Week of 11/6/12

11/8/12


 First Step: Read the following passage: 

"i luv writing to umm some good topics are love life changes cancer, death, sriendhip, but i would do something sad like death or cancer they have a greater affect on people cuz love poems r hard to make really emotional but its easy when its sad and it attracts more attention because liike its all heart touching and stuff"

List five things that are good about this passage and five things that are bad. (Only one "bad" thing can be the horrible grammar, capitalization and/or spelling.)

More Connections to hip-hop:

1. Hip-hop tends to use heavy structure, rhythm, and rhyme. In other words, it does everything that scares most people about poetry.

2. Hip-hop tends to speak in code. In other words, it does the same thing that most people fear about poetry.

3.As happened with lots of "traditional" poetic forms, Hip-hop forms developed organically based on performances and sincere, honest writing.

Poetic Form: Villanelle (from poets.org)
"The highly structured villanelle is a nineteen-line poem with two repeating rhymes and two refrains. The form is made up of five tercets followed by a quatrain. The first and third lines of the opening tercet are repeated alternately in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas; then in the final stanza, the refrain serves as the poem's two concluding lines. Using capitals for the refrains and lowercase letters for the rhymes, the form could be expressed as: A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2." Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Team Villanelle

HW: Write a Villanelle that starts with one of the following titles: 


“Timbuktu”
“What Hip Is”
“Things You Thought I’d Say When I Left”
“Let the Dog Drive”
“Older, Wiser, Closer to Death”
“Sister”
“Phone Tennis”
“The Prince of Fire”
“Unsettling America”
“The Angle of Refraction”



(Link): Here are some examples of Villanelles

11/6/12

Goal: Finish "Change" Poems and continue hip-hop and slam.

First Step: Change. Poems. Still.

Lupe Fiasco's "The Instrumental."

Lupe Fiasco Lyrics only

Activity in class:

With a partner, Describe the tone in "The Instrumental." 

1. Describe the speakers attitude with three adjectives
2.What words can you point to that influence the tone (diction) 3. What sound devices (alliteration, repetition, rhythm, rhyme) do you notice.
4. What do you think Lupe Fiasco is saying when he titles this poem "Instrumental?"

Make a list on the blog. 

HW: Writing Assignment: Attempt to write a piece that mimicks the tone of either "Hip-Hop," or  "Instrumental" Be able to explain how you use sound devices and specific language to influence your own tone.

Due Thursday. We will read out loud to get ready for the poetry slam!!!

Mos Def's "Hip-Hop" if you need a reminder

Mos Def Lyrics only