I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.
Sylvia Plath (1959)
- This poem was given to me in a very scary PC session one to one with my professor, where I frantically tried to decipher the metaphor. I did finally figure it out :( and I still do think its a nice one to try to take apart with your students and see if they can figure it out. Coupled with 'You're' also by Plath these poems are alot of fun!
Showing posts with label Huixin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Huixin. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Dunce
The Dunce (from the original 'Le Cancre' in French)
He says no with his head
but he says yes with his heart
he says yes to what he loves
he says no to the teacher
he stands
he is questioned
and all the problems are posed
sudden laughter seizes him
and he erases all
the words and figures
names and dates
sentences and snares
and despite the teacher's threats
to the jeers of infant prodigies
with chalk of every colour
on the blackboard of misfortune
he draws the face of happiness.
Jacques Prévert (1900-1977)
- I have mixed feelings about using poems in translation, but I wonder if this one will resonate with students who struggle with academic work. It might be a good piece for language arts to discuss if there is ever anyone who should be labelled as 'dunce' and what the poet is trying to convey about true happiness.
-
He says no with his head
but he says yes with his heart
he says yes to what he loves
he says no to the teacher
he stands
he is questioned
and all the problems are posed
sudden laughter seizes him
and he erases all
the words and figures
names and dates
sentences and snares
and despite the teacher's threats
to the jeers of infant prodigies
with chalk of every colour
on the blackboard of misfortune
he draws the face of happiness.
Jacques Prévert (1900-1977)
- I have mixed feelings about using poems in translation, but I wonder if this one will resonate with students who struggle with academic work. It might be a good piece for language arts to discuss if there is ever anyone who should be labelled as 'dunce' and what the poet is trying to convey about true happiness.
-
An Essay on Criticism (Extract)
True Ease in Writing comes from Art, not Chance,
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance,
'Tis not enough no Harshness gives Offence,
The Sound must seem an Eccho to the Sense.
Soft is the Strain when Zephyr gently blows,
And the smooth Stream in smoother Numbers flows;
But when loud Surges lash the sounding Shore,
The hoarse, rough Verse shou'd like the Torrent roar.
When Ajax strives, some Rocks' vast Weight to throw,
The Line too labours, and the Words move slow;
Not so, when swift Camilla scours the Plain,
Flies o'er th'unbending Corn, and skims along the Main.
Alexander Pope (1709)
- This extract was given to me in Secondary School (Candy do you recall this one?) and though I obviously didn't understand it all, it somehow stuck in my memory as an example of really well crafted poetry. The entire essay is in heroic couplets and is a good example for teaching iambic pentameter. Its also a good poem to discuss the mechanics of poetry and the kinds of sounds (plosive, fricative, sibilance, assonance etc) which words can introduce. I really enjoyed reading it in its entirety at Uni, though it takes a bit more work!
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance,
'Tis not enough no Harshness gives Offence,
The Sound must seem an Eccho to the Sense.
Soft is the Strain when Zephyr gently blows,
And the smooth Stream in smoother Numbers flows;
But when loud Surges lash the sounding Shore,
The hoarse, rough Verse shou'd like the Torrent roar.
When Ajax strives, some Rocks' vast Weight to throw,
The Line too labours, and the Words move slow;
Not so, when swift Camilla scours the Plain,
Flies o'er th'unbending Corn, and skims along the Main.
Alexander Pope (1709)
- This extract was given to me in Secondary School (Candy do you recall this one?) and though I obviously didn't understand it all, it somehow stuck in my memory as an example of really well crafted poetry. The entire essay is in heroic couplets and is a good example for teaching iambic pentameter. Its also a good poem to discuss the mechanics of poetry and the kinds of sounds (plosive, fricative, sibilance, assonance etc) which words can introduce. I really enjoyed reading it in its entirety at Uni, though it takes a bit more work!
He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
W B Yeats
- This one is slightly more canonical and some more difficult words - but it is easy to relate to and understand. This poem can be used to teach the differences between rhythm and rhyme and also has beautiful imagery! It could be about love, but I don't think its limited to that! Its a poem I use to remind myself of how my students feel when they approach me with their work and their craft, and how I approach them with my hopes for their future.
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
W B Yeats
- This one is slightly more canonical and some more difficult words - but it is easy to relate to and understand. This poem can be used to teach the differences between rhythm and rhyme and also has beautiful imagery! It could be about love, but I don't think its limited to that! Its a poem I use to remind myself of how my students feel when they approach me with their work and their craft, and how I approach them with my hopes for their future.
Love Without Hope
Love without hope, as when the young bird-catcher
Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,
So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly
Singing about her head, as she rode by.
