Eastern New Mexico University
Writing is an essential part in children’s educational foundation. A plethora of research has been conducted on the sequence of narrative development, but no examination has shown the most effective planning strategies for developing competent written narratives in elementary children. As stated by Kaderavek and Sulzby (2000), narrative ability is an important predictor of school success for school-aged children. Troia and Graham (2002) reported that there is little in current research below the third grade level in the area of writing. Literacy development begins long before children are in kindergarten; the lack of research on writing before the third grade is astonishing. McGregor (2000) stated that literacy skills, specifically writing, are prerequisite skills that feed into the complex process of reading. If writing and the process of planning for writing are neglected, it follows that reading proficiency may subsequently be affected.
Teachers, parents, speech-language pathologists, and many others are increasingly involved and concerned with the development of children’s written language skills. More and more interest has been focused on the expansion of writing skills as the connection between writing proficiency and reading is quite close (ASHA, 2010). To further the development of writing skills, a strategic writing plan is needed in order to manage the composing process (De La Paz & Graham, 2002). Children who struggle with the process of writing employ a different, less sophisticated approach to composing (De La Paz & Graham, 2002). This less sophisticated approach minimizes the role of planning and operates largely without meta-cognitive control (De La Paz & Graham, 2002). In today’s era of increasing information, teachers and parents alike recognize the need for more proficient writers and readers. This becomes particularly pertinent when viewed in light of the current standardized testing requirements for better writing skills (Moss, 2010). There is considerable concern that the majority of adolescents do not develop the competence in writing they need to be successful in school, the workplace, or their personal lives (Graham & Perin, 2007). It is obvious that writing skills are directly related to reading proficiency (ASHA, 2010), but the connection between specific planning techniques and improvement in writing is not clear.
Writing narratives is a difficult process for many children. This study was conducted to determine whether specific planning techniques (e.g., planning web, what-why-how chart, and four square writing strategies) will improve children’s narrative writing abilities. The planning strategies used for this research have been employed in many classrooms for teaching writing. Saddler, Moran, Graham, and Harris (2004) indicated that planning for narrative writing significantly ameliorates writing difficulties, and, improves the narrative composition.
Planning is a necessary component when writing any narrative. A child does not automatically know how to plan properly to produce a cohesive narrative; he or she must be taught. As mentioned previously, adolescents who do not learn to write well are at a disadvantage (ASHA, 2010). In school, weaker writers are less likely than their more skilled classmates to use writing to support and extend learning in content classrooms. Their grades are likely to suffer, especially in classes where writing is the primary means for assessing progress (Graham, 2006). Their chances of attending college are reduced, because universities increasingly use writing to evaluate applicants’ qualifications. To accomplish a well-thought out and compiled narrative, planning for writing is a crucial component of learning narratives that must be taught and practiced in a curricular context.
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of specific planning techniques on narrative writing of children in first and second grades. A secondary goal of this research is to determine which planning strategy (e.g., planning web, what-why-how chart, four square writing) resulted in the most improvement. This research is necessary to determine if specific planning techniques will have increased and more meaningful success in developing written narratives. Gain scores will be assessed according to pre- and post-test data to determine if significant gain is noted when various planning techniques are used in writing. If there is a significant correlation between a certain planning strategy and improved written narratives, then teachers, parents, speech-language pathologists, and others should integrate this planning style in the teaching of narrative writing. The potential contribution of this research would be that teachers and speech-language pathologists would be able to use a specific planning strategy to teach literacy, particularly narrative writing with measureable success noted in student compositions.
This study will address:
• The impact of specific types of planning strategies on narrative writing in first and second grade compositions
• The efficacy of specific planning strategies on student narratives
Kaderavek and Sulzby (2000) reported that narrative writing abilities progress from a very young age. Writing, in general, is a complex process that combines both language and literacy skills which develop over a period of time. Children who are aware of the process of writing from an early age, are more apt to develop a better understand of the writing process, including planning (Bangert-Drown, Hurley, & Wilkinson, 2004).
Reading and Writing
Writing is a process that is closely correlated to reading abilities, comprehension abilities, and many more concepts. According to Agate (2005), a relationship exists between children’s abilities to write effectively and have a successful academic career. The more effectively a student is able to compose a written narrative, the more success the student will have in multiple areas of their education (Agate, 2005).
Writing and Academic Success
Writing abilities and the development of writing abilities has been shown to affect student proficiency in school settings. This subsequently affects a student’s future academics and career opportunities. Many children in early elementary grades begin learning the writing process, but are unaware of the strong prediction that proficiency in writing has on their future (Applebee, 2000). If a child is taught the process of writing at an early age, he or she is less likely to have a difficult time with writing in the future (Couzign & Rijlaarsdam, 2005). According to Graham and Harris (2005), children who do not read and write proficiently have a greater chance for future academic difficulties. Nagin (2003) stated that children who had better writing abilities and compositions showed an increase in language skills, articulation skills, and meta-cognitive abilities. Children who are able to compile well-written narratives are better able to fulfill academic requirements. Many literacy skills are interrelated, so improvement in one area should have an effect on other areas as well (ASHA, 2010). If children are able to compose a well planned written narrative, it is likely that they will be able to successfully achieve the expectations of their parents and teachers. Pritchard and Honeycutt (2006) noted a relationship between explaining the writing process (including planning) and improved narrative writing. If children are explicitly taught the process of planning a narrative, then improvement in their writing of that narrative should be noticeable.
