“FORGIVE MY GUILT”

BY

ROBERT P. TRISTRAM COFFIN

ROBERT P. TRISTRAM COFFIN

Robert P. Tristram Coffin was born on March 18, 1892 (1892-1955) grew up in Brunswick, Maine on a “saltwater farm.” He attended Bowdoin, Princeton, and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar before, as well as after, serving two years in World War I.

Robert won the Pulitzer Prize for his poem “Strange Holiness” in 1936. His poems were based on his New England farm life. His poems were committed to cheerful acts for the world.

ROBERT P. TRISTRAM COFFIN

He taught at Wells College in Aurora, New York from 1921-1934 and eventually returned to Bowdoin College, where he was Pierce Professor in English from 1934 until his death in 1955.

Frost flowers are rare. They form in areas where the ground is still warm but the air is quite cold. You usually see them after a sudden but intense cold snap. What’s likely happening is this: Water is rising from the warm ground into the stems of certain plants. It then flows out of cracks in the stems and suddenly freezes. The water may be supercooled, i.e. below freezing, but still a liquid. As it extrudes from the cracks in the stem, the water touches ice crystals on the stem, and ice immediately forms.

The piping plover is a small, stocky, sandy-colored bird resembling a sandpiper. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the base of its neck. Like other plovers, it runs in short starts and stops. When still, the piping plover blends into the pale background of open, sandy habitat on outer beaches where it feeds and nests. The bird's name derives from its call notes, plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the birds are seen.

FlashbackFlashback:In a literary work, a flashback is an interruption of the action to present events that took place at an earlier time. A flashback provides information that can help a reader better understand a character’s current situation.

“It was years ago, and I was a boy…”Line 3 of “Forgive My Guilt”

MoodThe mood is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. Descriptive words, imagery, and figurative language all influence the mood of a work.

Be ready to describe the mood of the poem,“Forgive My Guilt.”

Summarization

A summary of a story is:

*much shorter than the story

Summarizing is telling the important events or ideas in a

story in your own words.

*gives only the most important events or ideas in a story

*does not give your ideas or opinions.

YOU CAN EASILYSUMMARIZE BY

USING THE FOLLOWINGSTRATEGY:

SOMEBODY WANTED BUT SO

Character Plot Conflict Resolution

AHA MOMENTAha Moment:Watch for this moment in the poem, “Forgive My Guilt.” Watch for the character to realize, understand, or figure out something . STOP and ask yourself, “How might this change things?” If it is about a problem, it will lead to the conflict.

If it is a life lesson, it will lead you to the theme.

GET READY TO READ

TURN AND TALK

Feeling guilty for doing something wrong feels bad,

but can there be good in that?