Reading and Writing Workshop
Elements of Poetry – Sound, Sight, Structure, and Symbol
Reading and Writing Workshop: Types of Poetry
Overview: This workshop explores three major types of poetry—Traditional, Modern/Free Verse, and Narrative/Dramatic—through close reading, discussion, and creative writing.
Session 1: Traditional Poetry Forms
Objective: Understand the structure and characteristics of traditional poetry forms, particularly the Shakespearean sonnet.
Text:
“Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by William Shakespeare
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1041/pg1041-images.html#sonnet-18
Activities:
Session 2: Modern and Free Verse Poetry
Objective: Explore how modern poets use free verse and innovative techniques to express internal thought and fragmented realities.
Text:
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/976/pg976-images.html
Activities:
Session 3: Narrative and Dramatic Poetry
Objective: Examine how poetry can tell stories and portray dramatic situations with vivid characters and moral reflection.
Text:
“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” by Oscar Wilde
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/301/pg301-images.html
Activities:
Reading and Writing Workshop: Types of Poetry
Overview: This workshop explores three major types of poetry—Traditional, Modern/Free Verse, and Narrative/Dramatic—through close reading, discussion, and creative writing.
Session 1: Traditional Poetry Forms
Objective: Understand the structure and characteristics of traditional poetry forms, particularly the Shakespearean sonnet.
Text:
“Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by William Shakespeare
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1041/pg1041-images.html#sonnet-18
Activities:
- Identify the rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and meter (iambic pentameter).
- Discuss the use of metaphor and personification.
- Analyze the volta (shift in thought or tone) around line 9.
- Writing Prompt: Write a 14-line Shakespearean sonnet on a theme of your choice (e.g., nature, love, beauty, time).
Session 2: Modern and Free Verse Poetry
Objective: Explore how modern poets use free verse and innovative techniques to express internal thought and fragmented realities.
Text:
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/976/pg976-images.html
Activities:
- Identify sections of the poem that use enjambment, repetition, and imagery.
- Discuss the poem’s tone and its themes of indecision, aging, and alienation.
- Compare the lack of formal structure to the strict form in Session 3.1.
- Writing Prompt: Write a free verse poem from the perspective of someone questioning a major life decision.
Session 3: Narrative and Dramatic Poetry
Objective: Examine how poetry can tell stories and portray dramatic situations with vivid characters and moral reflection.
Text:
“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” by Oscar Wilde
Source: Project Gutenberg
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/301/pg301-images.html
Activities:
- Summarize the story told in the poem and discuss its structure (stanzas, refrain).
- Explore themes of justice, humanity, and social critique.
- Analyze Wilde’s use of repeated lines and voice to create dramatic tension.
- Writing Prompt: Write a narrative poem that recounts an emotional or historical event, using repetition and a clear arc.