Robert Graves (1925)
- This one is probably a hit with students (short and sweet) but it was the first time I really felt the difference between poetry and prose. If I has to choose, this one would be my favourite poem. ST Coleridge said poetry is the 'best words in the best order' and I think it should be able to capture a little of the intangible emotion in between language and emotion! This one has no clear metre and some attempts to rhyme, but the imagery here is the important feature. Very beautiful parallelism and a sense of poignancy captured in stark simplicity. An instance where an image conveys and emotion - I recommend using this to get thoughts started on imagery!
Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,
So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly
Singing about her head, as she rode by.
Robert Graves (1925)
- This one is probably a hit with students (short and sweet) but it was the first time I really felt the difference between poetry and prose. If I has to choose, this one would be my favourite poem. ST Coleridge said poetry is the 'best words in the best order' and I think it should be able to capture a little of the intangible emotion in between language and emotion! This one has no clear metre and some attempts to rhyme, but the imagery here is the important feature. Very beautiful parallelism and a sense of poignancy captured in stark simplicity. An instance where an image conveys and emotion - I recommend using this to get thoughts started on imagery!
One Art
Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
- This poem is an example of a Villanelle and I recall doing PC on it at Uni, even though I think its very accessible to younger readers. If you've ever watched 'In Her Shoes' (Cheeks and I had this very excited conversation when we realised we loves both the poems used in the film), there is this amazing scene where one of the sisters who cannot read despite being an adult finally learns to read due to an elderly patient who has lost his sight due to a stroke. This patient used to be a Lit Professor and he really misses poetry, and she reads this poem to him very hesitantly. Then he asks her a few really simple questions which eventually leads to an amazingly poignant PC on the spot. Its a great clip to show in order to reflect what PC and appreciating poetry is about and how poetry can capture an emotion through a specific configuration of images and words. The other poem used is cumming's 'I carry your heart with me' which made me cry! Watch the film and use the poems! This one is a good example of an unreliable narrator.
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
- This poem is an example of a Villanelle and I recall doing PC on it at Uni, even though I think its very accessible to younger readers. If you've ever watched 'In Her Shoes' (Cheeks and I had this very excited conversation when we realised we loves both the poems used in the film), there is this amazing scene where one of the sisters who cannot read despite being an adult finally learns to read due to an elderly patient who has lost his sight due to a stroke. This patient used to be a Lit Professor and he really misses poetry, and she reads this poem to him very hesitantly. Then he asks her a few really simple questions which eventually leads to an amazingly poignant PC on the spot. Its a great clip to show in order to reflect what PC and appreciating poetry is about and how poetry can capture an emotion through a specific configuration of images and words. The other poem used is cumming's 'I carry your heart with me' which made me cry! Watch the film and use the poems! This one is a good example of an unreliable narrator.
in Just-
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little lame baloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddyandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old baloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring
and
the
goat-footed
baloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
- For some reason I can't locate the date of composition for this poem! This one is characteristic of e e cummings style and his use of compound words. I think cummings is a master of sound (if you need a good example try 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' which sounds beautiful musically but makes no sense to me) and uses run on lines to great advantage. I love sending this one to friends when its going to be spring because it reflects a little of the childlike anticipation everyone feels. I can't reflect how it looks on the page that clearly here (especially the last three words which actually get smaller and further apart) but its a great example also for the visual effect of text and the use of capitalisation etc.
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little lame baloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddyandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old baloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring
and
the
goat-footed
baloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
- For some reason I can't locate the date of composition for this poem! This one is characteristic of e e cummings style and his use of compound words. I think cummings is a master of sound (if you need a good example try 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' which sounds beautiful musically but makes no sense to me) and uses run on lines to great advantage. I love sending this one to friends when its going to be spring because it reflects a little of the childlike anticipation everyone feels. I can't reflect how it looks on the page that clearly here (especially the last three words which actually get smaller and further apart) but its a great example also for the visual effect of text and the use of capitalisation etc.
Time does not bring Relief
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950). Renascence and Other Poems. 1917.
19. “Time does not bring relief; you all have lied”
Sonnet II
TIME does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side, 5
And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year’s bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide!
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go,—so with his memory they brim! 10
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, “There is no memory of him here!”
And so stand stricken, so remembering him!
- This is an easy poem to teach the sonnet form from, and also a very seductive read. I'm not very sentimental and I don't get heartbroken, but I had a good friend who would come and cry in my room after her break up. I read poetry to people to come and visit me and it just happened that I read this one only for her to find it strangely cathartic. I also really like the volta after the octet which is cleverly crafted and a perfect example of love poetry which is sickeningly cliche. This poem has a particularly musicality to it which makes it very nice to read aloud and the vocabulary is relatively simple!
19. “Time does not bring relief; you all have lied”
Sonnet II
TIME does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side, 5
And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year’s bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide!
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go,—so with his memory they brim! 10
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, “There is no memory of him here!”
