audible, but quiet; too loud; monotone; paced

unevenly; affected tone

Poem is secondary to style of delivery; vocal

inflections; inappropriate tone, inappropriate

visual and auditory support.

Project contains less than the required items.

Project was somewhat organized but does not ca tch the

eye of the audience

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The Project was well focused and maintained

the interest of the listeners throughout. The

Project was delivered with a good degree of

imagination.

Clear, adequate intonation, effective use of

volume, intonation, rhythm and even pacing

Poem is neither overwhelmed nor enhanced by

all visual and auditory support. Project contains the required items

Project is attractive and most items catch the eye of the

audience

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The Project itself involves the listeners deeply.

The project was delivered with a high degree

ofimagination and sensitivity

Very clear, crisp, effective use of volume,

intonation, rhythm, and pacing

Poem is enhanced by style of delivery; all visual

and auditory support felt appropriate to poem

Project contains the required items well set out.

Project is attractive and most items catch the eye of the

audience

9-10 The Project itself involves the listener deeply;

The Project was delivered with a very high

degree ofimagination and sensitivity.

Very clear, crisp, mastery of rhythm and pace,

skilful use of volume and intonation

Style of delivery reflects internalization of poem;

all visual and auditory support felt essential to

poems success. Visual and auditory support isexceptional

Project goes beyond requirements

Project is organized, neat and catches the eye of the

audience.


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Additional Resource

Tableaux Explantation

Lesson 4 - Use of Tableaux

Students will:

Explore and demonstrate the ways poets reveal meaning through dramatic

tableaux. Analysis of poetic features, focusing on insight gained from the tableaux

experience.

Tableaux usage expectations:

Writing Rubric 0 1 2 3 4

terion A: Understanding and

interpretation

How well does the students

interpretation reveal

understanding of the thought and

feeling of the question?

How well are ideas supported by

references to the text?

The

candidat

e has not

reached

level 1

Little knowledge of work

There is very basic

understanding of the

question, with mainly

irrelevant and/orinsignificant

interpretation.

Some knowledge of work

There is some

understanding of the

question but little

attempt atinterpretation.

Superficialunderstanding.

Adequate understanding of

works.

Adequate understanding of

the question demonstrated by

interpretation that is mostlysupported by references to

the poem.

Good understanding of

Good understanding

the question

demonstrated by

convincing interpretfully supported by

references. Understanding some

the subtleties of me

terion B: Appreciation of the

ters choices

To what extent does the analysis

show appreciation of how thePoets choices of language,

structure, technique and style

shape meaning?

Is the candidate aware of the

presence of the poetic features,

such as diction? Imagery. Tone.

Structure, style and technique?

Has the candidate supported

claims?

The

candidat

e has not

reached

level 1

Little awareness of the

literary features of the

works (stage directions +

language - word choice,

diction)

There is virtually no

reference to the ways in

which language,structure, technique and

style shape meaning of

the poem.

Some awareness or

appreciation of the


works

There is some

reference to, but noanalysis of, the ways

in which language,

structure, techniqueand style shape

meaning of the poem.

Superficial analysis ofthe poetic featuresmentioned

Adequate appreciation of the

literary features of the works

Adequate reference to and

some analysis andappreciation of the ways in

which language, structure,

technique and style shape

meaning.

The analysis is appropriately

illustrated by relevant

examples.

Good appreciation of th


There is good analy

and appreciation ofways in which lang

structure, technique

style shape the mea

of the poem.

The analysis is well

illustrated by carefu

chosen examples.

terion C: Organization

How well has the candidate

organized his/her writing?

Have the candidate's ideas been

presented effectively?

Are supporting examples

integrated into the body of thecommentary?

The

candidat

e has not

reached

level 1

Ideas have little

organization and virtually

no coherence

Ideas have some

organization, but

coherence is often lacking

Ideas are adequately organized,

with some coherence.

Ideas are well organized

coherent

Supporting example

appropriately integr

into the body of the

writing.

terion D: Language

How accurate, clear and varied is

the language.How appropriate is the

candidates choice of register,

style and terminology

The

candidat

e has not

reached

level 1

The language is rarely

clear or coherent

The use of language isnot readily

comprehensible

Many lapses in

grammar, spelling andsentence construction

Vocabulary is rarely

accurate or appropriate

The language is only

sometimes clear and

coherent

Some degree of clarity

and coherence in the

use of language

Some degree of

accuracy in grammar.

spelling and sentenceconstruction

Register is sometimes

appropriate to the task.

The language is clear and

carefully chosen.

Adequately clear and

coherent use of language

Adequate degree of accuracy

in grammar, spelling andsentence construction

Some lapses in grammar,

spelling and sentence

construction

The register is mostly

appropriate for the task.

