1. Dead Poets Society Group Project
Fall 2019

2. Wednesday, October 17th Project Introduction
Students begin finding their DPS groups
Society rosters, along with a list of member roles, are due to Ms. Turner on Thursday
EVERY student must be in a group
Any “lone wolves” will be assigned a group on Thursday

3. Thursday, October 17th Groups finalized/assigned
Group roles finalized/assigned
Neil will prepare an agenda for the first meeting
Group will select their magnet theme (class, race, gender, mental health, sustainability)
Groups will receive their starter poems before the first official DPS meeting
Students will begin drafting their first original poem – a sonnet.

4. Sonnets
There are two different types of sonnets: The Italian/Petrachan sonnet and the English/Shakespearean sonnet.
Characteristics of the English sonnet
14 line poem
Consists of 3 four-line quatrains and 1 couplet
Written in iambic pentameter
The most common rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg
Traditionally, English sonnets are focused on the topic of love and on celebrating the timelessness of writing.

5. Poem #1 - The English Sonnet
The first original poem you compose will be your sonnet. Remember, when writing poetry you WILL write multiple drafts of your poem before settling on a final product. First, select your topic. Begin a brainstorm on your paper. Write down every topic that comes to your mind. Remember, the more specific your initial idea is, the easier your sonnet will be to write. Your topic must be connected to your groups magnet theme! For example, if you chose sustainability, you might write a sonnet about the impact of global warming on a specific population (ex: polar bears) or about the pollution that saturates our oceans. If you chose class, you might write a poem about a homeless family. After you have your topic, decide who you want the speaker to be and what point of view you want to write in. Next, come up with your “shift” – the couplet, the final twist that makes your sonnet unique and lends to your theme. Our sonnets will have 14 lines (each in iambic pentameter) following an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme.

6. Ballads
Ballads are narrative poems that tell a story. Ballads often have sudden openings and abrupt endings. The subjects of ballads are often tragic in nature, but can be comedic. Ballads are known for their simple structure, style, and diction. They use dialogue, repetition, and usually have regular rhythm and rhyme schemes which makes them easier to memorize. Ballads are written in ballad stanzas (4 lines with an abcb rhyme scheme).

7. “Ballad of Birmingham” Video Discussion
What were “The Children’s Marches” and what was their impact on the Civil Rights Movement? Why do you think their impact was so great?
2. What happened at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama in September 1963?

8. “Ballad of Birmingham” Analysis Questions
What is the meter of this poem? Rhyme scheme? Which words are emphasized in each stanza?
How does the poem use irony to highlight the tragedy?
What does the imagery in the 5th stanza show us?
“For the dogs are fierce and wild” (Line 6) may be a metaphor for what?
How is dialogue used in the poem?
What is the theme of “Ballad of Birmingham”?

9. Poem #2 - The Ballad
Like “Ballad of Birmingham”, your ballad must tell a story. Pick a topic connected to your magnet theme. Be specific! Consider picking a topic connected to history.
Your poem must contain at least 5 quatrains (20 lines total). Each stanza should have exactly four lines.
Use ballad stanzas (quatrains with an ABCB rhyme scheme)
Use either repetition or dialogue
Implement one example of figurative language (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, allusion, etc)
Implement one sound device (alliteration, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, etc)

10. Extended Metaphors
An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is developed over several lines, over an entire poem, or throughout an entire text. Extended metaphors can be direct or implied. Sometimes in an extended metaphor, the writer comes out and says that one thing is the other, and then develops the metaphor further by comparing characteristics of the two things. On the other hand, some extended metaphors are implied metaphors- meaning the writer does not come right out and directly compare the two things; rather, the comparison is developed over several lines by comparing characteristics of two things until the reader begins to understand the comparison.

11. “O Captain! My Captain!” Questions
1. “O Captain! My Captain” is an extended metaphor, as Whitman symbolically connects the death of the sea captain to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, just five days after the end of the Civil War. Looking at the poem through the lens of the extended metaphor, explain what Whitman intends each of the following items to represent:
a. “our fearful trip” (line 1) c. “the vessel” (line 4)
b. “the prize” (line 2) d. “the swaying mass” (line 12
2. Explain the emotional contrast between the sailor and the people on the dock. What point is Whitman trying to emphasize by presenting this contrast?
3. Does Whitman think the country will heal from the wounds left by the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln? How do you know? Cite a line from the poem that supports your stance.

12. Poem #3 – The Extended Metaphor
Your poem must be at least 10 lines long. The two entities being compared are clear and the metaphor is well- developed throughout the entirety of the poem. Good luck!

13. “An Ocean of Memories” by Kimberly Briones
My family is the ocean around us. My father is the hurricane, knocking anything and everybody out of his path. My mother is the sunshine after the storm (my father), clearing and calming everything else. My oldest brother is the sand, kicked and blown away by my dad, but warmed with care by my mom. My oldest sister is the breeze in the wind, cool, quiet, and there when you need her. My other two brothers are the stingrays, dangerous, but also willing to fight anyone who comes along. And I, I am an old ship at the bottom of the sea, lost, abandoned, but full of memories

14. “Love is a Mirror” by Quinn
A sharpened dagger stabbed in his heart, Ripping in two, ripping apart. It took only a few words, but her words cut him deep, Stealing emotions, making him weak. A two sided mirror true in reflection, A double edged knife cutting connections, A place in his heart forever reserved For the one that he loved but didn't deserve. She twisted the dagger; it tore him apart. She stole what was left; she stole a broken heart.

15. “Fog” by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

16. Free Verse Poems
Free verse poems are poems that do not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Poets writing in free verse try to capture the natural rhythms of ordinary speech. To create its music, free verse may use internal rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, refrains, or parallel structure.

17. “Internment” by Juliet Kono
In the first stanza, what happens to the girl before she falls asleep?
Describe the place where she finds herself upon awaking.
What words in the first stanza have connotations that suggest Kono is comparing the imprisoned travelers to cattle? Find the simile in the second stanza that restates this comparison. How do these words help you understand the girls feelings?
What does the girl see that she considers beautiful? Why is she reluctant to find beauty in her situation?
Look at the poet’s diction in line 22. What connotations do you have with the verb impaled? What other words could the poet have used to describe how the dewdrop is fixed on the barbed wire?
What could the dewdrops in Kono’s poem symbolize, or stand for? Consider the significance of the fact that the fragile dewdrops are “impaled” on the barbed wire but are still “golden”.

18. Poem #4 – The Free Verse Poem
Be creative! Even though there are no “rules” for writing a free verse (no set rhyme scheme, length, or pattern), you are still organizing your language for rhythm and sound. This is still a poem! Your poem should be connected to your magnet theme and be at least 12 lines long. Include at least one sound device in your poem. Take care with your diction! Keep the connotations of the words you pick in mind.

19. Thursday, October 24th – Homework
Finish your poems! You should have a sonnet, ballad, extended metaphor, and a free verse poem. These poems will be due with the publication of your group website next Thursday.
Meeks – start designing the group website. You can go ahead and get the different pages prepared.