Intro to "Search for my Tongue"

Intro to "Search for my Tongue"

Poem #3 from the collection!

Agenda

• Check In

• Read through "Search for my Tongue"

• Background knowledge + poets history

• Form, Language, Structure

First Read Through

Open up the poem and follow along through the read through - then read through it again on your own!

Open Ended

Initial Reaction: In two to four sentences, what was your reaction to this poem? This can mean that you can mention what you think the poem was about, what you liked/didn't like, questions you have, etc.

Background knowledge + poets history

Sujata Bhatt

• Born in 1956

• Raised in India until 1968 - moved to America

• MFA from University of Iowa

• Commonwealth Poetry Prize

• Italian Tratti Poetry Prize

Historical Context

Who colonized India? What does "colonized" mean?

Historical Context

• India was a British Colony until 1947

• Colonial Language vs Mother Tongue

• Poem was published in 1988 - Reagan and Thatcher

• Gujarati vs English

Back to Analysis!

What does it mean when IGCSE asks you about a poem's "form"?

Open Ended

This is a Free Verse poem - what does a free verse poem mean?

Open Ended

Okay - reach deep - why might this poem be a free verse poem?

Think back to "Poem at 39"

Let's take a look at Structure!

How many stanzas are there? Are the lines all the same? Are the stanzas the same length?

Open Ended

Open-ended question - what do you notice about the structure of this poem?