The language is clear, v

and carefully chosen.

Language is clear acarefully chosen, wi

good degree of accu

in grammar, vocabu

and sentenceconstruction; registe

style are consistentl

appropriate to the ta


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Dramatic representation, of assigned stanza

Eventual student reflection on the activity and their analysis of their own

learning gained from participation in dramatic tableaux.

Examining how it enhanced their own learning and understanding of the

Poem

Instructional Strategies:

Collaborative learning

Dramatic tableaux

Independent writing/reflection

Tableaux Procedure

Introduce the activity Tableaux

Tell students (groups) that they will be creating frozen scenes from their

assigned stanzas

Ask students to form a sequence of frozen scenes (3 per group)

representing the events from their stanza.

Encourage the students to prepare their scenes in a corner of the classroom

Allow students three to five minutes to formulate their scenes.

Once all groups are ready to present chose a group at random to present

Ask students after each performance to identify the stanza.

Homework

Homework

Ask students to write a brief paragraph reflecting on their experience with usingthe Tableaux to illustrate the poem and ask them to make reference to how theTableaux has further their understanding of poetic devices.

Unit Reflection

Pre teaching Unit Assumptions

This unit comprehensively exposes students to the application and use of poetic

devices as stylistic devices employed to influence thought and feeling.


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The use of music and images be they still or moving guides the students to realize

that music and visual effects influences and steers us and helps us to interpret the

world around us. Students will through this unit learn to apply music and visual

images, still, moving or stage performance to create a representation of the

poems that they have chosen themselves.

The arts are not just window dressing upon school curriculums; in this unit the

arts are very much being used as educational tools. By utilizing music and visual

imagery the students in this unit will create for themselves a greater

understanding and depth of knowledge concerning how imagery is created and

can be enhanced. This unit also by using the arts will not just reach out to the

students creatively but analytically, critically and as the final project has to be

presented and then handed in digitally it will further the students technological

skills and learning.

Post Unit Reflection

Having now taught this unit I can honestly say that I was quite taken back by my

students enthusiasm both in researching poems to utilise for their project and

their enthusiasm during the construction phase - putting together of the project

itself.

The true joy though was the presentation of the poems by my studentsthemselves, I was overwhelmed by their productions, the care to detail be it by

aligning visuals, adding music or creating performances to make their chosen

poems come alive. My students truly excelled and I believe that without a doubt

they have learnt more than I could have begun to have expressed to them by

merely teaching poetry in the conventional manner that I have been in the past.

I have included at the end of this Unit Plan reflections from my students

themselves, as their words are truly the only words that I feel can do this Unit

justice.

Student Reflections on this Unit/Project

One of the important aspects I noted when reading this poem and seeing the

author present it at a poetry slam is the situational irony thats often used. When I

did the voiceover, I made sure to heavily exaggerate the wordplay used in this

poem. This is one of the crucial parts that helps create the poems satirical quality

of the way people implement technology in their lives. Next, the tone of therecording was intentionally made to be more informative and critical or harsh,


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especially in the middle progression of the poem in order to bring light upon the

message of us becoming less human as technology is used everywhere. I planned

it this way since this is a current issue so I thought that by doing so, the audience

would be informed and reflect upon how big of an impact technology is having on

their lives. The song used in the introduction of the video is World in Front of Meby Kina Grannis. It was used in a Google+ video and I thought with its cheerful,

upbeat, and positive feeling, it would portray the beneficial side of technology,

how it connects people together and creates unlimited possibilities and

opportunities. The second song used is Quiet by This Will Destroy You and its

very different from the previous song. It has a more solemn, nostalgic tone that

will make the audience reflect upon the effects of technology like how people

sometimes are isolated from society because of it, hence fitting the message of

Jones poem. The video clips in the beginning are from three different videos: one

that imagines the futuristic worlds technology in society, another one is anintroduction of Google+ (social network), and the last one is a video of a robotic

car factory. These clips foreshadow the likely outcome of what society will look

like due to technology. The images used in the poem recital are a visual

representation of the words and this method helps readers picture Jones

message about technology. These visuals also help recreate the emotions I saw

through Jones presentation.

Looking back on this project, the process went well for me. The poem I

chose, Touchscreen by Marshal Jones, was quite easy for me to interpretbecause it was written in the present day and was written about a modern issue

that I am a part of considering the influence of technology on my life. Ive learnt a

lot from this process, one being the way to interpret a poem and two being the

moral or message of a poem. I learnt that when interpreting a poem, its not

about forcing the words to show you a specific meaning. Interpreting a poem has

a lot to do with your personal thoughts of what you read from it. Poetry is very

expressive and each individual can have his or her own unique interpretation.

