Poetry Unit WorkEnglish 2H

Imagism Movement – pg. 809Style utilized by influential English and American poets1910s and 1920sImagist poems = rebel response to structured poems,

like the sonnet

Characteristics of Imagist PoemsSimple, unpretentious languageFlexible, natural rhythms – not strict patterns of meter

and rhymeConcise, precise descriptions

What does this mean? Ex.

Clear, single or series of vivid images – usually everyday lifeGoal – recreate the experience for the reader

Free verse, unrhymed, irregular rhythmsBorrowed from traditions of Greek lyric, Japanese haiku

“The Taxi”Amy Lowell

“Mysteries Remain” – Hilda Doolittle

The mysteries remain,I keep the samecycle of seed-timeand of sun and rain;Demeter in the grass,I multiply,renew and blessBacchus in the vine;I hold the law,I keep the mysteries true,the first of theseto name the living, dead;I am the wine and bread.

I keep the law,I hold the mysteries true,I am the vine,the branches, you,and you.

“Moonrise”D. H. Lawrence, 1885 - 1930And who has seen the moon, who has not seenHer rise from out the chamber of the deep,Flushed and grand and naked, as from the chamberOf finished bridegroom, seen her rise and throwConfession of delight upon the wave,Littering the waves with her own superscriptionOf bliss, till all her lambent beauty shakes towards usSpread out and known at last, and we are sureThat beauty is a thing beyond the grave,That perfect, bright experience never fallsTo nothingness, and time will dim the moonSooner than our full consummation hereIn this odd life will tarnish or pass away.

Imagist PoemsRead the background on pg. 809 – Amy Lowell, Carl

Sandburg and William Carlos Williams.Read “The Pond,” “Fourth of July Night” and “The Red

Wheelbarrow.”Chart – see handoutChoose your own imagist poem from a classic poet.

Mark up the characteristics of imagist poems and the language used.

Write your own imagist poem. Refer to the list of characteristics when writing your own version.

Write a short response indicating how your poem employs the qualities of imagist poems.

Imagist Poetry LinksFor more information and examples:

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-imagismImagist Poets not in your textbook: Ezra Pound, Hilda

Doolittle, H.D. (FOUNDER of the MOVEMENT), John Gould Fletcher, D.H. Lawrence, Marianne Moore, among others.

Nature Poems (Poem 3 on Handout), pg. 801Robert Frost – 1874-1963

Wrote about nature, especially focused on New EnglandPoems seem simple, but many use humor – approach/poke at serious

subjects Ex. themes of solitude, isolation

Used rhyme and meter to mimic speech patterns of rural New Englanders

Nature Poems (Poem 3 on Handout), pg. 801Key Aspects of Frost’s Style

Conversational or colloquial (slang or everyday/informal) languageRich sensory imageryImaginative similes and metaphorsRealistic dialoguePlayful, mocking tone

Nature Poems (Poem 3 on Handout), pg. 801Margin Questions – A-J, full sentencesWrite your own nature and Frost inspired poem.

Form – tone and purposeLanguage used – colloquial, metaphors, similes, imagery and/or

dialogueShort response – explain language choices and intended purpose

and effects on reader

Learning from Experience Poem(Poem 4 on Handout), pg. 793Walt Whitman – 1819-1892

Best known for his volumes of poetry about 19th century American Life – Leaves of Grass

Spent years as a nurse in the Civil War – wrote many poems inspired by this experience, including “The Artilleryman’s Vision”.

Signature Elements of Whitman’s Writing StyleHe invented the free verse form.

Resembles natural speechCelebrates richness of American lifeRepetitionParallelism – ideas phrased in similar waysOnomatopoeia – Boom!Catalogs – lists of things, people or attributes/values

Learning from Experience Poem(Poem 4 on Handout), pg. 793Read the poems: “When I Heard the Learn’d

Astronomer” and “The Artilleryman’s Vision”.A-E margin questions – full sentences

Read Whitman’s letter to his mother – pg. 798.Note how Whitman’s wartime experiences are revealed in

the letter and influence his poems.Life Event – Learned a Lesson

Write poem – letter to this person or event or thing.Use free verse, repetition, parallelism, onomatopoeia and/or

cataloging.

Poems 5-7: Art PoemsSee me for the handout, as needed.