Hooper, Roberts, Nelson, Zeisel, and Fannin (2010) conducted a study to determine what preschool predictors lead to better narrative writing later; however, it has not been studied if a specific planning technique will improve narrative writing. Hooper et al., (2010) studied the relationship of preschool predictors and narrative writing. This research involved measuring preschool predictors at Time (t1) and correlating this research with narrative writing at Time (t2). Results of this study showed that core language abilities, pre-reading skills, and maternal education assessed at kindergarten entry was a critical predictor of later narrative writing skills.
Olinghouse (2007) examined the student-level and instruction-level predictors of narrative writing. Student predictors included measures of reading, handwriting, spelling, IQ, grammatical understanding, and gender. Instructional predictors focused on the amount of time allocated to teaching basic writing and planning skills. Significant predictors of narrative writing abilities were found to be gender, IQ, and advanced planning ability.
Ellis and Yuan (2003) studied the relationship between the quality of narrative writing and the type of planning completed. Three types of planning were assessed. These included pre-task planning (planning before writing), unpressured on-line planning (planning while writing), and no planning. The study concluded that pre-task planning resulted in greater fluency and syntactic variety, but on-line planning resulted in greater grammatical complexity. When students did not plan, this caused the need to formulate, execute, and monitor under pressure, with negative consequences for the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of narrative writing seen.
Corden (2007) investigated the explicit instruction of literary devices during designated literacy sessions. The children were to be reflective authors, able to draft (plan) and redraft writing in response to feedback. Result of this year long study suggested that planning and discussing writing with students had a positive impact on the quality of children’s narrative writing. In a study by Lane, Harris, Graham, Weisenbach, Brindle, and Morphy (2008), writing and planning were examined for correlative relationships. Results of this research revealed lasting improvements in story completeness, length, and quality. This indicates that planning in narrative writing is crucial to the quality of the piece.
Dekemel (2003) investigated narrative development in children, and discernible patterns of acquisition. Most children are capable of producing an adult narrative by 6 to 7 years of age, while narrative form and content continue to be refined throughout later childhood and adolescence. The oral form of a narrative develops fairly early at approximately 27 months of age (Applebee, 2000); however, the written form of a narrative develops a little later. The written form of a narrative typically begins to develop by age six and continues through adolescence (Applebee, 2000). Conclusions given by Peterson (2009) showed that “when” information in narrative compositions was rare at first, and “where” information was more common at all ages. This study concluded that very young children can produce narratives in a no scaffolding (unaided) context to adults unfamiliar with their experiences.
Habermas, Ehlert-Lerche, and Silveira (2009) studied life narratives of an eight, twelve, sixteen, and twenty year old to determine how well-formed the written narratives would be at each age. By age 12, narratives began in the past, ended in the present, and followed a chronological order. In late adolescence and early adulthood, more elaborate narratives with retrospective evaluations of life and outlooks into the future were added.
Numerous studies document specific variable impact on narrative writing abilities (Nagin, 2003 Olinghouse, 2007, Ellis & Yuan, 2003). Many of the studies agree that, as children’s age increases, narrative writing competence should increase concurrently. Other studies indicate that the earlier the exposure to the process of writing a narrative (including the planning stage), the better the outcome for writing abilities (ASHA, 2010, Graham & Perkin, 2007, De la Paz, 2002). As previously stated, narrative writing skills not only improve academic areas, but also future academics, career opportunities, and overall life activities. Writing is such an integral part of activities of daily living that adults need to be aware of the potential positive effects of exposing children to the writing process, and teaching young children to become better writers. Children who are poor writers, as stated previously, will have a more difficult time in reading, career opportunities, and academic problems.
Narrative writing during first and second grade is critical to a child’s success for the rest of their academic career (Kaderavek and Sulzby, 2000). If a child is unaware or unable to complete the planning stage of the writing process, then proficient writing could potentially fall through the cracks. When a child is unable to compile a well-written narrative, their entire academic career is at risk for present and future problems.
Many different methods exist to facilitate the development of proficient narrative writing in children. Some teachers use daily journal writing. Others give a prompt for the children to write about. Lynch, Broek, Kremer, Kendeou, White, and Lorch (2008) analyzed narratives of children ages four through nine to determine the most appropriate way to develop narratives in children. The study concluded that the younger the children were exposed to the writing process (i.e., planning, drafting, finalizing), the more proficient their narratives were. No matter what type of instruction, as long as the instruction included development of the writing process during the time of narrative development in children, improvement in written narratives could be seen. The first and second grade children were included in this study to see if planning improved narrative writing, and if so, which type of planning strategy resulted in the most improvement in narrative composition.
