Activity 1: Introduction to the Genre of Memoir: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Essay, ONCE I WAS; NOW I AM (adapted from BEAT NOT THE POOR DESK, by Marie Ponsot and Rosemary Deen, Boynton/Cook Publishers, Portmouth, N.H., 1981).
Welcome adventurers! You are about to "step into the poet's shoes." But, like Cinderella's glass slipper, only one shoe is right for you. To find the right fit, you will be trying on many different shoes--exploring a variety of poets and their poems to find a poet whose writing has special meaning for you. Once you have found your match, you will select a poem, slip into the poet's shoes, and perform your poem for the class.
| 1. What is Poetry? | 2. Reading the Poem | 3. Denotation and Connotation | 4. Imagery | 5. Figurative Language 1: Metaphor, Personification, and Metonymy | 6. Figurative Language 2: Symbol and Allegory | 7. Figurative Language 3: Paradox, Overstatement, understatement, Irony and Allusion | 8. Tone and Musical Devices | 9. Rhythm and Meter | 10. Patterns of Traditional Poems | MLA Style Citation of this Web Page |