Free write assignment for 5 poems

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ENGL 109
Spring 2020
Small Assignment 2: Freewrite about an Individual Poem from Morrison’s 5 Poems

***Due any time between Tuesday, April 21 and Tuesday, April 28, to Bb, noon***

Goal:
To prepare for a poem analysis and interpretation paper

Objectives:
• To read closely one poem from Morrison’s 5 Poems
• To freewite for 15 minutes about one poem with an eye on the ten ways to talk about poetry outlined in the assigned videos
• To analyze your freewrite for ideas that you could write about more

Instructions:

✓ Study the content in links below:
“10 Ways to Talk About Poetry” https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com/10-ways-to-talk-about-poetry/
“5 Ways to Analyze Poems” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etlbWvcOumo

**Reyes uses the literary term “trope” several times in the “S Ways to Analyze Poems” video. Check this link for a definition and examples of “trope”: https://grammarist.com/words/trope/ **

✓ Review the poetry vocabular from the introductory information on Bb for 5 Poems

✓ Once you think you have a handle on what it is possible to say when discussing poetry, read the full set of Morrison’s poems

✓ Select at least one poem you would like to analyze and interpret

✓ In a WORD document begin a 15 minutes freewrite about your selected poem(s)

Tips: Consider focusing your freewrite on two or three of the ways Dimitri Reyes suggests for talking about poetry in his blog and videos. You don’t have to tackle all ten ways in your freewrite or your paper (more details about the analysis and interpretation paper will be posted Monday, April 20).

**I strongly recommend trying your hand at explaining the poem you select in terms of stanzaic formation, rhyme scheme, free/blank verse, diction, and who is speaking in the poem**

Rhyme Scheme:
The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line. Rhymed words conventionally share all sounds following the word’s last stressed syllable. Thus “tenacity” and “mendacity” rhyme, but not “jaundice” and “John does,” or “tomboy” and “calm bay.” A rhyme scheme is usually the pattern of end rhymes in a stanza, with each rhyme encoded by a letter of the alphabet, from a onward (ABBA BCCB, for example). Rhymes are classified by the degree of similarity between sounds within words, and by their placement within the lines or stanzas.

I suggest that you skip writing something general about Morrison as an author. We have spent plenty of time on that topic.

✓ Let your freewrite rest for at least an hour

✓ Review and analyze your freewrite for what you might write more about, or insight into the poem, or points of analysis that you would like to develop in your paper

✓ Use the what you identified in your review and analysis of your own work to complete another 15-minute freewrite (maybe you focus on one idea, or maybe you just write out everything you are thinking)

✓ Optional: Add another round of rest and freewriting to this assignment if you need to think more deeply about the poem or the results of an anlysis.

✓ Save your work a WORD doc and post it to Bb

**Remember, a freewrite is a chance to just get ideas written down. Do not censor yourself or worry about grammar, organization, or spelling. The technical facets of writing will get polished as you write your full paper. The freewrite is a “brain dump” and a place to experiment with stating what you have learned in words without the pressure of formal writing constraints. I start my scholarly and professional writing with two or three rounds of freewriting, especially if I am working out new or complicated ideas.