The present study is being conducted to see if specific planning techniques will have an impact on narrative writing proficiency. The study will determine the efficacy of specific planning strategies by measuring gain scores after a thirteen week writing intervention using specific planning strategies. Gain scores will further be used to determine which planning strategy helped to improve writing narratives the most. If there is significant gain scores in a particular technique, this study will show that incorporation of that specific planning strategy may be an effective way to teach and develop narrative abilities in classroom situations.
Action research is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. This study was an alternating treatments design with action research in a quantitative small group. When determining exactly what type of experimental design should be utilized, it was necessary to determine how the groups would be established. The groups were non-randomized, pre- and post-tested with treatment to the experimental group; therefore, a nonequivalent control-group design was used for this study. A nonequivalent control group design (NEGD) is the most frequently used design in social research with pretest-posttest non-randomization. It is likely that the groups are not equivalent according to Trochim (2006). The independent variable, the treatment, was the exposure to the three different writing planning strategies. The dependent variable, the difference, was the difference in scores between pre- and post-test data.
The participants involved in this study were first and second grade students from an elementary school in Clovis, New Mexico using convenience sampling. According to Castillo (2009), convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling technique where subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. The sample size included 45 children in first and second grades. Subject matching was not utilized in this study. The criterion for selection of participants was largely their age. The participant must fall between the grades of first and second. Parental variables were not a factor, since the sample was from public school classrooms. The researcher ensured that the teachers who were introducing the new techniques to their classrooms understood the techniques, how to implement them, implemented them the exact same way each time, offered the same help to each child, and never sent the writing samples to the home setting.
The materials needed to complete this study included 3-four square writing, 3-planning web, and 3-what-why-how worksheets for each child throughout the study. These were necessary in order to allow the children to plan their narratives without the teachers having the responsibility of copying the worksheets each week. In addition, two rubrics for each child (i.e., six point rubric and S-Map for Oral and Written Narratives) were used to score the children’s pre-test and post-test narratives.
Before the study was performed, the participants parents were contacted and given a child consent form. This consent form stated that they agreed to help the researcher and understood that they did not have to participate in the study, and were allowed to discontinue the study at any time. Participants were asked to sign the consent form and return it before the study began. Once all of the consent forms were signed and collected, the study began.
This study paid close attention to the correlation between planning and written narratives. The focus of the researcher was to identify if a specific planning technique would improve written narratives. The study was conducted for a total of thirteen weeks in order to return to baseline after each intervention when writing narratives in first and second grade. The first week, a pre-test of each student’s narrative was taken. For three consecutive weeks, a new narrative planning technique was utilized in the first and second grade classrooms when writing narratives. After the third week of intervention, the study returned to baseline. This schedule of intervention was utilized with the same three techniques being introduced, practiced, and mastered each time. Finally, each participant’s final narrative was post-tested immediately following the last return to baseline. Each narrative was then rated according to a six point rubric, as well as an S-Map for Oral and Written Narratives Rubric.
When scoring the participants, two rubrics were used to score each narrative, as stated previously. Consideration for dialect in scoring was accounted for because all of the participants were from the same region and spoke English as their primary language, so this was not an area of concern for the study. Inter-observer reliability is the degree to which different raters/observers give consistent estimates of the same phenomenon (Trochim, 2006). Calculations of the percent of agreement between the raters were ascertained to maintain reliability throughout the study. Scoring procedures included administering the pre-test narrative and the post-test narrative to each first and second grade class on the same day. Any variation to the administration of the pre-test and post-test were not adequate unless it was performed with each participant in each class.
When designing this study, it became apparent that many confounding variables needed to be accounted for. The first confounding variable was absentees. If a child or children were absent from school on a pre-test, instruction day, or post-test, this may have hindered their ability to perform well on the narrative assessment or gain instruction. If the child missed a regular pre-test/ instruction/ post-test day about a specific planning strategy, then the teacher instructed the child the day they returned to school in order for the child to have the instruction necessary to complete the study and keep the results uniform. The second confounding variable was children’s different learning styles. The teachers employed instructional strategies in their everyday teaching that enabled every child to learn in the best possible way (i.e., kinesthetic, visual, auditory, written, etc.). Third, maturation did not affect the study because it was completed over a period of 13 weeks which was not an extended period of time. Next, the teachers employed motivational strategies in their everyday teaching that helped to motivate the children in completing the study to the best of their abilities (i.e., verbal praise, stickers, redirection, etc.). Holidays did not have a significant effect on the study because the amount of time spent on teaching and writing the narratives throughout the week was considerable (5 to 7 ½ hours per week). Any time that was lost during a holiday or break could be easily made up in the scheduled 1 ½ hour literacy block every day. Finally, weather was not be a concern during this study because all of the children were from the same school and area, and experienced the same type of weather and climate.
