EOC Poetry Strategy

EOC Poetry Strategy

By Katlyn PantherCreekHS

Step 1: Read the title. What does it make you think about?

​It may seem silly, but it's really important not to skip this with poetry.

Open Ended

Based on the title, what do you think this poem will be about?

(No wrong answers)

​Step 2: Read the poem once for a literal understanding of what the poet is saying.

Don't worry about interpreting the meaning yet. ​

Open Ended

What is your first impression of what this poem is about? In other words, what is the speaker communicating?

Step 3: Read the poem at least once more, paying attention to:

What kind of connotations do the words have? Positive/negative?

​

Are there any major shifts or changes? ​

​Tone and Shifts

Similes

Metaphors

Hyperbole

Personification​

Figurative Language

​With all of these, consider: How does the poem make you feel? What does it remind you of! What might be the author's purpose for including it?

​

CHILDREN, you have not lived, to you it seems

Life is a lovely stalactite1 of dreams,

Or carnival of careless joys that leap

About your hearts like billows on the deep

In flames of amber2 and of amethyst.3

​

CHILDREN, you have not lived, to you it seems

Life is a lovely stalactite1 of dreams,

Or carnival of careless joys that leap

About your hearts like billows on the deep

In flames of amber2 and of amethyst.3

​Line 2: Metaphor - The speaker believes that children see life as a "lovely stalactite of dreams"

Line 3-5: Metaphor​ and simile: Children believe life is a "carnival of careless joys" leaping about your heart like "billows on the deep" in amber and amethyst flames

​

CHILDREN, you have not lived, to you it seems

Life is a lovely stalactite1 of dreams,

Or carnival of careless joys that leap

About your hearts like billows on the deep

In flames of amber2 and of amethyst.3

​Line 2: Metaphor - The speaker believes that children see life as a "lovely stalactite of dreams"

Line 3-5: Metaphor​ and simile: Children believe life is a "carnival of careless joys" leaping about your heart like "billows on the deep" in amber and amethyst flames

What is the pattern among all the things that life is compared to?

​

How does the speaker believe children view the world?

Open Ended

Line 6: Children you have not lived, but you exist

What is the difference between living and existing?

Multiple Choice

Children, you have not lived, you but exist

Till some resistless hour shall rise and move

Your hearts to wake and hunger after love,

And thirst with passionate longing for the things

That burn your brows with blood-red sufferings.

What pattern do you notice in the connotations of the words in this stanza?

• All of the words have a passionate connotation.

• All of the words have a negative connotation.

• All the words have a miserable connotation.

• All of the words have a neutral connotation.

Multiple Choice

Children, you have not lived, you but exist

Till some resistless hour shall rise and move

Your hearts to wake and hunger after love,

And thirst with passionate longing for the things

That burn your brows with blood-red sufferings.

Which line(s) include personification? s.

• Children, you have not lived, but you exist

• Till some restless hour shall rise and move your hearts to wake and hunger after love

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of stanza 2?

• Children have not truly experienced life until they have experienced pain.

• Children have not truly experienced life until they have experienced romantic love.

• Children have not truly experienced life until they have experienced longing.

Multiple Choice

Till you have battled with great grief and fears,

And borne the conflict of dream-shattering years,

Wounded with fierce desire and worn with strife,

Children, you have not lived: for this is life.

What do words like battle, conflict, grief, wounded, and strife remind you of?

• Love and passion

• Happiness

• War and violence

• Old age

Take a moment to reread the poem and try to write down the "main idea" of each stanza.

Open Ended

What is the theme?

What message is the speaker conveying to the reader?

EOC Practice Question Time!

​Notice how all of the questions are about theme, figurative language, or connotation/tone!

Multiple Choice

How do the details of the first stanza advance the theme of the poem?

• by conveying the problems ahead for children

• by conveying how carefree life can be for children

• by emphasizing the many joys children will experience throughout life

• by emphasizing how children view the world due to a lack of experience

Multiple Choice

How does line 11 refine the theme of the poem?

• by implying the need to experience hardships before one can mature

• by suggesting that struggles give a person confidence to face life

• by implying one must have hardships to understand life

• by suggesting that war and confrontations are necessary experiences in life

Multiple Choice

Which line conveys the theme of the poem?

• “Children, you have not lived: for this is life.”

• “Life is a lovely stalactite of dreams,”

• “And borne the conflict of dream-shattering years,”

• “Your hearts to wake and hunger after love,”

Multiple Choice

How does the description in lines 3–5 affect the meaning of the poem?

• by conveying a positive image of children’s innocence

• by contrasting children’s fun with a negative idea of despair

• by emphasizing the idea of children being active, but also unsafe

• by emphasizing the problem of creative minds that lack clear thinking

Multiple Choice

Which is the meaning of the metaphor in line 2 of the poem?

• The dreams that children have are dangerous.

• The dreams children have are full of possibility.

• Children see life as a collection of joyful moments, similar to dreams.

• Children find it difficult to separate optimism in life with the joy of dreams.

CR Example - How does the speaker use figurative language to convey the theme?

​The poet uses figurative language to convey the theme by using a metaphor that states that children see life as a group of happy moments. In line two it states, "Life is a lovely stalactite of dreams...Children you have not lived, but only exist.." This shows how children see life as a cluster of joyous moments because they have no experienced the hardships that are bound to happen for you to see life how it actually is.