PO1 - Overview

An illustrated character recites poetry on top of a stack of books with an old fashioned ink pen in front.Poetry 1 - Overview

Introduction

Poetry tends to give students a bit of anxiety. There is a sense that poetry can be random, weird, and a lot of other adjectives. Hopefully, this unit will dispel some of these ideas about poetry being difficult. We will start with some of the same concepts in the Short Fiction Unit (character, structure) and then build on them as we look at what makes poetry its unique genre (contrasts, similes, and metaphors). By focusing on individual parts of poems, you will have various access points to better understand the overall meaning.

Once we look at these points, we will work to start putting them together in a larger literary argument.

Learning Questions

In this module, we will answer the following questions:

  1. How do poets use characterization, structure, comparisons, and contrasts (especially simile and metaphor) to create meaning?
  2. How does a student craft a literary argument that includes analysis of literary evidence and the evidence itself?

Key Terms

The following terms originate with The AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description published by the College Board (pp. 41-43). Familiarize (or refamiliarize) yourself with these terms as we will use them regularly in the lessons for this module.

Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters.

Structure or the arrangement of the parts and sections of a text, the relationship of the parts to each other, and the sequence in which the text reveals information are all structural choices made by a writer that contribute to the reader’s interpretation of a text.

Contrasts or representations, and associations shift meaning from the literal to the figurative and invite readers to interpret a text.

Simile use the words “like” or “as” to liken two objects or concepts to each other.

Metaphor implies similarities between two (usually unrelated) concepts or objects in order to reveal or emphasize one or more things about one of them, though the differences between the two may also be revealing.

Literary Argument is the way that readers establish and communicate their interpretation of literature through arguments supported by textual evidence.

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