When conducting an experimental study, multiple variables are involved including statistics. Inferential statistics used in this study were a Two Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and a Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference Test (Tukey’s HSD). An ANOVA was used to compare the amount of between group variance with the amount of within group variance, and to determine pre- and post-test improvements. To determine exactly where the difference occurred in the data, a Tukey’s HSD was performed.
The research was conducted to determine whether the implementation of specific writing strategies improved the narrative writing of first and second grade students. Furthermore, this study intended to find whether one writing strategy improved writing more than the others, if specific writing strategies improved girls writing more than boys, and if one grade made greater gains than the other. The statistical results of improved overall narrative writing of first and second grade students were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. The alpha level was set at .01 with a critical value of 6.99. Results of the two-way ANOVA reveal an F statistic of 40.82 which shows a significant difference between pre-test and post-test data. This indicates that specific writing strategies used in first and second grades may improve their writing significantly.
When considering whether one writing strategy improved narrative writing more than another strategy, a Tukey’s HSD was used. The alpha level at was set at .01 with a critical value of 1.23. Results of the Tukey’s HSD revealed no statistical significance between treatments. This indicates that the 3 writing strategies (4-square, planning web, and what-why-how) may not differ in the amount of improvement they provide. The most improvement appeared to be with the what-why-how strategy, but this could not be proven due to the sequencing effect. All of the treatments worked equally well.
Improvement between boys and girls was analyzed using the Tukey’s HSD, as well as improvement between first and second grade students. With the alpha set at .01 and a critical value of 1.23, results showed no statistical significance. The treatment affected first and second grade boys and girls equally with no significant difference between the groups.
The variance of this study revealed a statistic of .93 which means that 93% of the variability in the data is accounted for by the differences between treatments.
Results of the study showed that teaching specific writing strategies to first and second grade students improved their narrative writing skills significantly. The different writing strategies (4-square, planning web, what-why-how) taught did not vary significantly in the amount of improvement they offered, nor was the amount of variance between boys and girls or first and second grade significantly different. The amount of improvement between each of the three strategies could not be proven statistically significant due to the sequencing of treatment; therefore, each strategy worked equally well with boys and girls, as well as first and second grade.
Although significant gains were made during this study, a limitation was apparent. A sequencing effect influenced the amount of gain seen between each of the planning strategies. The presentation order of the strategies was implemented to ensure continuity and stability for the first and second grade students. The sequencing effect hindered the ability to determine which strategy helped to improve writing the most; however, a linear sequence was in the best interest of their learning, and was the most responsible choice for the children.
This study demonstrates how speech-language pathologists can be involved in the education of children in the general population indirectly, and have a significant impact on their learning. Typically, the thought is that the only way a speech-language pathologist can make a difference in children’s lives is to directly instruct them on different strategies and techniques. When looking at the results of this study, it is apparent that simply informing and instructing teachers on the implementation of evidence-based practice strategies can have just as much if not a greater impact on student’s learning.
Teachers, principles, and school officials can be informed of the significance in the teaching of specific writing strategies on children’s writing abilities. The results of this study prove that direct instruction of writing techniques to children can lead to great gains in narrative writing. When these professionals are informed and instructed on how to implement these practices in the schools and classrooms, narrative writing abilities of children will considerably increase.
This study showed significant difference in student’s pre- and post-test writing abilities; however, the researcher was unable to determine which strategy helped to improve writing the most due to the sequencing effect. A suggestion for further research includes implementing one writing strategy at a time to determine the amount of gain that each strategy has on narrative writing. Determining which strategy has the most effect on narrative writing will give speech-language pathologists and teachers the ability to use one writing strategy consistently to enhance children’s writing abilities.
Conclusions indicate that when specific writing strategies are implemented in first and second grade classrooms, great gains in narrative writing ability can be expected. Speech-language pathologists and teachers can work together to assure greater student success. When speech-language pathologists collaborate with elementary school teachers in the implementation of writing strategies, children’s writing abilities can be significantly improved.
I would like to express my gratitude to the two elementary school teachers who graciously participated in this study, Cynthia Millender and Marilyn Odom. Their cooperation in implementing the writing strategies, and instructing their children made this study possible. Furthermore, I would like to thank the children who wrote so wonderfully, and the parents for allowing their children to participate. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Suzanne Swift for all of her advice and hard work throughout this process. My research would not have been as successful without her knowledge and abilities.
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From Poetry Wiki
The Odyssey (Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, Odusseia) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the poet Homer. The poem is commonly dated circa 800 to 600 BC. The poem is, in part, a sequel to Homer's Iliad and mainly concerns the events that befall the Greek hero Odysseus in his long journeys after the fall of Troy and when he at last returns to his native land of Ithaca.
