In this lesson, students evaluate various poetic forms, as well as how form relates to a poem's purpose. At the end of this lesson, students can: 
- Determine the form used in specific poems.
- Determine and evaluate the author's intentions in these poems.
- Examine the connection between each poetic form's purpose in these poems.
- Determine which literary devices—such as personification, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, imagery, metaphor, and symbolism—are used in which passages.
- Practice evaluating how these literary devices are used in specific passages.
- Write their poems in specific poetic forms.
- Examine how the poem's form affects its overall purpose.

- In what ways does text interaction encourage thought and action?

- Author’s Purpose: The author’s intent is either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade or convince the audience to do or not do something. 
- Free Verse: Poetry that lacks regular metrical and rhyme patterns but that tries to capture the cadences of everyday speech. The form allows a poet to exploit a variety of rhythmical effects within a single poem. 
- Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.). 
- Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary work that appeals to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell; figurative language. The use of images serves to intensify the impact of the work. 
- Literary Devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide a voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration). 
- Metaphor: A figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object. Metaphors suggest the essence of the first object by identifying it with certain qualities of the second object. An example is “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Here, Juliet, the first object, is identified with the qualities of the second object, the sun. 
- Poetry: In its broadest sense, writing that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery, connotative and concrete words. Some poetry has a carefully constructed structure based on rhythmic patterns. Poetry typically relies on words and expressions that have several layers of meaning (figurative language). It may also use the effects of regular rhythm on the ear and may make a strong appeal to the senses through the use of imagery. 
- Rhyme: Identical or very similar recurring final sounds in words usually at the end of lines of a poem. 
- Simile: A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (like or as) is used. (e.g., She eats like a bird.) 
- Sonnet: A lyric poem of fourteen lines whose rhyme scheme is fixed. The rhyme scheme in the Italian sonnets of Petrarch is abbaabba cdecde. The Petrarchan sonnet has two divisions: the first is of eight lines (the octave), and the second is of six lines (the sestet). The rhyme scheme of the English, or Shakespearean, sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. 
- Symbolism: A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

- “On a branch...” by Kobayashi Issa, translated by Jane Hirshfield. Available at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=178443 
- “Mosquito at My Ear” by Kobayashi Issa, translated by Robert Hass. Available at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=184777 
- “Even with insects” by Kobayashi Issa, translated by Robert Hass. Available at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=184797 
- selected haiku by modern poets (specified in the Instructional Procedures section). All are taken from The Haiku Anthology, edited by Cor van den Heuvel. W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. 
- “The Empty Quatrain” by Henry Van Dyke. Available at http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/henry_van_dyke/poems/2640 
- “Sonnet 29” by William Shakespeare. Available at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/29.html 
- “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Available at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/fish_elements/fish_tone.html
- teacher-written examples of each of the exercises students are asked to do (prepared as handouts or for the board/screen) 
- “The Tiger” by William Blake. Available at http://www.bartleby.com/101/489.html. 
- “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. Available at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171621 
- “A Guide to Poetic Form” available at http://www.starve.org/teaching/intro-poetry/guide-forms-genres.html 

- Watch the students as they compose their poetry, and lend a helping hand if necessary.
- The haiku will show whether or not the students comprehend the traits of this kind of poetry and who needs more help. In the future, these haiku might also provide resources that let students practice turning another person's details into a different poetic form.
- Students' understanding of some of the nuances of poetic form and how they relate to the goals of the author and the purpose of the poem will be demonstrated in their paragraphs about their free verse. Give students individual feedback to help them assess their progress toward the lesson's goals.

Active participation, explicit instruction, scaffolding, and simulation 
W: Go through or present the poetic forms that will be employed, give students hands-on practice with them, and ask them to consider how a poem's form and function relate to one another. An assignment portfolio spanning the three unit lessons will serve as the basis for the performance evaluation. 
H: Assign students to collaborate in groups, share their thoughts, and compose original poems or poetry snippets. 
E: Through group work, discussion of assignments, and peer review, assist students in effectively comprehending and analyzing poetic forms and the author's intent. 
R: Provide students with the chance to match their ideas with those of their group and other groups, as well as to compare their ideas with those of the whole class. 
E: Ask students to talk about their free verse fragment, focusing on the details of its form and how form shapes the poem.
T: Give students the chance to share their knowledge of the connection between poetic form and function in small groups, as well as in front of the class.
O: The lesson starts with individual contributions and expands on prior understanding of poetic forms. After that, it alternates between teaching/modeling how to analyze less common forms and how they relate to a poem's function and having students practice analysis both alone and in groups.

Focus Question: How do various poetic genres use language to create imagery?

Give students a list of qualities that make poetry. Jot down their answers on the interactive whiteboard or board. After the lesson, have students go over the list again to compare what they already knew about poetry with what they now know about its various forms.

Part 1

"We're going to examine a variety of poetry forms, starting with the Japanese poetry known as haiku. Consider the similarities and differences between these haiku examples as you read."

