Words and how poets use them! only for quality.

     Choose one poem from this lesson to discuss in your journal entry. 

     Answer each of the questions below about the poem you’ve chosen. Write in complete sentences, and include examples from the poem where necessary. 

      No citations are required; do not consult outside sources.

1. Who is the speaker? What do you know about him or her?

2. In this poem, what is the speaker responding to? What event, occasion or memory is discussed?

3. Choose two or three words that depict the speaker’s response to the circumstance in the poem and explain what emotion or tone those words convey. 

4. Find an example of a concrete detail (a specific physical place or object) and explain why the author used it in this poem. 

5. How does the author mix concrete and abstract details? (Concrete details are physical; abstract details are mental or emotional)

6. Discuss briefly why you chose this poem. Do you think it speaks to you or speaks for you? Why or why not?

Poems:

• “The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
• “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall 
• “Daystar” by Rita Dove
• “To a Daughter Leaving Home”