It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten year Trojan War. During this twenty-year absence, his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope must deal with a group of unruly suitors who have moved into Odysseus' home to compete for Penelope's hand in marriage, since most have assumed that Odysseus has died.
The poem is a fundamental text in the Western canon and continues to be read in both Homeric Greek and translations around the world. While today's version of The Odyssey is usually a printed text, the original poem was an oral composition sung by a trained bard, in an amalgamated Ancient Greek dialect, using a regular metrical pattern called dactylic hexameter. Each of the 12,110 hexameter lines of the original Greek consists of six feet; each foot is a dactyl or a spondee. Among the most impressive elements of the text are its strikingly modern non-linear plot, and the fact that events are shown to depend as much on the choices made by women and serfs as on the actions of fighting men. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage.
Character of Odysseus
- Main article: Odysseus.
Odysseus' main heroic trait is his mētis, or "cunning intelligence"; he is often described as the "Peer of Zeus in Counsel". This intelligence is most often manifested by Odysseus' use of disguise and deceptive speech. His disguises take forms both physical (altering his appearance) and verbal, such as telling the Cyclops Polyphemus that his name is "Nobody" (Ουτις), then escaping after blinding Polyphemus (When queried by other cyclops about why he is screaming, Polyphemus replies that "Nobody" is hurting him).
The Odyssey begins in medias res, meaning that the action begins in the middle of the plot, and that prior events are described through flashbacks or storytelling. In the first episodes we trace Telemachus' efforts to assert control of the household, and then, at Athene's advice, to search for news of his long-lost father. Then the scene shifts: Odysseus has been a captive of the beautiful nymph Calypso, with whom he has spent 7 of his 10 lost years. Released by the intercession of his patroness Athena, he departs, but his raft is destroyed by his divine enemy Poseidon, who is angry because Odysseus blinded his son, Polyphemus. When Odysseus washes up on Scherie, home to the Phaeacians, he is assisted by the young Nausicaa and is treated hospitably. In return he satisfies the Phaeacians' curiosity, telling them - and us - of all his adventures since departing from Troy. This renowned, extended "flashback" leads Odysseus back to where he stands, his tale told. The shipbuilding Phaeacians finally loan him a ship to return to Ithaca, where he is aided by the swineherd Eumaeus, meets Telemachus, regains his household, kills the suitors, and is reunited with his faithful wife Penelope.
In nearly all modern editions and translations the Odyssey (like the Iliad) is divided into 24 books. This division is handy but it is not original; it was developed by Alexandrian editors of the 3rd century BC. Aside from this, the first four books, focusing on Telemachus, are sometimes known as the "Telemachy". Within Odysseus's narrative, the section describing his meeting with the spirits of the dead is known as the "Nekuia".
The last 550 lines of the Odyssey, corresponding to book 24, are believed by many scholars to have been added by a slightly later poet. For more about varying views on the origin, authorship and unity of the poem see Homeric scholarship.
Outline of the plot
Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, was a baby when Odysseus set out for Troy. At the point where the Odyssey begins, ten years after the Trojan War ended, Telemachus is about twenty and is sharing his missing father’s house on the island of Ithaca with his mother Penelope and with a crowd of boisterous young men, "the Suitors", whose aim is to persuade Penelope to accept her husband’s disappearance as final and to marry one of them.
The goddess Athene (who is Odysseus’s protector) discusses his fate with Zeus, king of the gods, at a moment when Odysseus's enemy, the sea-god Poseidon, is absent from Mount Olympus. Then, disguised as a male stranger, she visits Telemachus to urge him to search for news of his father. He offers her hospitality; they observe the Suitors dining rowdily, and the singer Phemius performing a narrative poem for them. Penelope objects to Phemius's theme, the "Return from Troy" because it reminds her of her missing husband, but Telemachus rebuts her objections.
Next morning Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca and demands a ship and crew. Accompanied by Athene (now disguised as Telemachus’s friend Mentor) he departs for the Greek mainland and the household of Nestor, most venerable of the Greek warriors at Troy, now at home in Pylos. From there Telemachus rides overland to Sparta, where he finds Menelaus and Helen, now reconciled. He is told that they returned to Greece after a long voyage by way of Egypt; there, on the magical island of Pharos, Menelaos encountered the old sea-god Proteus, who told him that Odysseus is a captive of the mysterious goddess Calypso. Incidentally Telemachus learns the fate of Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and leader of the Greeks at Troy, murdered on his return home by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.
