Features of Realism (link)
Features of Modernism (link)
Features of Post-modernism (link)
For the second portion of class, students worked in groups of three to determine the meaning and literary technique in the poem assigned to them. Presentations were begun in 7th period. All remaining presentations will be completed at the beginning of Thursday's class.
Directions for the activity and presentation rules:
Literary Styles: Realism, Modernism and Postmodernism
The Procedure:
1. Get a poem from the teacher
2. Each member—read through the poem silently.
3. Read the poem aloud as a group (share this responsibility).
4. Discuss with your group what you think the topic of the poem is (one word ideas like “Death,” “War,” “Love”).
5. Write down any words/phrases/metaphors that you do not completely understand.
6. Use a dictionary/thesaurus/other people to find definitions for the unfamiliar words/phrases—write these down.
7. CHOOSE ONE MEMBER TO READ THROUGH THE POEM AGAIN (ALOUD).
8. Discuss exactly what your group thinks the poet is saying about the topic you discovered in step #4. (This should be a phrase or sentence—this is the THEME of the poem—something like “There are horrors worse than death,” or “Love is an illusion”).
9. Paraphrase the entire poem: rewrite it in a prose form—using everyday language.
10. Think about what other messages—other than the primary topic and theme, are in the poem. Write down your ideas.
11. Write down what you think the title means. Why do you think the author chose this title? Write down your response to this question.
12. Decide which literary era your poem belongs in, based on the definitions we reviewed. Check your answer with the teacher.
13. Write down at least three specific ways that this poem conforms to the characteristics of the literary era it represents. Consider form, language use, message as you answer this question.
14. Write down each group members personal reaction to the poem—NOT “I like it,” etc., but phrase your answer in terms of the aspects you have examined—language/message/tone/form).
Poetry Presentation Roles:
Read your poem aloud to the class (with feeling and emphasis, not flatly). Practice until you feel like you can enhance the meaning of the poem with your verbal presentation.
Write and present to the class a short speech (representing a paragraph or two) that explains what your group believes the poem has to say—describe the major theme and any minor themes you found (NOTE: use your answers to #4, 8, 10, 11, and 14 for the information you need to create this mini-speech).
Explain to the class what literary era this poem/poet belongs to and HOW you know this (point out characteristics from the Literary Era sheets and point to the poem’s message about how life works). Then demonstrate, referring to and quoting lines or phrases from the poem, HOW the poet uses the poetic form to convey his/her message about life. (NOTE: use parts of your answers to #4, 5,6, 8, 10, 11, and 13 to show the way the language “works” in this poem.)
