Classroom Activities
Days 1–5 Introduction to Ekphrastic Poetry
The first three days of the unit will introduce students to ekphrastic poetry through three poems written in response to work by Pieter Brueghel. These poems are all by men, but I am using them because it will allow the students to see the various ways a writer can respond to the same work of art. We will begin with "Musee des Beaux Arts" by W.H. Auden because this work is actually written in response to three different works by Brueghel. We will be using the MOMA approach to art during this introductory lesson, and we will start by viewing "Massacre of the Innocents," "Census at Bethlehem" and "The Fall of Icarus" by Brueghel. We will view each painting independently and have a discussion on each independently. Then, prior to reading the poem by Auden, we will discuss what the paintings might have in common and what a poem in response to these paintings might say. Students will record all of their responses, and then we will read the poem by Auden. After reading the poem students will identify areas in the poem that connect back to the painting. We then consider why Auden chose to focus on those elements of the paintings and what connections there may be between the elements he focuses on. While looking at Auden's choices we will refer back to the notes we took during our discussion of the paintings. We will also consider the following questions: What is the connection between the two verse paragraphs in the poem? What techniques does Auden use to convey the paintings? Does Auden's poem change the way we view the paintings or does it clarify the paintings? At the end of discussion students should write a one page response to the following question: How do references to Brueghel's paintings function within Auden's poem? What is their purpose? How do they help the reader? How do they help the poem get its message across?
Once students complete the homework questions we will step back for a moment and discuss the concept of ekphrastic poetry. Now that they have worked with one of the most famous ekphrastic poems we will briefly discuss the different types of ekphrastic poetry. Next we will take notes on the different approaches to ekphrastic poetry. I will start with the four basic approaches from John Hollander, and we will discuss those ideas in detail. Depending on the level of the students in your classroom you may also want to introduce the approaches identified by Honor Moorman. These are much more extensive and straightforward, so they may be helpful to students in their initial work with ekphrasis. After being introduced to the approaches we will refer back to the Auden poem. I will ask the students to identify which type of ekphrastic poetry it is, and which approach Auden seemed to use. Once the students have identified the approach we will consider whether knowing the approach helps us understand Auden's poem better.
Next we will move on to the two other poems in response to Brueghel's Icarus painting. I will project the painting on the wall and split the class into two groups. One group will receive the Michael Hamburger poem "Lines on Brueghel's Icarus" and the other group will receive the William Carlos Williams poem "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus." Each group will read through their poem, identify the approach and examine how the poet utilizes the painting within the poem. They will also consider what the poet references in the painting and what they do not reference. Each group will then create a large bulleted list summarizing their responses on a large sheet of chart paper. After each group has completed the work I will pass out the other poem to each group so that they can familiarize themselves with it. Finally, we will go over each poem using the bulleted chart from each group to help us analyze the poem. The group that created the chart will run most of the discussion, but the other group should respond to and question the other group's ideas. At the end of each presentation we will have an overall discussion of the two poems and take notes on all of our ideas.
On the final day of this introductory lesson we will look back at all three poems. We will look for connections between the poems, how the different poets responded to Brueghel's work, how the poems changed our ideas about the paintings, and what techniques were used by the poets to create their response to a visual work. At this point I will also introduce the concept of the slight tension or rivalry between poetry and art. We will consider why poets feel compelled to write about art which should be able to stand on its own. For homework have the students write a response to the following question modeled after an AP open ended question: Write an essay in which you compare and contrast two of the poems, analyzing the poetic techniques the poets use to explore the situation(s) presented by the Brueghel's art. This will be the first AP open ended poetry response my students complete this year, so after this I score these essays we will do a one day writing workshop during the unit to look at some of the responses and consider their different approaches to the question. If time permits I may ask my students to rewrite the essays based on my comments and our one day writing workshop.
Days 6–13
The next set of classes will run using the same basic lesson, but that lesson will be approached in various ways. The first day will be used to teach first the Jane Flanders poem "Van Gogh's Bed" which is a pretty simple poem. During the next two days we will cover Mary Leader's poem, "Girl at Sewing Machine." We will go over the painting and the poems as discussed in detail in the strategies section of this unit. We will begin by viewing the painting using the MOMA approach, next we will read the poem aloud, and then students will work through the poem silently and look for connections between poem and painting. A discussion of their findings will follow, and next the students will pair with a partner looking for literary devices in the poem and their function. We will then discuss their findings, and end the discussion with a complete overview of the poem, its techniques, and the use of ekphrasis. These first few days will be used to get the students used to working with poetry and art, start developing their literary vocabulary, and considering function of literary devices.