Meanwhile Odysseus, after wanderings about which we are still to learn, has spent seven years in captivity on the goddess Calypso’s distant island. She is now persuaded by the messenger god Hermes to release him. Odysseus builds a raft. It is wrecked (the sea-god Poseidon is his enemy) but he swims ashore on the island of Scherie, where, naked and exhausted, he falls asleep. Next morning, awakened by the laughter of girls, he sees the young Nausicaa, who has gone to the seashore with her maids to wash clothes. He appeals to her for help. She encourages him to seek the hospitality of her parents Arete and Alcinous. Odysseus is welcomed and is not at first asked for his name. He remains several days with Alcinous, takes part in an athletic competition, and hears the blind singer Demodocus perform two narrative poems. The first is an otherwise obscure incident of the Trojan War, the "Quarrel of Odysseus and Achilles"; the second is the amusing tale of a love affair between two Olympian gods, Ares and Aphrodite. Finally Odysseus asks Demodocus to return to the Trojan War theme and tell of the Wooden Horse, a stratagem in which Odysseus had played a leading role. Unable to hide his emotion as he relives this episode, Odysseus at last reveals his identity. He then begins to tell the amazing story of his return from Troy.
- After a piratical raid on Ismarus in the land of the Cicones, he and his twelve ships were driven off course by storms. They visited the lazy Lotus-Eaters and were captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus, escaping by blinding him with a wooden stake. They stayed with Aeolus the master of the winds; he gave Odysseus a leather bag containing all the winds, a gift that should have ensured a safe return home, had not the sailors foolishly opened the bag while Odysseus slept. All the winds flew out and the resulting storm drove the ships back the way they had come.
- After pleading in vain with Aeolus to help them again, they re-embarked and encountered the cannibal Laestrygones. Odysseus’s own ship was the only one to escape. He sailed on and visited the witch-goddess Circe, whose magic potions turned most of his sailors into swine. Odysseus was given by the god Hermes an antidote to Circe's potion, a drug called moly. He persuaded Circe to release his men, and himself slept with her. They stayed on Circe’s island for a year. Then, guided by her instructions, they crossed the Ocean and reached a harbour at the western edge of the world, where Odysseus sacrificed to the dead and summoned the spirit of the old prophet Teiresias to advise him. Here Odysseus learned for the first time news of his own household, threatened by the greed of the suitors. Here, too, he met the spirits of famous women and famous men; notably he encountered the spirit of Agamemnon, of whose murder he now learned.
- Returning to Circe’s island, they were advised by her on the remaining stages of the journey. They skirted the land of the Sirens, passed between the many-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, and landed on the island of Thrinacia. There Odysseus’s men – ignoring the warnings of Teiresias and Circe – hunted down the sacred cattle of the sun god Helios. This sacrilege was punished by a shipwreck in which all but Odysseus himself were drowned. He was washed ashore on the island of Calypso, where she kept him as her lover, and he had only now escaped.
Having listened with rapt attention to his story, the Phaeacians, who are skilled mariners, agree to help Odysseus on his way home. They deliver him at night, while he is fast asleep, to a hidden harbour on Ithaca. He finds his way to the hut of one of his own former slaves, the swineherd Eumaeus. Odysseus now plays the part of a wandering beggar in order to learn how things stand in his household. After dinner he tells the farm labourers a fictitious tale of himself: he was born in Crete, had led a party of Cretans to fight alongside other Greeks in the Trojan War, and had then spent seven years at the court of the king of Egypt; finally he had been shipwrecked in Thesprotia and crossed from there to Ithaca.
Meanwhile Telemachus, whom we left at Sparta, sails home, evading an ambush set by the suitors. He disembarks on the coast of Ithaca and makes for Eumaeus’s hut. Father and son meet; Odysseus identifies himself to Telemachus (but still not to Eumaeus) and they determine that the suitors must be killed. Telemachus gets home first. Accompanied by Eumaeus, Odysseus now returns to his own house, still disguised as a beggar. He experiences the suitors’ rowdy behaviour and plans their death. He meets Penelope: he tests her intentions with an invented story of his birth in Crete, where, he says, he once met Odysseus. Closely questioned, he adds that he had recently been in Thesprotia and had learned something there of Odysseus’s recent wanderings.
Odysseus’s identity is discovered by the housekeeper, Eurycleia, when he undresses for a bath and reveals an old thigh wound; he swears her to secrecy. Next day, at Athene’s prompting, Penelope manoeuvres the suitors into competing for her hand with an archery competition using Odysseus’s bow. He takes part in the competition himself; he alone is strong enough to string the bow and therefore wins. Immediately he turns his arrows on the suitors, and all are killed. Odysseus and Telemachus kill (by hanging) twelve of their household maids, who had slept with the suitors; they mutilate and kill the goatherd Melanthius, who had favoured them. Now at last Odysseus identifies himself to Penelope. She is hesitant, but accepts him when he correctly describes to her the bed he built for her when they married.
Next day he and Telemachus visit the country farm of his old father Laertes, who likewise accepts his identity only when Odysseus correctly describes the orchard that Laertes once gave him.
The citizens of Ithaca have followed Odysseus on the road, planning to avenge the killing of the Suitors, their sons. Their leader points out that Odysseus has now caused the deaths of two generations of the men of Ithaca – his sailors, not one of whom survived, and the suitors, whom he has now executed. The goddess Athene intervenes and persuades both sides to give up the vendetta.
