Lesson Plans in Literature - Coursework Example

Lesson 3: Journal Entry 13 Vanishing Greenery Increasing deforestation for industrialization and modernization Barren lands Grey structures replacing the greenery Subject 2: The Whisper of the Wind What makes it feel like the wind is whispering Whom the wind reminds me of What the wind signifies to me Subject 3: The Raging War What the battlefield looks like The people’s feeling Fading life Subject 4: Spring in Winter Is it really spring or winter What is happiness or melancholy Emotions reflected in the season Subject 5: The Sunken Love How love was before What happened to it Can it be revived Journal Entry #2 of 13 A Conversation between Langston Hughes and Anne Sexton on their Poems “Mother to Son” and “Courage” Hughes: “I think your poem, ‘Courage,’ shares some similarities with my poem, ‘Mother to Son.’ What do you feel?” Anne: “Yeah, that’s right. I think so too; especially in the context of the theme of love being camouflaged as courage in both works.” Hughes: “Precisely. That’s my exact point. Your narrator, in the second stanza of the poem contends that when a person saves his friend in the war and dies in the process, it is not courage but love that guides him.” Anne: “Yeah, I can see that in your poem too. The mother shows courage, always toiling in life, which you symbolize as climbing up the stairs. But the true spirit that drives her is the love for her son.” Hughes: “Absolutely” Anne: “The poems sure share some differences though.” Hughes raises an eyebrow. Anne: “Most significantly, I have been plain about it. But your subtlety is more effective.” Journal Entry #3 of 13 I would like to focus on the first subject, Vanishing Greenery Descriptive Details: Luscious green landscape with colorful polka-dots Tall trees reaching out to the sky Green nowhere, grey dominates Grey structures reaching out to the sky Figures of Speech: 1. Personification. The plants comforted one another as cutting was about to begin 2. Oxymoron- New grey structures resembled the old 3. Simile- Blades of grass stood like swords in defiance. 4. Euphemism- Sending trees to heaven. Journal Entry #4 of 13 Idioms Literal Meaning Real Meaning At all costs Paying all the costs Doing whatever it takes – Determined to achieve no matter what the sacrifice is Explore all avenues Investigate everywhere Try out everything possible to find a solution Hell-bent on something Ready to bent hell for achieving an aim Reckless determination Make headway Move into something headfirst Attain progress in a task The sky’s the limit Go up to sky There is no limit the possibility for success or progress Take pain Sustain suffering Try very hard My favorite idiom among these is ‘sky is the limit’ because it shows the poignancy of available opportunities for success and contains an elegant imagery. Journal Entry #5 of 13 Sensory Details: 1. Smoke from factories engulfing the sky 2. The cutting noise terrified the whole plant kingdom 3. Foul smell of fear lingered in the air 4. Its touch froze their hearts 5. The darned taste of agony punctured their souls 6. The twisted figures axed in unison 7. Stench from a drain where dead fish decay in chemical waste from factories Journal Entry #6 of 13 Baca’s poem is about the way a man cares for a woman, his love. It evokes a sense of masculinity that desires to shelter the feminine. The speaker cannot be a woman because the emotions portrayed in the poem emphasizes masculinity. On the other hand, the second stanza may be appropriate for a feminine narrator, who wants to take care of her child. If I were the woman being addressed in Baca’s poem, my response would have been as follows: All that I need from you is the warmth of this care you so lavishly provide. Your love and concern for me will always keep me safe. You are my guide, you are my life. I walk the dark, hand safely tucked in yours. I care nothing for the world outside, because you are all that matter for me, my sole love, my whole world. How can I thank you for loving me so; caring for me so! Yeah, definitely I like the way the speaker expresses his love and concern. In my imagination, he is a young lover, forlorn, who wants to reach out to his love, hug her close to his heart. I would title my response, “That’s All I Ever Need.” Journal Entry #7 of 13 The two poetic forms that appeal to me the most are the couplet and the villanelle. Couplet: This is a very simple poetic form with 2 lines that have rhyme scheme as aa, bb, cc, dd and so on. The couplet form is mostly used with other poetic forms and it can also be used as the dominant form. A sample poem in this form is: The twisted figures axed in