And so stand stricken, so remembering him!
- This is an easy poem to teach the sonnet form from, and also a very seductive read. I'm not very sentimental and I don't get heartbroken, but I had a good friend who would come and cry in my room after her break up. I read poetry to people to come and visit me and it just happened that I read this one only for her to find it strangely cathartic. I also really like the volta after the octet which is cleverly crafted and a perfect example of love poetry which is sickeningly cliche. This poem has a particularly musicality to it which makes it very nice to read aloud and the vocabulary is relatively simple!
Speaking in Tongues - Singapore Style
Goh Sin Tub (2000)
In days of yore Grandpa laid down the law,
Speak mother tongue he used to say:
“Hokkien lang kong Hokkien way.”
Though Grandma from Java spoke only Bahasa,
She followed Grandpa’s rule to kong Hokkien way,
And she saw to it we grew up kong-ing Hokkien way.
Then we moved from Chinatown to Emerald Hill
Our friends now Muthu, Dollah, Bongsu,
So (boh pien lah!) we also chakap Melayu.
At school, Sir insisted: “Speak English!”
So, apa lagi, we anyhow speak English too,
Chin-chye, Chap-chye, choba kind also can do.
Then Japanese came and we benkyo Nippon-go;
Their ABC kata-kana: Ah, ee, oo, eh, oh,
No problem, we just champor: Kaki lu bengko’.
And now (kao peh!) Speak Mandarin campaign!
Must jiang hua yu, Hokkien way no can do.
Kena again: t’ak ch’e, belajar, benkyo, study, du shu.
At first we may swear at those campaign mandarins:
“Dammit, sial only, so suay one!”
But being kiasu, soon it’s Xian Sheng zao an!
- I really like reading local lit just because its very accessible and my students can probably relate better to it. (Of course you occasionally come across the ones filled with bombastic language being forced into an awkward metre - just ignore those.) It can spark conversations about why people write poetry (as a record of culture?) and why Singaporean poets are so defensive. I chose this one because its less easy to locate online and also because its a little more light-hearted, but I'm quite happy to exchange more interesting (not necessarily 'good') local poetry with you if you're interested! I also recommend Alfian Sa'at's 'The Merlion' (1998) and Lee Tzu Pheng's 'My Country, My People' (1980) as really important poems to consider. Lee's poem is, in my opinion, one of the canonical poems of Singaporean poetry! But I haven't posted it here because I have other poems I love too much to leave out.
I also recommend reading an anthology called Rhythms (2000) which has Singapore poems in all 4 languages. It may be helpful for the kids to read the poem in their own language! And there are always occasional gems along the way to make it worthwhile.
In days of yore Grandpa laid down the law,
Speak mother tongue he used to say:
“Hokkien lang kong Hokkien way.”
Though Grandma from Java spoke only Bahasa,
She followed Grandpa’s rule to kong Hokkien way,
And she saw to it we grew up kong-ing Hokkien way.
Then we moved from Chinatown to Emerald Hill
Our friends now Muthu, Dollah, Bongsu,
So (boh pien lah!) we also chakap Melayu.
At school, Sir insisted: “Speak English!”
So, apa lagi, we anyhow speak English too,
Chin-chye, Chap-chye, choba kind also can do.
Then Japanese came and we benkyo Nippon-go;
Their ABC kata-kana: Ah, ee, oo, eh, oh,
No problem, we just champor: Kaki lu bengko’.
And now (kao peh!) Speak Mandarin campaign!
Must jiang hua yu, Hokkien way no can do.
Kena again: t’ak ch’e, belajar, benkyo, study, du shu.
At first we may swear at those campaign mandarins:
“Dammit, sial only, so suay one!”
But being kiasu, soon it’s Xian Sheng zao an!
- I really like reading local lit just because its very accessible and my students can probably relate better to it. (Of course you occasionally come across the ones filled with bombastic language being forced into an awkward metre - just ignore those.) It can spark conversations about why people write poetry (as a record of culture?) and why Singaporean poets are so defensive. I chose this one because its less easy to locate online and also because its a little more light-hearted, but I'm quite happy to exchange more interesting (not necessarily 'good') local poetry with you if you're interested! I also recommend Alfian Sa'at's 'The Merlion' (1998) and Lee Tzu Pheng's 'My Country, My People' (1980) as really important poems to consider. Lee's poem is, in my opinion, one of the canonical poems of Singaporean poetry! But I haven't posted it here because I have other poems I love too much to leave out.
I also recommend reading an anthology called Rhythms (2000) which has Singapore poems in all 4 languages. It may be helpful for the kids to read the poem in their own language! And there are always occasional gems along the way to make it worthwhile.