The geography of the Odyssey
The journey of Telemachus to Pylos and Sparta raises no geographical problems. Incidental mentions of Troy and its neighbourhood, Phoenicia, Egypt and Crete hint at geographical knowledge equal to, or perhaps slightly ahead of, that of the poet who narrated the Iliad story.
The geographical description of Ithaca and its neighbours seems confused and has given rise to much scholarly argument, beginning in ancient times. Odysseus's Ithaca is usually identified with the island traditionally called Thiaki and now officially renamed Ithake, but some scholars have argued that Odysseus's Ithaca is actually Leucas, and others identify it with the whole or part of Cephalonia. For further information on these debates see Homer's Ithaca.
The geography of the tale that Odysseus told to the Phaeacians (and the location of the Phaeacians' own island of Scherie) pose quite different problems. Scholars both ancient and modern are divided as to whether or not any of the places visited by Odysseus (after Ismarus) were real. Eratosthenes, the third century BC Alexandrian geographer, ridiculed attempts to identify them, saying "you will find the scene of the wanderings of Odysseus when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of winds." Similarly, the modern Greek Homerist Ioannis Kakridis championed the view that the Odyssey is a work of poetry and not a travel log; it is useless to try to locate the places mentioned in Odysseus's narrative on the map. We cannot confuse the narrative of Odyssey with history unless we believe in the existence of gods, giants and monsters. One might indeed ask what real locations inspired these imaginary places, but it has to be borne in mind that geography is not the main concern either of Odysseus (as narrator) or of the poet.
By contrast, those who argue for real locations point to the high degree of realism in the poem generally, for example in the description of sailing; but even among these scholars there is endless dispute over actual identifications. The most common view, treated as fact or probable fact in some reference works, sees Odysseus driven far off course into the western Mediterranean, with most of his landfalls taking place between north Africa, Sardinia, Italy and Sicily but without any very coherent route from one to the next. The following identifications are commonly made:
- The island of Calypso, referred to in the Odyssey as Ogygia, is associated locally with Gozo, which is part of the Maltese archipelago.
- The Lotus Eaters are located in Tunisia, or elsewhere on the north African coast, on the basis that this would be the expected landfall for a sailing vessel blown off course at Cape Malea.
- The island of the Cyclopes was in ancient times commonly thought to be Sicily.
- Aeolus is traditionally placed north of Sicily in the Aeolian Islands (hence their name).
- The Laestrygones are sometimes placed in Sardinia.
- The home of Circe was believed by many in ancient times to be at or near Circeii on the coast of Latium (central Italy). Others placed Circe on an island at the western end of the Mediterranean, because:
- The crossing of Ocean, which followed Odysseus's first visit to Circe, is often understood as an excursion beyond the Pillars of Hercules into the Atlantic Ocean. Odysseus's brief visit to the Underworld, with its three rivers Acheron, Phlegethon and Cocytus, is not usually looked for on the real map of the world (but see below).
- Scylla and Charybdis are traditionally located on either side of the Straits of Messina.
- A connection between Thrinacia, the island home of Helios' cattle, and Sicily was already made in Antiquity; the poetic name of Sicily in later Greek literature was Trinacria.
- The kingdom of the Phaeacians on the island of Scherie, described as a recent colony established "far from barley-eating men", has traditionally been identified with some confidence as Corcyra (Corfu).
Not all reconstructions are based purely on readings in the classics: Tim Severin sailed a replica Greek sailing vessel (originally built for his attempt to retrace the steps of Jason and the Argonauts) along the 'natural' route from Troy to Ithaca, following the sailing directions that could be teased out of Homer. Along the way he found locations at the natural turning and dislocation points which fit the pattern much more closely than the usual identifications above. However, he also came to the conclusion that the sequence of adventures from Circe onwards derived from a separate voyage to the sequence that ended with the Laestrygones, possibly derived from the stories of the Argonauts. He placed many of the later episodes on the northwest Greek coast, where there is a real river Acheron. Along the way he found on the map Cape Skilla and other names that implied strong mythological links to the Odyssey. His adventure is recounted in The Ulysses Voyage: Sea Search for the Odyssey.
Near Eastern influences
Scholars have seen strong influences from Near Eastern mythology and literature in the Odyssey. Martin West has noted substantial parallels between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are known for travelling to the ends of the earth, and on their journeys go to the land of the dead. On his voyage to the underworld Odysseus follows instructions given to him by Circe, a goddess who is the daughter of the sun-god Helios. Her island, Aiaia, is located at the edges of the world, and seems to have close associations with the sun. Like Odysseus,Gilgamesh gets directions on how to reach the land of the dead from a divine helper: in this case she is the goddess Siduri, who, like Circe, dwells by the sea at the ends of the earth. Her home is also associated with the sun: Gilgamesh reaches Siduri's house by passing through a tunnel underneath Mt. Mashu, the high mountain from which the sun comes into the sky. West argues that the similarity of Odysseus' and Gilgamesh's journeys to the edges of the earth are the result of the influence of the Gilgamesh epic upon the Odyssey.