The next series of class periods will use similar approaches to ekphrastic poetry, but will have slightly different formats. Sometimes the students will receive the poem the day before and come to class with things already underlined and noted like references to a work of art and literary devices. On days when they arrive to class with the poem already read and marked up we will have a whole class discussion that uses the same general questioning as describe in the strategy section as the basic approach to poetry reading. When students walk into the room we will start the discussion of the poem by identifying where in the poem it seems to be referring to the artwork, and then I will project the work of art onto the wall. Then we will continue our discussion of the poem and its response to the work of art. We will always focus part of our discussion on what literary devices the poet is using in the poem and why. My goal is to make sure we always examine how form creates meaning. On other days students will work in small groups with the poems. I will pass out the same poem and work of art to each group. They will be asked to go through and answer the same types of questions we have been using, but this time the students will answer the questions in a small group format. After the groups have had about twenty minutes with the poems and the art work we will move to a large group discussion so they can present what they have been discussing in their groups.
For these lessons I will be using the following poems: "The Venus of Willendorf," "Self Portrait of Ivan Generalic," "The Village of the Mermaids," "Hiram Powers' Greek Slave," and "Reclining Nude." I have chosen these poems because some of them have a rather complex structure or complex ideas that may require some background information or additional help from the teacher.
Additionally, while the students work through these poems homework assignments that mimic AP questions are recommended. Students should not just write full essays in response to open ended questions. They could create a thesis and the main points that support it, they could create a thesis and then identify the lines they would refer to and write a short explanation of the lines, or they could work in groups to create multiple choice questions for the poems. While many of these assignments could be done for homework, it is also recommended that some class time be used for them as well. That is why additional days have been allotted for this series of lessons.
Days 14–22
These days in the unit are for the student teaching days. Five of the days will go directly toward the teaching of the poems, and the other two days are for the presentation of the directions and for one day of group meeting time in class. The presentation day and the group meeting day should take place at some point within the previous set of lessons. That way the groups will have enough time between being assigned their poems and their actual teaching day to prepare a good lesson.
The poems the students will teach are "Renior" by Rosanna Warren, "Girl Powdering Her Neck" by Cathy Song, "Mourning Picture" by Adrienne Rich, "Tanner's Annunciation" by Elizabeth Alexander, and "Lady Freedom Among Us" by Rita Dove. Each group will receive copies of the poem and the artwork that inspired it.
The details of the student teaching are laid out in detail in the strategies section of the unit.
Days 22–25
The final work of this unit should take three or four days, but these will not be consecutive class periods. After the student teaching days are over the students should be very comfortable with poetry, especially ekphrastic poetry. They should have learned a variety of literary terms, thought about their function, and be able to articulate how form leads to meaning in a poem. This final part of the unit asks the students to create their own ekphrastic poem. Then they will write an analysis of how they used form to create meaning in their poems.
I have a variety of art prints I normally hang in my room at the beginning of the year, but I am going to wait until this point in the unit to hang them up. You may use whatever art you wish for this assignment, but you should offer the students a large variety of pieces to consider. On the first day I will explain the basic assignment. Students will create an ekphrastic poem in response to one of the art pieces hanging in the room. Their poem must be at least 15 lines and use a variety of techniques to create meaning in the poem. In addition to the poem they are expected to write a two page double spaced analysis of their poem. This analysis must explain the approach they took, why they chose this approach, how their poem reacts to the art, and how the form and techniques they used create meaning.
After explaining the assignment the students will have the rest of the class period to view the artwork and take notes on the various pieces. I will encourage the students to go home and do some research on the artworks and artists that captured their attention, but this is not an absolutely necessary step for the creation of their poem. Depending on the strengths of your students at this point you may choose to use the next day of class for drafting the poems. If your students seem to understand all of the concepts and terms, then this step might not be necessary for your class and this work can be done at home.
About a week after giving this assignment two days should be taken for the gallery walk activity. This activity is explained in detail in the strategies section of this unit.
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