A Poem not too Obiang
Jason Leow (1993)
From fiddlesticks and By Jove
I pick my words to find
Alamak
stirring spicily on my tongue
like the first bite
of green chillies that sends
tentative excitement
popping out of their seeds
Why should I not drink
teh tarik and discuss
Lee Tzu Pheng
(without putting them in italics)
among friends who read but
Tread on the trappings of blind
Miltonic and Shakespearean worship?
Like the prata man's
flips and flaps of the dough
taking shape with each dose
of local flavour,
I look for my place
in a Singaporean life.
My place in the sun
is certainly not too LC
for some others' meringue pies
and afternoon tea.
- I really like this one, despite its occasional pretentiousness, because it at least makes an attempt to be proud of its local imagery and makes no apology for its opaqueness. Singaporean lit for Singaporean consumption!
From fiddlesticks and By Jove
I pick my words to find
Alamak
stirring spicily on my tongue
like the first bite
of green chillies that sends
tentative excitement
popping out of their seeds
Why should I not drink
teh tarik and discuss
Lee Tzu Pheng
(without putting them in italics)
among friends who read but
Tread on the trappings of blind
Miltonic and Shakespearean worship?
Like the prata man's
flips and flaps of the dough
taking shape with each dose
of local flavour,
I look for my place
in a Singaporean life.
My place in the sun
is certainly not too LC
for some others' meringue pies
and afternoon tea.
- I really like this one, despite its occasional pretentiousness, because it at least makes an attempt to be proud of its local imagery and makes no apology for its opaqueness. Singaporean lit for Singaporean consumption!
Disclaimer and Note to those who find reading poetry hard...
I don't blog and I don't like blogging and I have no idea how blogs function (e.g. what are 'tags') so someone please tell me if I'm doing something wrong!
I do, however, love poetry. If you have never had to chance to sit down with a good poetry book and really enjoy it, I'd like to recommend picking up any anthology by Daisy Goodwin. My favourites are 101 poems to last a lifetime, but any of her collections are fantastic - a mix of canonical and contemporary poems and suitable for daily consumption. I believe that poetry books are great to curl up with and reading them does not necessarily entail a PC session (ugh)!
I've chosen my 10 poems based on works which I think are accessible and truly enjoyable and I hope you find them so! I've left of alot of the older works simply because I don't find them the best works to teach from, or the most engaging reads! Although I love some Shakespeare, Keats, Swift, Pope etc (and I hope you guys put some of that up) I also struggle with trying to teach those to my students!
Huixin xx
PS After my posts I realise there are so many others I want to recommend so here they go! Rd them if you have the time!
Funeral Blues by W H Auden (for those in mourning)
Ending by Gavin Ewart (hilarious anti sonnet)
I'm Really Very Fond by Alice Walker (for those in slightly apathetic relationships)
Bloody Men are like Bloody Buses by Wendy Cope (read anything by her for a laugh, this one for women deciding between men)
The End of Love should be a Big Event by Sophie Hannah
Do not go gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas
To women as far as I'm concerned by D H Lawrence (good for men!)
Connoisseuse of Slugs by Sharon Olds (lovely erotic poetry really well written, this one about a certain part of the male anatomy)
A Wish for my Children by Evangeline Paterson
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
This is just to say by William Carlos Williams (a poem out of prose)
Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith
Remember Me by Christina Rosetti
I do, however, love poetry. If you have never had to chance to sit down with a good poetry book and really enjoy it, I'd like to recommend picking up any anthology by Daisy Goodwin. My favourites are 101 poems to last a lifetime, but any of her collections are fantastic - a mix of canonical and contemporary poems and suitable for daily consumption. I believe that poetry books are great to curl up with and reading them does not necessarily entail a PC session (ugh)!
I've chosen my 10 poems based on works which I think are accessible and truly enjoyable and I hope you find them so! I've left of alot of the older works simply because I don't find them the best works to teach from, or the most engaging reads! Although I love some Shakespeare, Keats, Swift, Pope etc (and I hope you guys put some of that up) I also struggle with trying to teach those to my students!
Huixin xx
PS After my posts I realise there are so many others I want to recommend so here they go! Rd them if you have the time!
Funeral Blues by W H Auden (for those in mourning)
Ending by Gavin Ewart (hilarious anti sonnet)
I'm Really Very Fond by Alice Walker (for those in slightly apathetic relationships)
Bloody Men are like Bloody Buses by Wendy Cope (read anything by her for a laugh, this one for women deciding between men)
The End of Love should be a Big Event by Sophie Hannah
Do not go gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas
To women as far as I'm concerned by D H Lawrence (good for men!)
Connoisseuse of Slugs by Sharon Olds (lovely erotic poetry really well written, this one about a certain part of the male anatomy)
A Wish for my Children by Evangeline Paterson
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
This is just to say by William Carlos Williams (a poem out of prose)
Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith
Remember Me by Christina Rosetti
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