Creative Writing

Poetry: Sound and Sense

What is poetry? How does it differ from other texts?

Learning Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Use the "question the author" strategy when reading poems to help understand the author's meaning, language, and stylistic choices.

• Recognize that poetry requires a careful, deliberate use of language.

• Understand that poets play with language and choose words not only for their meaning, but also for their sounds and rhythm

Open Ended

Using your own words and depending on your acquired knowledge, write a few sentences in which you try to define what poetry is.

Open Ended

Select the definition on the sheet that you like best.

Which of the definitions on the attached document do you like the most? Justify your choice.

Page #1

Page #2

Open Ended

Read the poem "Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100" by Martín Espada.

How does this poem differ from the typical definition of a poem?

What makes this text a poem if it does not rhyme or discuss beautiful things.

Open Ended

Now, read again the poem 'Alabanza' carefully and answer the following questions:

1. Where and when does this poem take place?

Open Ended

2. What happened in the poem?

Open Ended

3. Who is the poem talking about in the first stanza?

Open Ended

4. Why is the poet writing about these people?

Open Ended

5. Who is the poet praising and why?