Literary Alchemy

Literary Alchemy

Turning Prose into Poetry

Learning Targets

• Today's Purpose: To practice the necessary literary alchemy that will enable us to successfully complete our elegies.

  
  

  1. Complete the pre-write portion of the writing process.

       a. Adding Alliteration Activity

       b. Developing Imagery/Metaphors     

          Activity

       c. Creating Kennings Activity

       d. Drafting Couplets Activity

  2. Assign Independent Practice

  3. Exit Ticket

What's Literary Alchemy?​

• Lit·er·ar·y (/ˈlidəˌrerē/) adjective - (of language) associated with literary works or other formal writing; having a marked style intended to create a particular emotional effect.

• Al·che·my (/ˈalkəmē/) noun - the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter.

• Literary Alchemy - noun - converting base writing ideas and prose into poetic verse literary devices.

Adding Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter sound across the start of several words in a line of text.

Open Ended

Choose 2 of the following letters,

A, K, G, N, Ch, T, R, F

Make an alliterative statement using each letter you chose. Your alliteration should be at least 3 words and your statement must be a complete sentence.

Developing Imagery & Metaphors

Imagery is visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. A Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Open Ended

Choose a sentence below and rewrite it into one or several setences that recreates the scene more vividly. Consider your word choice and the use of senses (smell, touch, sight, taste, and sound) to describe the subject. Feel free to invent details within your revised sentence(s).

Example... "She was stuck at home and couldn't go anywhere."

Answer... "She was a prisoner in her own home".

1.The information was great news that Jessica was glad to hear.

2.Timothy was happy for a long time after he bought his car.

3.The kids would play tag in the field after church during the summer.

Creating Kennings

A Kenning is a compound expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meaning, (e.g. oar-steed = ship); usually a 2-word metaphor used to describe something else.

Open Ended

Choose 3 of the following topics and consider carefully how you could creatively rename them through the use of a Kenning.

1. a teacher

2. a bus driver

3. computer

4. television

5. music

6. friends

7. school

Drafting Couplets

A Couplet is two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Example... "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespear)

Open Ended

Read the first line of the couplets below. Create a second line for the couplet that ends in a rhyme.

1. "It's hard to see the butterfly..."

2."His red sports car is just a dream..."

3. "Soon the rain falls on the ground..."

Independent Practice

• Choose an idea from the "Narrow your Focus" section of your 1st Brainstorm handout.

• Revise that idea into a complete sentence that highlights the theme of your elegy; making it more powerful and pronounced.

• Repeat steps 1 & 2 for each idea on each brainstorm handout.

• Each new sentence should include at least one of the following: alliteration, kenning, and/or metaphor/imagery.

Keep in Mind...

• Elegies are written in couplets. Write your revised sentences so they are also in couplets.

• When writing your revised sentences, plan for the caesura. You will recite your completed elegy on FlipGrid along with the submission of your written assignment.

Poll

EXIT TICKET:

How prepared do you now feel to begin revising your brainstorm ideas for your elegy?

• 100% I got this is the bag!

• 75% Some things are still a bit foggy but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

• 50% Eh...I don't really understand and could still use some extra help.

• 1% Can you start again from the very beginning?...I have no idea what's going on.