Class Assignment: November 7,8

• Label this CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENT #12
• ANAPHORA: repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences.
• Read the poem above (left) and follow the instructions (right).
• Brainstorm with a partner to create your lists.
• Your poem must be at least 10 lines long.
• Next, write an ekphrastic poem. Ekphrasis sounds kind of complicated, but it’s just a fancy word for using a piece of art to inspire a poem. Use one of the images below to write your poem.
• As with the cliche poem above, use ANAPHORA.
• Your poem must be at least 10 lines long.
  

  

  

  
• If you can’t finish both poems in class, finish them for homework.
• Bring your textbook to our next class.

Some thoughts on how to begin your ekphrastic poem

1. List the first words that come to mind when you look at this artwork.
2. PLOT: What is happening in this artwork? What story is being told?
3. CHARACTER: Who or what is the subject of the artwork? How would you describe them?
4. SETTING: What is the mood of the artwork? What sounds, smells, feelings, tastes could you associate with it?
5. How does this artwork connect with you personally? Why did you choose it?
6.  MAIN IDEA: Now that you have closely observed the artwork, how would you summarize its main idea?

SAMPLE EKPHRASTIC POEMS BASED ON “LANDSCAPE WITH THE FALL OF ICARUS”:

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

WAITING FOR ICARUS by Muriel Rukeyser

He said he would be back and we’d drink wine together
He said that everything would be better than before
He said we were on the edge of a new relation
He said he would never again cringe before his father
He said that he was going to invent full-time
He said he loved me that going into me
He said was going into the world and the sky
He said all the buckles were very firm
He said the wax was the best wax
He said Wait for me here on the beach
He said Just don’t cry

I remember the gulls and the waves
I remember the islands going dark on the sea
I remember the girls laughing
I remember they said he only wanted to get away from me
I remember mother saying: Inventors are like poets, a trashy lot
I remember she told me those who try out inventions are worse
I remember she added: Women who love such are the worst of all
I have been waiting all day, or perhaps longer.
I would have liked to try those wings myself.
It would have been better than this.

Muriel Rukeyser

TIP

Tip: Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words.

Concrete words describe things that people experience with their senses.

• orange
• warm
• cat

A person can see orange, feel warm, or hear a cat.

Poets use concrete words help the reader get a “picture” of what the poem is talking about. When the reader has a “picture” of what the poem is talking about, he/she can better understand what the poet is talking about.

Abstract words refer to concepts or feelings.

• liberty
• happy
• love

“Liberty” is a concept, “happy” is a feeling, and no one can agree on whether “love” is a feeling, a concept or an action.

A person can’t see, touch, or taste any of these things. As a result, when used in poetry, these words might simply fly over the reader’s head, without triggering any sensory response. Further, “liberty,” “happy,” and “love” can mean different things to different people. Therefore, if the poet uses such a word, the reader may take a different meaning from it than the poet intended.

Change Abstract Words Into Concrete Words

Class Assignment for August 24/25

Label this assignment: Class Assignment #1

Write about your object from two points of view:

1. From the point of view of a being from a different universe who knows nothing about Earth. Try to guess who would use it, what purpose it might serve, how an earthling might interact with it, how it might be used, etc.
2. From the point of view of the object itself. Important: choose one person that the object is talking to. Consider: with whom is your object speaking? Why is the object speaking? When is this all taking place? What does the object want? What is keeping the object from having what it wants?
3. Type your prompts. Save them. You will have to print them out and turn them in with your portfolio at the end of the semester.

HOMEWORK FOR AUGUST 29/30

1. Read: “The Autobiographical Object,” p. 121+; “Discussion of the Genre,” p. 3-4; and “Not a Butterfly,” p. 106+.
2. Consider people, places, or things that you are curious about and maybe somewhat obsessed about. People can be real or fictional. So can places. Make a list of these things. Examples: moths, Boston Terriers, Narnia, San Francisco, Orchids, Andy Warhol, Vampires, etc.
3. Do not choose anything abstract, like psychology, expressionism, realism, pop culture, etc.
4. Choose one item from your list. This will be the subject of your next prompt.
5. RESEARCH: Do some research on your topic. Find books and articles about it.
6. Bring your topic and your research with you to class.

Tip #3: Don’t think too much while attempting these assignments, at least not in the early stages. Many of these prompts will not progress beyond the freewriting stage. If a prompt just doesn’t work for you, don’t worry. Do your best and then let it go. 

Day 2

Tip #2

Day 1

Tip #1

An artist is only an artist on condition that he neglects no aspect of his dual nature. This dualism is the power of being oneself and someone else at one and the same time.

Charles Baudelaire

1. HOMEWORK: Buy your book.
2. Bring an object to class that has meaning for you.