Literature 101 Poetry

LITERATURETheessenceofwritingaliteraryanalysis ByBunz Overview: LiteratureinEnglish, offeredasasubject inmajorityof SecondaryInstitutionsinSingapore, isacomprehensivesubject, mainlytodevelopastudent’scritical thinking, critical analysis, andclosereading. Thispieceof notesservesasthefoundationfor literaturestudentstodeveloptheirabove-mentionedskillsandexploreimaginableinsights, givinglight todifferentaspirations. TABLEOFCONTENTS I. IntroductiontoStructureA. Structureof EssayWritingB. LiteraryDevices II. IntroductiontoPoetryA. GuidetoanalysingPoem III. Breakdownof Rubrics IV. Breakdownof Model Essay Literature101Poetry

I. IntroductiontoStructure A. Structureof EssayWriting Essaywriting, commonlyreferredtoasananalysis, istheprimaryformofanswer-craftingtaught toliterarystudents. Essaywritingaimstoguidestudentstocraft aninvocativeargument withlittleflaws. PrimaryStructure Point - Statingyour thoughtsEvidence- Quoting/ ParaphrasingExplanation- Goingintodetail, thereasonswhytheEvidencewasselected.Link- Restatingyour Point. Majorityof theschoolsusethisstructure–aneasywaytoanswer thequestion, butleavinglittlespacefor studentstoaddimpactful insights, albeit possible. SecondaryStructure Statement - Statingyour thoughtsTextual Evidence- Quoting/ ParaphrasingAnalysis- Goingintodetail, usingliterarydevices, toexplainone’sstatement/Deduction- What onecantakeawayfromtheliterature?UniquePerspective- Asareader, what wassospecial about theliterature? The“STANDUP”createdbymyteacher of thetime, Mr CarsonHuang, createsamoreindepthmethodof answeringthequestion. Withthedeductionanduniqueperspectivecomponents, theanswer iseasilyelevatedtoprovideinsights, thoughts,emotions, toconveyunderstandingof theliterature. Thedeductioncomponent allowsstudentstopinpoint what theycantakeawayfromtheliterature, intheformof aninference. (E.g. Thetiger’sstripescorrespondstothenumber of timestheauthor hasgottenharmed) TheUniquePerspectivecomponent allowsstudentstodeveloptheirviews/thoughts/emotions, puttingthemselvesintothepersonaof thepoem. Thiscomponent isusuallyansweredwithanassumption. Literature101Poetry

AdvancedStructure Statement - Statingyour thoughtsTextual Evidence- Quoting/ ParaphrasingAtmosphere-ToneAnalysis- Idfentifyingandmakingastatement onToneAnalysisof Evidence- Usingliterarydevicestoexplainone’sstatementDeductiveStatement - What onecantakeawayfromtheliterature?DeductiveAssumption- What didyouassumefromthepoem?Wasit addressed? Point-of-viewstatement - What didyouthinkof thepoemwastryingtoachieve?UniquePerspective- Asareader, what wassospecial about theliterature? ‘ST2A2DPOVUP’ isthemethodthat I adaptedfrommyteacher, allowingmetominimizeanyflawsintheargument whichmaycausemetolosemarks. It helpsmecreateananswer that fufilstherubricsof critical thinkingandanalysis! Atmosphere-ToneAnalysisidentifiesthetoneusedbythepersonainthetext orpersona. Literature101Poetry

B. LiteraryDevices LiteraryDevices, or Techniquesareusedinany, andeverypieceof literature. Thedifferencebetweentheir usageishowcommonor uncommonlyit isused. Themorefamousliterarydevices: Similies Afigureof speechinvolvingthecomparisonof onethingwithanother thingof adifferent kind, usedtomakeadescriptionmoreemphaticor vivid(e.g. asbraveasalion). Metaphors afigureof speechinwhichawordor phraseisappliedtoanobjector actiontowhichit isnot literallyapplicable: Motifs Occurswhenthereisasymbol that isrepeatedthroughout aPoem/Novel. Usedtoput anemphasisonahiddenmessage. Juxtaposition Usedtocreatecontrast betweentwoobjects/words/actionsbycomparingthemtooneanother tocarryamessage. Alliteration Theoccurrenceof thesameletter or soundat thebeginningofadjacent or closelyconnectedwords–tocauseaneffect. Allusion Usedasafigurativespeechtorefer tosomeoneasanother famousperson, placeor historical event; thisisanoccurrencewhichhasnot happenedyet. Punctuation Anon-verbal methodof addressingstops, emotional changesandother actions. Repetition Repetitionisaliterarydevicethat involvesintentionallyusingawordor phrasefor effect, twoor moretimesinaspeechor writtenwork. It iscommonlyusedtoemphasiseapoint, andcreaterhythm. Imagery Imageryof 5: Olfactory(Smell), Auditory(Sound), Visual (Sight),Tactile(Touch), Gustatory(Taste); usedtofurther describeandaddlayerstowriting. Diction Theuseof words, usuallywithadeeper meaning, toaddontothethemeof theoverall poem. Theanalysisof literarydevicescreatesdepthinone’sargument, andprovidesafoundationtoelaborateonhowwordscanimpact thegeneral thingsaroundthem. Literature101Poetry

