WW1 poetry lesson 1

• Literatuur
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

WW1 Poetry - PRE-IB 2020

WW1

Before we look at the poetry written during WW1  we have to know more about the war itself.

We are going to watch a video about the facts of WW1. While watching make notes of what you see (and did not know yet).

After watching the video I will ask you to answer a few questions about what you've seen (2 parts).

https://kidskonnect.com/history/world-war-i/

Questions about the video - part 1

1. Although it was not the single cause, what event triggered WW1?
2. Write down the different names WW1 was known by.
3. Why did the Americans join WW1 in 1915?
4. What kind of chemical weapon was (first) used in WW1?
5. The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war, what was in the treaty?

Questions about the video - part 2

1. What was the role of 'miners' during the war?
2. Why were journalists banned from reporting about the war? 
3. 12 million letters were delivered to the frontline every week, soldiers also wrote many letters to their families. In your opinion, why was this so important to them?
4. Name two 'inventions' that happened because of WW1.
5. What was forbidden for army generals?

How to Analyze a Poem in 6 Steps

Step 1: Read the poem once to yourself and then aloud, all the way through, at LEAST twice. 

Step 2: Think about the title and how it relates to the poem.

Step 3: Understanding the speaker at the center of a poem may help the piece appear more tangible.

Step 4: Address the attitude or mood the poem is attempting to convey.

Step 5: Read line-by-line and 'translate' into your own words. 

Step 6: Last but not least, it's time to get to the core of what the poem is about by identifying its theme. 

https://www.teachforamerica.org/stories

Let's try!

Let's take all of these steps with the first poem from the reader: who's for the game?
by Jessie Pope

Step 1: Read for yourself

Step 1: Read

After reading, write down or talk about your first impression and immediate response, both positive and negative. 

Also, discuss the poem's structure and rhythm. 

For example, are the lines short and meant to be read slow? Or, does the poem move fast, and if so, why?

Step 2: The title

Titles often provide important clues about what is at the heart of a piece. Likewise, a title may work ironically or in opposition to a poem. 

Questions to consider are:

• Does the title immediately change how you think about it?
  
• Does the poem’s title paint a picture that gives a specific time frame, setting or action?
  
• Does it imply multiple possibilities?

Step 3: The Speaker

In poetry, the speaker is the voice behind the poem—the person we imagine to be saying the thing out loud. 

Questions to consider are:

• Who “tells” the poem?
• Does the poem give any clues about the speaker’s personality, the point of view, age, or gender?
  
• Who is the speaker addressing?
  
• Does the speaker seem attached or detached from what is said?

Step 4: Tone / Mood

Mood is the feeling the reader gets from the writing. 

romantic, realistic, optimistic, pessimistic, gloomy, mournful, sorrowful, etc. The mood of a piece of writing can change throughout it.

Tone is the feeling displayed by the author toward the subject of the poem (the writer's attitude towards the topic). 

absurd, aggressive, angry, bitter, cautionary, celebratory, critical, loving, etc. 

Step 5: Paraphrase 

Paraphrasing may seem pretty self-explanatory. 

However, keep in mind this is not about skipping lines or condensing. Instead you should read line-by-line and translate figurative language or unclear phrases into simpler terms that will not get in the way of analyzing the poem.

Look up anything that is unclear before going to the next step.

Step 6: Theme

The theme of a poem relates to a universal truth, issue, or conflict. 

To determine the theme, look over all of your analysis and connect the dots:

• What is the subject?
  
• Who is the speaker?
  
• What situation are they in?
  
• How do they feel about the subject?
  
• What is the mood?

Homework for Friday

Finish analyzing the poem 

+ answer the questions on pages 5 & 6 of the reader.