AP Literature and Composition Reading and Writing Workshop
Understanding Poetry – Structure, Form, Imagery, and Tone
Objective:
Students will analyze the structure, form, imagery, and tone of selected poems from the public domain. Through discussion, collaboration, and writing, they will strengthen close reading and analytical writing skills aligned with AP Literature expectations.
Texts (Public Domain Works)
Focus: How form and structure shape meaning
Poem: “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1041
Excerpt:
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
Group Activity – “Mapping the Sonnet”
Focus: How poets use imagery to evoke emotion
Poem: “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23684
Excerpt:
“Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret…”
Group Activity – “Imagery Gallery Walk”
Focus: The interplay between tone, diction, and theme
Poem: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson*
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12242
Excerpt:
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”
Group Activity – “Tone Tracker Relay”
Compose a short paragraph analyzing how Dickinson’s tone changes as the speaker journeys toward eternity.
Session 4: Comparative Structure and Theme
Focus: Comparing time, decay, and permanence in poetry
Poems:
Shelley:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Shakespeare:
“In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie.”
Group Activity – “The Impermanence Debate”
Divide the class into two teams:
Prompt 1:
Analyze how Shakespeare, Keats, or Dickinson uses poetic form, imagery, and tone to develop a central theme in one of their poems. Use evidence from the text to support your analysis.
Prompt 2:
Compare and contrast the use of structure and tone in “Ozymandias” and “Sonnet 73.” How does each poet use these elements to explore themes of time and impermanence?
Group Workshop – “Quote to Commentary Exchange”
Peer Editing Circles
Each group compiles a mini-anthology of three poems studied, creating a unifying title and thematic introduction connecting structure, imagery, and tone to enduring human experiences. Include brief analytical commentary (3–5 sentences) for each poem.
Objective:
Students will analyze the structure, form, imagery, and tone of selected poems from the public domain. Through discussion, collaboration, and writing, they will strengthen close reading and analytical writing skills aligned with AP Literature expectations.
Texts (Public Domain Works)
- William Shakespeare – “Sonnet 18”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1041 - John Keats – “Ode to a Nightingale”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23684 - Emily Dickinson – “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12242 - Percy Bysshe Shelley – “Ozymandias”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4800 - William Shakespeare – “Sonnet 73”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1041
- Leader: Keeps group focused and facilitates transitions between tasks
- Recorder: Documents group analysis and quotes
- Tone Tracker: Identifies tone shifts and emotional progression
- Form Finder: Examines structure, rhythm, and meter
- Imagery Interpreter: Analyzes vivid images and sensory detail
Focus: How form and structure shape meaning
Poem: “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1041
Excerpt:
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
Group Activity – “Mapping the Sonnet”
- Each group creates a visual chart of the sonnet’s structure (three quatrains + couplet).
- Label volta (line 9) and discuss how the argument shifts.
- The Form Finder leads scansion practice—mark stressed/unstressed syllables.
- The Leader guides discussion of how rhythm creates tone and stability.
- How does the sonnet’s structure mimic the theme of eternal beauty?
- What is the emotional “turn” in line 9, and how does it redefine love?
Focus: How poets use imagery to evoke emotion
Poem: “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23684
Excerpt:
“Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret…”
Group Activity – “Imagery Gallery Walk”
- Divide each poem stanza among groups.
- Each group creates a poster or slide illustrating the dominant imagery in their assigned stanza.
- The Imagery Interpreter presents how the imagery appeals to the senses and deepens tone.
- Conduct a gallery walk where students comment on emotional effects of imagery across stanzas.
- How do sensory contrasts (sound, color, movement) shape tone?
- What does the nightingale symbolize in the human imagination?
Focus: The interplay between tone, diction, and theme
Poem: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson*
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12242
Excerpt:
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”
Group Activity – “Tone Tracker Relay”
- Each group tracks how tone shifts from stanza to stanza (calm → reflective → chilling).
- The Tone Tracker leads a color-coding exercise to label each emotional transition.
- The Recorder adds textual evidence for each tone shift.
Compose a short paragraph analyzing how Dickinson’s tone changes as the speaker journeys toward eternity.
Session 4: Comparative Structure and Theme
Focus: Comparing time, decay, and permanence in poetry
Poems:
- “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4800 - “Sonnet 73” by William Shakespeare
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1041
Shelley:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Shakespeare:
“In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie.”
Group Activity – “The Impermanence Debate”
Divide the class into two teams:
- Team Shelley: Argues that human legacy is futile against time.
- Team Shakespeare: Argues that love and art preserve the human spirit.
- Identify 3 structural or tonal devices supporting their claim.
- Present textual evidence dramatically (read with tone and rhythm).
- Participate in a moderated debate, followed by a synthesis discussion.
Prompt 1:
Analyze how Shakespeare, Keats, or Dickinson uses poetic form, imagery, and tone to develop a central theme in one of their poems. Use evidence from the text to support your analysis.
Prompt 2:
Compare and contrast the use of structure and tone in “Ozymandias” and “Sonnet 73.” How does each poet use these elements to explore themes of time and impermanence?
Group Workshop – “Quote to Commentary Exchange”
- In small groups, students select key quotations for each FRQ prompt.
- The Recorder lists them on chart paper.
- Each group passes their chart to another group to add commentary or alternative interpretation.
- After two exchanges, groups reclaim and refine their arguments using feedback.
Peer Editing Circles
- Exchange essays within groups.
- Use the AP Literature rubric to provide targeted feedback on:
- Thesis and line of reasoning
- Integration of textual evidence
- Sophistication of commentary
- Each student charts their growth in understanding tone, imagery, and form across the workshop.
- Groups discuss how these skills apply to longer poetic works (e.g., T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land or Frost’s Birches).
Each group compiles a mini-anthology of three poems studied, creating a unifying title and thematic introduction connecting structure, imagery, and tone to enduring human experiences. Include brief analytical commentary (3–5 sentences) for each poem.