When I was trying to understand this poem, I looked back into my life about

technology in the world, how wonderful it is and at the same time it makes us lesshumane and more like androids. By learning this, I feel I have a better

understanding of poetry now than before since now I carefully look at how writers

write their pieces of literature, taking note of certain literary devices being used.

Theres a reason why theyre being used and often its used to help express the

message of the poem. Nothing happens in a vacuum .

Glarence Zhao

For the poem Hero by Paul Engle, because the poem is about Engle realizing thereality he is in and discovering that he can only be a hero he wants to become in


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his dreams, I wanted my video to have a somewhat gloomy and a dark tone.

Many of the images I used have a dark tone and the overall darkness of the

images gives the video a depressing atmosphere. For example, when Engle says,

Love open to me, even though I could have used an image of a bright pink heart

or a picture that is more closely related to happiness and joy, I used a black andwhite image of an expressionless person. This image emphasizes the point that

the love Engle mentions in his poem is not at all related to the conventional

definition of love between a loving couple. Instead, the image representing love

has a gloomy feel to it, it is easy to see that the love Engle talks about is neither

real nor sweet. In addition to darker images, I used the song Unthinkable, which

is a slow and a sad song composed by Alicia Keys. Even though the music used in

the video does not have lyrics that directly express sadness or gloominess,

because it is played in a low key, grimness is conveyed. Throughout the poem,

Engle constantly dreams of being a hero and repeatedly realizes that he is not ahero in his real life. This realization disappoints Engle and the hopelessness and

despair he experiences are conveyed to the audience through literary techniques

in the poem. In order to convey the exact same message in my video, I used

pictures that had a dark tone and music with a depressing touch.

For this project, because I had to record myself reading the poem out loud, I

found myself analyzing the poem with more depth and trying to find out what Paul

Engle was attempting to convey in each and every line ofHero. When I first found

the poem, I thought it was a simple poem about a man who wanted to become ahero, but as I read it over and over again, trying to decipher what the main them

of the poem was, I came to realize that Engle was displaying disappointment,

hopelessness, and gloominess by emphasizing that his dreams and his reality

were very different. Working on this project, I learned that even if a poem seems

simple and shallow in meaning, if you dig for more, you can come across a variety

of different emotions and themes the poet is trying to put on display. What I

realized through this project was that in order to better understand poetry, rote

analysis is only one of the many ways one can comprehend a poem. One

significant way readers can decipher what the poet is trying to convey is readingrepeatedly and discovering different emotions and themes involved. Overall, I

found this poetry project fun to work on because I enjoy making videos with

iMovie a lot.

Ye Jin Yeoum

In the video Lisa and I made, we had video clips of us talking about the poems,

pictures of trees, nature, Robert Frosts life, and we slow music that

complemented the background. We choose to add slow music because the poem

itself was presented in a negative way in addition to Frost wondering about the

trees giving us the overall feeling of uncertainty. We decided to put instrumental


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music in the background with piano and violin because they make people calm

and give the audience a sense of peacefulness. The beginning of the video we

included a little background information about Frost. We also used a clip of Lisa

sitting under a tree surrounded by other trees and grasses. We wanted to put a

strong emphasis on nature and the poem was read rather slowly. You could hearbirds chirping, leaves falling down from the tree, and wind blowing across Lisas

hair. Those were all effects that were added. I had to stand behind the tree with a

huge notebook to create wind and also throw the leaves since they were parts of

Mother Nature. The video was taken from an angle, not directly facing Lisa. The

reason for this was because we wanted the audience to get the feeling that the

trees are secretly watching her write in her notebook and finally, the pictures of

trees and tree branches were used to furthermore emphasize nature.

The process of making the video was far more difficult then I imagined it to be.We didnt know what to include in the video to fill up the 5-7 minutes requirement

so we added an introduction of Robert Frost in the beginning and an epilogue. Lisa

and I spent a lot of time planning what the video will be like, the angle we wanted

the video shot, the lightings, and the if we were to stand or sit when we were

talking. We made sure that our voices were clear and the speed we read the poem

complemented everything else. It took 5 hours to complete a 5-minute video,

which was extremely ridiculous, and finding the right background music was

pretty challenging too since not all music fitted the poem itself. We had to adjust

the background volume so that our voices can be heard through the music. Fromthe process of making a poetry based video, I learned that its not how many

pictures and video clips you add, its how you read the poem and how your body

moves in the video while youre talking. I definitely have a better understanding of

poetry because beneath the words of a poem, theres a whole new story. You

have to find poetic terms and understand the deep meaning of the poem to fully

appreciate it. Not only do you have to look beneath the words, you also have to

relate it to other things, possibly yourself.

Nikki Chang

Integrated Arts Unit - Modern American Poetry

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Transcript of Integrated Arts Unit - Modern American Poetry