STEP 2: Nothing breaks like a heart

• Engels
• Secundair onderwijs

STEP 2: Nothing breaks like a heart

 Discussing (the future of) poetry

1 / Poetry in motion

Ex.1

1 Discuss these questions.

a Do a short brainstorm on ‘poetry’. What do you associate with poetry?

b What is the place of poetry in modern society? Is it relevant in your life? Explain.

--> next slides

poetry

What is the place of poetry in modern society? Is it relevant in your life?

Yes, very relevant in society and in my life.

Not very relevant in society, but it is in my life.

Relevant in society, but not in my life.

Not relevant whatsoever.

Ex. 2

 / (skip)

Ex. 3

Read the quotes in ex. 2. Do you recognise any of them?

a Try to spot which quotes come from pop song lyrics and which stem from poetry.

pop lyrics

poetry

A

B

C

D

E

F

pop lyrics

poetry

G

H

I

J

K

L

b (How) can you tell the difference? Explain.

A Gin and Juice (Snoop Dogg)

B The Raven (Edgar Allen Poe)

C The Loudness of Color (Jennifer L. Betts)

D Hot N Cold (Katy Perry)

E Mean (Taylor Swift)

F The Hill We Climb (Amanda Gorman)

pop lyrics

G Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

H My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)

I Life Is a Highway (Tom Cochrane/Rascal Flatts)

J I Wandered as Lonely as a Cloud (William Wordsworth)

K If You Want the Moon (Rumi)

L I’d Die for You (Bon Jovi)

Ex. 4-5

/ (skip)

2/  The future of poetry

Ex. 1

Discuss these questions.

• Have you ever posted a literary or poetic quote on one of your socials? (If not, do you know people who do post them?) Can you recall or find the text? 
• What was your/their intention in doing so?
  
• What was the online response to it? Did you/they get the comments you had expected? Explain.

--> talk for 1 minute with a classmate; then switch roles.

--> report back to class.

Ex. 2

You will get the text Roll your eyes all you like, but Instagram poets are redefining the genre for millennials .

Before reading the text: take a look at these poems from Instagram poets on the next slide.

Do you know any of these poets or their works?

Yrsa Daley-Ward 

Nayyirah Waheed 

Ex. 2

Now read the text Roll your eyes all you like, but Instagram poets are redefining the genre for millennials .

While reading, mark/underline the main ideas.

Answer the questions on p. 156-157.

Work together.

Timing: 15 minutes

c Highlight the typical characteristics of Instagram poetry in the box below.

--> match!

characteristics of Instagram poetry

not characteristics of Instagram poetry

simplistic

simple

sincere

highbrow

short

complex

relatable

lengthy

rational

melodramatic

motivational

universal emotions

d-e Answer the multiple choice questions next.

d Why is Instagram poetry called ‘gateway poetry’?

1. Because it is terrible poetry you want to get rid of.
2. Because it puts the reader on the wrong foot.
3. Because it is an accessible form of poetry, not too complex to understand.
4. Because it was first published on an online platform called ‘Gateway’.

e What impact does Instagram poetry have on the future of poetry?

1. Very little, as poetry is a very conservative genre.
2. Hardly any, since today’s youngsters are not interested in poetry.
3. It brings radical democratisation in the genre of poetry.
4. A significant impact, as it is a push for diversity in the poetry world.

f How are Instagram poets criticised? Do you agree with the critique?

f How are Instagram poets criticised? Do you agree with the critique?

1) Critics call it ‘amateur’ writing. Through its style and medium of choice, they are commercializing the poetry genre and reducing the quality of poetry, a once highbrow literary genre. (lines 61-64)

2) Instagram poets are supposedly ruining poetry as an art form. 'The reader is dead'. (lines 65-69)

3) Critics say we should stop celebrating amateurism and ignorance in our poetry. They say the number of followers says nothing of the quality of the writing. (lines 70-71)

g Tick off the correct meaning of the underlined words from the text.

--> Answer the multiple choice questions next.

1 relatable (line 5):

1. about love and relationships
2. put into perspective
3. understandable

2 scoffed (line 10):

1. criminal
2. fed up with
3. sneered at

3 aesthetic (line 12):

1. connected with beauty
2. ethical
3. sketched

4 sincerity (line 12):

1. holiness
2. a time long passed
3. truthfulness

5 household name (line 21):

1. house brand
2. maiden name
3. a person or thing that is well-known

6 highbrow (line 64):

1. having a high skyline
2. having big eyebrows
3. related to serious art and culture

7 ignorance (line 70):

1. giftedness
2. hug
3. lack of knowledge of something

8 merit (line 81):

1. deserving praise
2. mare
3. salary

9 to frown upon (line 85):

1. to bend over
2. to fidget with
3. to think badly of

10 perceived (line 96):

1. insisted
2. to make somebody believe that something is not true
3. thought of in a particular way

11 trivial (line 114):

1. not important or serious
2. threefold
3. triangular

12 bland (line 118):

1. mixture
2. not having a strong or interesting taste
3. sharp

Ex. 3

Check out the following examples of Instagram poetry.

 

a Read the poems and talk to your classmates about your appreciation of them.

Give arguments for your likes or dislikes.

b Can you recognise any of the characteristics from the text attributed to this type of poetry? Which ones? Explain.

c After reading them, would you refute or back up the criticism given on the

Insta-poems? Explain.

--> Discuss with a classmate. 

Ex. 4

4 Make a blackout poem for your own Instagram account. Then share it with your class.

Use the newspaper articles your teacher will give you.

3 / Music was my first love

Ex. 1

Listen to the songs while paying attention to the lyrics. Categorise the songs based on the emotion and atmosphere they evoke. Choose:

amusement, joy, eroticism, beauty, relaxation, sadness, dreaminess, triumph, anxiety, scariness, annoyance, defiance, and feeling pumped up.

Ex. 2

/ (skip)

Ex. 3

Compare your emotional perception of the songs to the findings from Berkeley University --> visit the  interactive map

Are your conclusions similar?

Where can you insert your song into the map?

Extra handout

Do the extra vocabulary exercises on the handout you will get.