Assign students to read the following three haiku by the Japanese poet Issa in groups: "Even with Insects," "Mosquito at My Ear," and "On a Branch..."

Discuss one or two of the characteristics that each group came up with (a three-line poem with a middle line that is longer than the other two, first and third lines that are about the same length, very short, no rhyme, simple words, describes something in nature, focuses on something very small, appeals to senses, timeless, demonstrates a connection between people and nature, simple, powerful image, not too much of a description, is a tiny poem about a vivid moment).

"Despite popular belief, a haiku only needs three lines with five, seven, and five syllables each. However, this is only an English interpretation. In Japanese, a haiku is written as 17 sounds, not 17 syllables. A large number of modern writers have written haiku. In his last months, well-known American writer Richard Wright penned thousands of haiku. You'll see that Wright does write his poems with a 5-7-5 syllable count."

Give the groups a few of Wright's haiku to read, focusing on lines 67, 240, and 611.

Students should ascertain what the poet wanted the reader to take away from each of the haiku, which include the following: the frog with a powerful voice is demanding the appearance of the moon for his evening activities; the popcorn man is closing up shop as the snow falls; and the day is so oppressively long that even the sparrows are overwhelmed by it at sunset.

Assign each group to read other haiku by contemporary authors like Anita Virgil, Jim Kacian, Robert Spiess, and John Stevenson and to observe the stylistic differences. Reference The list of materials includes a mention of Cor van den Heuvel's Haiku Anthology.

Encourage students to note any differences they see between traditional and modern haiku and present their findings to the class. Note that not all of the differences are about nature; some have to do with format, capitalization, and punctuation.

“Now write at least one haiku on your own. You could utilize one of the forms we've looked at, or you could use a strictly traditional form."

Try writing or modeling the following haiku:

Howling in the dark
Breaking calm dreams
The lonely coyote

Give students enough time to write. Next, invite a student to read aloud their haiku to share it with the class.

Part 2

"We'll examine quatrains as the next form of poetry. A poem or stanza with four lines is called a quatrain. Consider how the authors of these quatrains use language to create images as you read them."

Each group should read and discuss "The Empty Quatrain" by Henry Van Dyke, "The Tiger" by William Blake, and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. These works make extensive use of adjectives, metaphors (such as the one that compares a quatrain to a fancy cup), personification (such as when the stars "threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears"), and ample opportunity for further description.

"Now, utilizing the same concept from your haiku, write a quatrain for me."

Write a quatrain or model the one below:

A far-off howl on a night covered in frost
It brings a solitary joy that soothes the heart.
A dire warning interrupts the quiet.
And pulls us toward the flickering fire.

Talk about the additions and changes in detail. The scene is described in greater detail; it is a "flickering fire" on "a frost-filled night," not "the dark." Further information is provided regarding the speaker's reaction to the coyote's howl; it "chills the heart with a lonely delight" as opposed to "shattering peaceful dreaming."

Give pupils plenty of time to write. After that, ask the class if anyone would like to read aloud their quatrain to the class.

Part 3

"We'll examine sonnets as the next form of poetry. One couplet—a typically rhyming pair of lines—and three quatrains make up a Shakespearean, or English, sonnet. This structure uses the first eight lines of the poem to describe the situation and the last six lines of the poem to express the speaker's conclusion about it."

Assign students to read William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 29" and have a class discussion about their thoughts to show how the speaker can't stay depressed by anything when they remember that they are loved by the person being addressed in the poem.

Part 4

"We have looked at poems that follow fairly predictable patterns, and we have seen how these patterns frequently impact and occasionally restrict what is said as well as how it is said. We're going to examine free verse as a genre of poetry now. There is no predetermined metrical structure in free verse. Take notes on the poem's form, how the poet uses language to create images, and why the poet wrote it as you read this example of free verse."

Students should read "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop and discuss their thoughts. The poem has no rhyme, varying line lengths, and a natural conversational style, and the poet seems to be speaking directly to the reader. It also uses similes to compare the fish's flesh to feathers, its skin to wallpaper, and its swim bladder to a peony. A variety of physical details, such as "dramatic reds and blacks of his shiny entrails" and "battered, venerable, and homely," are used to honor the fish's bravery and endurance.

"Now, utilizing the same concept you used for your quatrain and haiku, write a free verse poem."

Try out this free verse (or write one yourself):

A distant coyote was heard.
and his cry startled me.
suddenly yanking me out of my dreams.
More than the chilly night air, the howling chilled me.
that encircled me, and I approached the spluttering fire.

Give the students enough time to write. After that, ask the class if anyone would like to read their free verse aloud.

Give students the assignment of writing a paragraph describing their own free verse fragment. They should explain the author's intention and the goals they attempted to achieve, as well as how they used for details.

Gather the paragraphs for the final evaluation of the unit.

Extension:

Students can refer to the resources listed under Related Resources if they require more practice working with poetic forms or understanding the author's purpose. Practice in small groups while keeping an eye on them.

If students feel they are prepared to go beyond the requirements, they can write more poems in any style they like.