Objectives

• To define and use poetic terms to discuss poetry

• Practice poetry analysis skills, including tone, repetition, format, and rhetorical questions.

• ​To discuss the importance of historical context in the reading of literature.

• ​To analyze the contemporary cultural relevance of an 86 year old poem.

Vocabulary Words to Look Out For

• Bondsman -- Enslaved individual

• Serf -- Person who resided on a plot of land who worked for the owner of the land (form of enslavement)

• Furrow -- Long dug out trench made for planting seeds 

• Tyrant -- a corrupt leader

• Connive -- to conspire or scheme

Poetry Vocab to Keep in Mind

• ​Historical Context - . information about the period, the place, and the events that. created, influenced, or formed the backdrop to the historic. resources

• Rhetorical Question: A question that the person asking already knows/is not expecting an answer for

"Let America be America Again" In Context

• Written in 1935 during what was formerly known as “The Great Migration” 

• Brentin Mock calls it "The Great Massive Forced Exodus"

• Many literary scholars say it could have been written in 1965, 2001, or 2020 -- still incredibly culturally relevant

Review! Steps to Analyzing Poetry

• 1. Look at the title: What hints does it give you about the poem? What do you know about the words in the title? Paraphrase!

• 2. Read the poem aloud 3 times

• 3. What is the poem LITERALLY about? Draw a picture, paraphrase into your own words, etc. 

• 4. Look at Poetic Techniques (metaphor, repetition, format, tone) 

• 5. Put it all together! What is the overall message of life in this poem? How can we transfer this message to our novel / our lives / the lives of American citizens?

Step 2: Listen to the Poem

Let's analyze the poem!

​1. What does the poem literally mean - paraphrase in chunks.

​2. Note the connotations of many words

​3. What is the TONE of the SPEAKER of the poem

​4. Does the tone shift? Where

​5. What is the theme of the poem?

Quiz Time!

Please go to Google Classroom and click on the quiz.

Please do your best! This quiz is tough!