“Martin Luther King” and “Annabel Lee”

Poetry

Objectives

Students in grades 6–12 apply the Reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods.

Literature Informational TextStories Dramas Poetry Literary Nonfiction and

Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

Includes the subgenres of adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, and graphic novels

Includes one-act and multi-act plays, both in written form and on film

Includes the subgenres of narrative poems, lyrical poems, free verse poems, sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics

Includes the subgenres of exposition, argument, and functional text in the form of personal essays, speeches, opinion pieces, essays about art or literature, biographies, memoirs, journalism, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience

Objectives

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.5 Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.

“Martin Luther King” and “Annabel Lee”

You learned last week when we read the essay by Alice Walker that a tribute is an expression of admiration, a way to honor a person. The poems we are reading this week are also tributes. One is about a famous figure in history; the other is written about a lost love.

Questions to consider:

What type of person would you write a tribute about?When would you write the tribute?Would you write an essay or a poem? What are the benefits of each method?

Martin Luther King

January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968

Amazing Facts!!

In 1964 King won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Graduated from high school at 15…college at 19!!

Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" (1963)He went on to earn a Ph.D. in

systematic theology in 1955!

Martin Luther King’s birth name was: Michael Luther King Jr.

Did You Know??

King wrote five books in addition to many letters, essays, and speeches.

King's efforts were not limited to securing civil rights; he also spoke out against poverty and war.

He came upon an age

Beset by grief, by rage-

His love so deep so wide,

He could not turn aside.

His passion, so profound,

He would not turn around.

He taught this suffering Earth

The measure of Man’s worth.

He showed what Man can be

Before death sets him free.

“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Richard Patterson

Rhythm

• Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

• You should be able to hear a “beat” in the reading.

You should be able to hear a stressed/unstressed pattern in words that are more than one syllable.

For example, the adverb forcefully has the first syllable stressed, and the other two syllables unstressed:

force´ful ly.

FORCE fully is the correct way to say this word.

FORCE = the stressed syllable fully = the two unstressed syllables

If you said forceFULLY, the word would sound wrong.

The stress can change if the words changes.

photograph

photography

photographic

How do we find the stressed syllables?

• Dictionaries show us the stressed syllables in many different ways. Example: Amazing

• Accent marks. a·maz·ing

• Lower cased unstressed/higher cased stressed uh-MAY-zing

Watch the pattern of the beats.

The stressed beat is the louder one,

and the line goes higher.

Rhythm

He came upon an age

Beset by grief, by rage

He came upon an age

Beset by grief, by rage-

His love so deep so wide,

He could not turn aside.

His passion, so profound,

He would not turn around.

He taught this suffering Earth

The measure of Man’s worth.

He showed what Man can be

Before death sets him free.

“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Richard Patterson

Rhythm

How many beats do you count in each line?

How many stressed syllables is that?

How many unstressed syllables?

Paraphrase

To understand the meaning of a poem, you can paraphrase or restate parts of it.

For example: “He came upon an age/ Beset by grief, by rage.”

Paraphrased: King was born in and grew up in a troubled time. There is more that we can add to this! What do we know about the time period?

Let’s paraphrase the rest of the poem.

The first couplet has already been done for you.

Paraphrase

“He came upon an ageBeset by grief, by rage.”

Paraphrased: King was born in and grew

up in a troubled time.

Add to the paraphrase.

Consider:

When did King become an adult?

What was going on in our country at that time?

What type of troubles did our country face?

His love so deep so wide,

He could not turn aside What does King love?

His love is so strong that he cannot do what?

His passion, so profound,

He would not turn around.

He taught this suffering Earth

The measure of Man’s worth.

Why is the Earth “suffering” (What does it suffer from?)

How does society measure the value of a person? How should we measure the value of a person?

He showed what Man can be

Before death sets him free.The word “can” indicates possibility. What does the author say that King shows us is possible?

Why would an author consider death a form of freedom?

Questions Pg. 772

Reader’s Response: Do you think that the poem captures the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.?

Thematic Focus: What clues to Martin Luther King Jr.’s personality can you find in the poem?

(How do we know what type of person he was? What evidence does the author give us?)

Check Your Comprehension

1.Describe the age into which King was born.

2.What are two personal qualities that King brought to this age? (According to the poem)

3.What did King teach this “suffering Earth”?

Critical Thinking

1. What does the poet mean by King’s “passion so profound”?

2. In your own words, explain the phrases in lines 8-9 that describe King’s achievements.

3. Would this poem be suitable for an epitaph, an inscription on King’s grave? Explain.

4. If King were alive today, what are causes for which he might be fighting?

Excerpt from King’s Last Speech

•This part is not about the poem, but it does speak to the incredible faith that King had. It showcases why an author might chose to write a tribute about King.

•Consider-what does our faith call us to do?

Excerpt from King’s Last Speech

• "I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe

“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee;And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

Where does this take place?

Who is there?

What do we know about them?

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea,But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee—With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.

How great was their love? What did it cause the seraphs in heaven to do?

Covet means to envy.

A seraph is a type of angel.

And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee;So that her highborn kinsmen came And bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulcher In this kingdom by the sea.

What happens to Annabel Lee?

Where does Annabel Lee end up?

Sepulcher is a type of burial vault or tomb

Kinsmen are relatives.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me—Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

The speaker thinks the way Annabel Lee died is because…

The speaker thinks the reason Annabel Lee died is because… How does the speaker feel about the

angels? Why would an author include angels/Heaven when speaking of the death of a loved one? (Keep in mind, the author does not say that his love became an angel.)

But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we— Of many far wiser than we—And neither the angels in Heaven above Nor the demons down under the seaCan ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

Dissever means to separate or divide.

How strong is the love between the speaker and Annabel?

Can anyone keep them apart?

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride, In her sepulcher there by the sea— In her tomb by the sounding sea.

How is the speaker still connected to Annabel?

Thematic Focus

Everlasting Love: Do people today still experience the type of love that the speaker describes in this poem? Is the theme of eternal love a theme that people can relate to?

Check Your Comprehension

1. At what stage in life did the speaker in the poem fall in love?

2. What caused the death Annabel Lee?3. What did Annabel Lee’s kinsmen do when she

died?4. Why will nothing be able to separate the

speaker’s soul from the soul of Annabel Lee?5. What does the speaker do “all the nighttide”?

Critical Thinking

1. In your own words, describe the love between the speaker and Annabel Lee.

2. In what way does Poe make the events of the story seem distant, like those in a fairy tale?

3. The poet Countee Cullen once wrote, “Never love with all your heart/It only ends in aching.” Would the speaker in “Annabel Lee” agree? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking

4. “Martin Luther King” and “Annabel Lee” are similar in honoring someone who has died. In what ways do they differ?

Compare

“In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker“Martin Luther King” by Raymond Walker“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe

Which of the three pieces do you feel was most effective in communicating the admiration/honor of the writer? Why?

Which one was easiest to connect to on a personal level? Why?