Introduction
Two lines from the brother’s grim, Gregory Orr
Part 1; guidelines
For poetry: Is there rhyme? A rhythm? How does that affect you?
Rhyme is a very important component of poetry. It is defined as any two words that sound alike. For a rhyme to be perfect the last vowels must be stressed and all the sounds must be identical in both words. It’s easy to recognize a rhyme but one must be cautious not to overlook it. The effects of a rhyme includes, unifying a poem, repetition of words links a concept to another and also helps to give a structure to a poem. Other effects of a rhyme includes, tells one that it’s a poem, it makes a poem light and fun, beautiful and easy to remember. Rhythm in poetry can be sounds produced by repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables. Its effects are the emphasis it creates through repetition.
a. Why did you choose the text
I chose the text since it’s about an attack and the poem is issuing warnings to the people that they have been attacked by strangers who had already kidnapped and ran away with their parents
b. What, specifically did you find interesting
It’s interesting to tell the people to wake and dress themselves so that they can ran away from the attacks but they are surrounded by the enemies making it sound impossible to run. It’s also funny that they had captured the parents without the people raising an alarm of the attack
c. What is your initial impression of this text
The rhythm is well developed in the poem making it interesting and enjoyable to the reader. The short sentences are not boring and this captures ones attention full
d. What was the authors intention
3. What was happening in the historical time that influenced the author?
The rise or romanticism that promoted peoples culture and identity inspired the author to write about the folk tale
4. What words have the author used? Are they shocking or mild?
The words are shocking,” they have taken our parents away” and “they are coming with wolves and leashes” creates tension and threats and the audience seems helpless to evade the attack
Part 2; questions to be answered by each group
1. How do you feel about the text? What was your emotional reaction?
The poem is so touching and carries the audience and places them in a scene of attacks The poem raised my emotions as I realized the parents had been already taken away and the children were surrounded thus it was difficult for them to escape
2. How does the author feel about his or her subject?
The author feels that his subjects were helpless to escape from the ruthless brutality of the strangers. Though he tells them to gets dressed up and run, they are surrounded by the villains with wolves and fire had been lit in the forests and up in the hill
3. What I learnt and the recommendation I gave the text to
I learnt that a well composed rhythm removes reading boredom capturing the reader’s attention. I would recommend this text to poetry students for them to analysis and be equipped with the styles used
4. What kind of literary devices did the author use in the text? Why did the author use these? Did they add anything to the poem?
Refrain was one of the literary devices that the author uses. This is developed by repeating a phrase in the poem. The repetition of the word because creates more emphasis on the attack making the poem flow in an understandable way.
Use of symbols is also used. The wolves with leashes could show that the attackers we armed with weapons of destruction and were prepared to disturb the peace that the people were enjoying before the attack. This added the frightening mood in the poem for the readers
Poets Teaching Poets: Self and the World’’ (University of Michigan Press, 1996) (edited by Voigt and Orr
“Poetry as Survival’’ (University of Georgia Press, 2002)
Stanley Kunitz: An Introduction to Poetry’’ (Columbia University Press, 1985)
