You will be working in groups of 4 to annotate one of the remaining 4 poems from Cluster 1 (Two Scavengers, Night of the Scorpion, Vultures, What Were They Like?). Each poem will have 2 groups working on it.
In your group of 4, you will be expected to do the following:
a) Give some background to the poet – where do they come from, when were they born, what are their poetic themes and ideas, what kind of topics do they write about? Which country is the poem set in? What themes come out in the poem?
b) Analyse the language of the poem – what images are created and what is their effect? What poetic techniques are used and what effect do they have on the reader? Can they be linked with other parts of the poem?
c) Analyse the structure of the poem – how is it split up and why is it split up in this way? How many lines and how many verses? Are there any unusual structures? Any rhymes? What is the effect of the rhymes?
Remember: Each Member of the Group must Contribute
You know from seeing the annotations in class the kind of things you need to focus on.
Here are some reminders:
- Title of the poem and what it links with
- onomatopoeia
- contrasts and comparisons
- Simile
- metaphor
- alliteration
- oxymorons (contradictions)
- multiple meanings (how you can interpret the same word or phrase in different ways)
- feelings and attitudes
- symbols ...