unison at night, the trees, scared, cried out in this plight. Villanelle: This poetic from is made of 19 lines with two rhymes and two refrains. There are six stanzas in total with the first five consisting of three lines and the sixth stanza with four lines. The rhyme scheme is as aba, aba….. abaa. Here is a sample of my poem in the villanelle form: The twisted figures axed in unison at night, The trees wondered if it was their end, and cried out helplessly in this plight. However, I think I will be most comfortable writing a poem in free verse as there are no specific rhyme schemes, syllable counts or such constraints. Journal Entry #8 of 13 Journal Entry #9 of 13 Original Poem (Prewriting): Vanishing Greenery Pretty emeralds sparkled under the glowing sun in an explicit way that words cannot express. Wow! It truly is a beauty that cannot be undone Try as you may to ruin or even slightly suppress. Birds happily chirped and perched on these and the squirrels ran merrily across their long barks Back then the world existed in great peace which explained why they were seen in all parks. God created them in so many kinds but each of them was crucial to life they bore cherries, apples, oranges and even pines but now they helplessly cried in eternal strife In this sinister and selfish world no one cared any more for the trees these gems were cut, destroyed, burnt and hurled the ultimate result being lifelong freeze. So, life was coming close to its end As the gems were uprooted one by one the slow torture forced the trees to fend for themselves, but how? They could not even run. All land turned into nothing but waste as more trees were being cut instantaneously the social animal had not thought through this haste buildings now replaced the gems simultaneously The vanishing greenery taught a hard lesson but man had no time to recover or revive the beautiful gems that were lessened the sparkling emeralds once alive. Journal Entry #10 of 13 Introduction: The poem concerns the loss of greenery due to cutting of trees. It portrays the anguish of the trees that have to lose their existence because of how humans plunder them. Journal Entry #11 of 13 Poetic Analysis: This poem deals with how humans are cutting trees, thereby depriving earth of its valuable natural resources, thus endangering life an earth. Human actions, which are thoughtless and mean, cause the earth to be a planet where life becomes impossible. The loss of greenery brings hazard to the environment. Humans have a tendency to take things for granted and they believe that earth. Journal Entry #12 of 13 Revision of Poem: The Fading Essence The earth boasted about her glorious specialty, Planets grew jealous of her due to this quality. They wanted to become just like her, which was an impossible feat to occur. Luscious green landscapes with colorful polka-dot gleamed under the glowing hot sun a lot Then all of a sudden panic went loose the trees were forced to the noose. Twisted figures started to axe trees in unison, The trees were lost in thoughts of division Until the dreaded axes’ touch froze their heart And decided to completely pull them apart. The cutting noise terrified the whole plant genus All plants trembled alike under this crime so heinous The cutting was finally over, but only for tonight Trees felt relieved at the figures leaving their sight Now, a foul smell of fear lingered in the air The elders encouraged the young to prepare for the fate that so wickedly awaits them but all they did was lose their phlegm. Smoke from factories engulfed the clear blue sky the odor of their family burn made the trees cry The darned taste of agony punctured their souls and made in them the deepest of bottomless holes. Those figures were back to destroy all peace and make the poor trees existence cease. In defiance, stood the blades of grass like sword the trees were being sent to heaven from their abode. The sky once touched by the trees was now touched by forbidding breeze blowing through the massive gray block now every hope rested with the time clock Time elapsed without mercy and all hope died as no trees were left, only memories stayed abide New grey structures resembled the old and aged By all this destruction mother earth was ravaged Now it was the time for other planets to boast as they became source of survival, the next host Earth supported no life, rather had no life her own If only the figures had not taken from the devil this loan there would still be tall trees reaching the sky and earth would be in a position so very high. Work Cited Poetic Forms & Techniques. Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. 1997. Web. 28, Dec. 2011 Read More