Robert Hayden & Theodore Roethke AP Literature and Composition L A P

Robert Hayden (1913-1980) Born: Asa Bundy Sheffy Foster parents: Sue Ellen Westerfield and William Hayden Grew up in a Detroit slum nicknamed “Paradise Valley” His parents’ struggling marriage contributed to his painful childhood

Robert Hayden, continued Attended Detroit City College and University of Michigan Studied under another famous poet, W.H. Auden Converted to Baha'i Faith – influenced works Taught at University of Michigan and Fisk University Bibliography includes: Selected poems Words in the Mourning Time Angle of Ascent

Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) Born in Saginaw, Michigan Father, Otto, owned a greenhouse, died of cancer when Roethke was 16 Much of childhood was spent at greenhouse, influenced natural imagery in his poetry

Theodore Roethke, continued Attended University of Michigan and Harvard Studied under poet Robert Hillyer Taught at Pennsylvania State University, University of Michigan, University of Washington Bibliography includes: Open House The Lost Son and Other Poems Praise to the End! The Waking The Far Field

Literary Techniques A review

Literary Techniques Imagery: language that appeals to the senses Denotation: dictionary definition of a word Connotation: emotions and ideas associated with a word Allusion: reference to something in history of literature Irony: discrepancy between expectation and reality or between words and intentions Understatement: a statement which means less than what is intended

Literary Techniques, continued Hyperbole: a statement of exaggeration Paradox: an apparent contradiction that conveys truth Simile: direct comparison of two essentially unlike things using “like” or “as” Metaphor: comparison of two unlike things Personification: attribution of human characteristics to creature, idea, or object

Literary Techniques, continued Apostrophe: direct access to an inanimate object or idea Symbol: anything that has meaning of its own but also stands for something beyond itself Tone: attitude revealed toward the subject

Annotation Acronymns S.O.A.P.S.Tone – Analyzing Point of View

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Speaker Is there someone identified as the speaker? Can you make some assumptions about this person? What class does the author come from? What political bias can be inferred?

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Occasion What may have prompted the author to write this piece? What event led to its publication or development?

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Audience Does the speaker identify an audience? What assumptions can you make about the audience? Is it mixed in terms of: race, politics, gender, social class, religion, etc.? Who was the document created for? Does the speaker use language that is specific for a unique audience? Does the speaker allude to any particular time in history?

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Purpose What is the speaker’s purpose? In what ways does the author convey this message? What seems to be the emotional state of the speaker? How is the speaker trying to spark a reaction in the audience? What words of phrases show the speaker’s tone? How is this document supposed to make you feel?

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Subject What is the subject of the piece? How do you know this? How has the subject been selected and presented by the author?

S.O.A.P.S.Tone Tone What is the author’s implied attitude toward the subject? How is the writer’s attitude revealed?

On Fathers Poem selections by Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke

Those Winter Sundays -Robert Hayden Sundays too my father got up early And put his clothes on in the blueback cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

My Papa’s Waltz -Theodore Roethke The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother’s countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt. Roethke reads “My Papa’s Waltz”

Your rough drafts are due next class period. Good luck!