II. IntroductiontoPoetry Poetry, initsessence, iscondensedemotionexpressedbylanguage. Majorityofmoderndaypoetryfollowthefreeversestyle(IIB.) Poetryconveysapoet’sfeelingsthroughthemes, literarydevices, andinterpretation. Not everyinterpretationshouldbeidentical copies! A. GuidetoanalysisingPoems Thefirst threethingstoidentifyfor everypoemis(STR): ● Style● Theme● Reason Therearemanydifferent stylesof poetry, thoughmanyfollowafreeverse. Themorepopular stylesinclude: FreeVerse Thefreeversestyleof poetryfollowsnoparticular style. It iswrittenlooseof anystrict format, andisoneof themostpopular stylesof writing. Anextract of “FreeVerse”byD. F. Tobreatheonagraphicplanet,Brimmingwithnumbersandlaws;Attractingtruthslikeamagnet,Irritablystrivingtounderstandthecause. D. F.’spoetry, “FreeVerse”hasnoparticular style, it followsnostrict rhythmicscheme, andismajorlyformedbywords.Thefreeversestyleemphasises‘freedom’, ‘lackofrestriction’ and‘abilitytodoanything’. Haikus AhaikuisanoldJapaneseZenpoem, formedbythreesentencesof 5, 7, 5syllabusesrespectively. MatsuoBashō’s“TheOldPond” Anoldsilent pondAfrogjumpsintothepond—Splash! Silenceagain. Literature101Poetry

Thestrict poetryformlimitsthechoiceof words. Poetsaremadetochoosethelanguagetheyusecarefullytocreateadeeper meaning. Thisstyleemphaisestactical strength. Sonnets Madepopular byWilliamShakespeare, theShakespeareanSonnetsarewrittenwiththeiambicpentameter: fiverepetitionsof up-downtone. It alsohasstrict rhymescheme. Sonnetsare“song”-esquepoetry, oftensoundinglyrical. Thisstyleusuallyemphaisisesamelodysungfor another. TerzaRima TerzaRima, of DanteAlighieri’sTheDivineComedy, isalyrical poemstructure, althoughnot asfamousastheabove.It followstherhythmicstructureof ABABCBCDC…Thisstyleusuallyemphaisisesalyrical toneof poetry. PoetryThemes Majorityof poetrythemesrevolvearoundthedailyexperiencesinlifeor another’slife. Poetryoftenrevolvesaroundonemaintheme, thoughseveralpoetsmaychoosetousemorethanonetheme. (AppendixA) Poetry“Reason” Theeffectivenessof poetryisdeterminedbyhowyouput yourself intotheshoeof thewriter. Howdoesthewriterconveyasense/emotion?Howdoyoureact toit? Literature101Poetry

III. Breakdownof rubrics(AppendixB) ● Demonstratesanintelligent graspofsubject matter. Topanswerswill displayfreshnessof insight. ● Thereisgoodanalysisandevaluationof contentandpresentation, andevidenceof theabilitytocriticallyappreciatethetext. Studentsshouldattempt touseSTRtoanswerthequestion. Your responsesarerequiredtohaveavarietyof thoughtsandassumptionsthatshouldbeansweredthroughout your analysis. Usingthe‘ST2A2DPOVUP’, analysisandevaluationiseasilyanswered, thoughstudentsneedtocarefullyassesstheme. ● Payscloseattentiontothetermsof thequestion. Addressall necessarycomponentsof thequestion. “Howdoesthepoet addressracism?” ● How(LiteraryDevices)● Poet (Analysisusingthepoet’sPOV)● Address(Howisit mentioned?Issomethingbeingdone)● Racism(Overall Theme?OrGeneralQuestion?) ● Sensitiveandinformedpersonal responseshowingcloseengagement withthetext. ● Ideasaredevelopedeffectivelyandwellsupportedbytextualevidence Recommendedtoanalysedictioninresponsetothesubject matter of thequestion, reinforcingideaswithliterarydevices. Ensuretopickapt evidence, andnot over-quote.Quotingaptlyshowsthat oneknowshowtomakeagoodjudgement inthequalityofevidencethat theywishtopresent. ● Highlycoherentargument, withclarityofthought andexpression. Donot misreadthetext, andensuretouseproperEnglishtoanswer thequestion. Thewrongchoiceof wordsmayleadtodeducte