- The contemporary play Highway Ulysses by Rinde Eckert tells the story of the journey of a Vietnam veteran travelling to his son, meeting modern day characters akin to characters or monsters in the Odyssey (including the Sirens and Cyclops).
- "Telemachus Clay" by Lewis John Carlino is a contemporary play about the travels of a young man, Telemachus, in search of the father he never knew in the big city as he meets many strange characters along the way.
- The 1954 Broadway musical The Golden Apple by librettist John Treville Latouche and composer Jerome Moross was freely adapted from the Iliad and the Odyssey, re-setting the action to the American state of Washington in the years after the Spanish-American War, with events inspired by the Iliad in Act One and events inspired by the Odyssey in Act Two.
- Some of the tales of Sindbad the Sailor from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) were taken from Homer's Odyssey.
- A modern novel inspired by the Odyssey is James Joyce's Ulysses (1922).
- Nikos Kazantzakis wrote The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, a 33,333 line epic poem which continues Odysseus' journeys past the point of his arrival in Ithaca.
- Andrew Lang and H. Rider Haggard collaborated on The World's Desire in which Odysseus and Helen meet in Egypt at the time of the Exodus.
- "The Odyssey", a made for TV movie from 2001 made by Hallmark Entertainment and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky is a slightly abbreiviated version of the tale which encompasses Homer's epic. It stars Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Rossellini and Vanessa Williams.
- The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? has the basic plot of The Odyssey; Joel and Ethan Coen admit to basing the movie loosely on the Odyssey (and explicitly reference it in the opening credits) but insist that they haven't read it.
- R.A. Lafferty retold the story in a science fiction setting in his novel Space Chantey. Another science fiction retelling of the Odyssey is R L Fanthorpe's novel Negative Minus, in which all the names are spelled backwards (for example "Suessydo", "Ecric" and "Acahti").
- Progressive metal group Symphony X based a 24-minute epic track The Odyssey on the story in their 2002 album, The Odyssey.
- The animated cartoon Ulysses 31 featured a science-fiction tale of a hero trying to get back to his wife Penelope.
- The first half of Virgil's Aeneid parallels the Odyssey in structure.
- Ulysses, a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, and also The Lotos-Eaters.
- Tank Girl: Odyssey borrows freely and irreverently from Homer and from James Joyce's Ulysses, casting targets in the contemporary media as the trials the heroine must overcome to get back to her mutant kangaroo boyfriend.
- Odyssey: A Stage Version, 1993 play, divided into two acts (respectively broken up into 14 and 6 scenes) written by Derek Walcott and originally performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- The 1997 novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, about a confederate war deserter returning home, is based on The Odyssey
- In Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963) German film director Fritz Lang plays himself trying to direct a film adaptation of Homer's Odyssey.
- In Dante's Divine Comedy ("Inferno XXVI"), Odysseus is punished as a fraudulent advisor in Hell, talking about the Hubris of his last voyage (over the edge). (Yet this story is not taken from Homer's Odyssey.)
- Odds Bodkin has published a retelling of the Odyssey, featuring vocal storytelling and musical accompaniment, entitled "The Odyssey." This work includes most of the plot of Homer's "Odyssey," and is narrated from Odysseus' point of view.
- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood retells the story from the point of view of Penelope.
- The Desmond Hume storyline on Lost may be based partly on The Odyssey; Desmond goes on a "race around the world" in order to win back his honor and marry his girlfriend Penelope.
- The main character of Hayao Miyazaki's movie Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is named after the princess in the Odyssey.
- The short story The Ulyssey by uruguayan writer Rodrigo Tisnés, tells in a humoristic way, the frustrated attempt of two friends both named Ulysses in Eastern Holidays, to travel from Montevideo in Uruguay to Florianopolis in Brazil.
- ↑ The dog Argos dies autik' idont' Odusea eeikosto eniauto ("seeing Odysseus again in the twentieth year"), Odyssey 17.327; cf. also 2.174-6, 23.102, 23.171.
- ↑ This device is imitated by later authors of literary epics, e.g. Virgil in the Aeneid.
- ↑ This theme once existed in the form of a written epic, Nostoi, now lost.
- ↑ Outline originally based on Template:Harvard reference pp. xx-xxiv.
- ↑ Setting aside the geographical knowledge shown in the Catalogue of Ships and Trojan Battle Order, which are extremely detailed and precise, but may have a different history from the remainder of the Iliad narrative.
- ↑ For Robert Bittlestone's recent work, identifying the Paliki peninsula with Homer's Ithaca, see Odysseus Unbound.
- ↑ Ελληνική Μυθολογία, vol. 5: The Trojan War (1986) Ekdotike Athenon, Athens. Kakridis compares the effort to locate Circe's island to locating the castle of Bluebeard or the hut of the seven dwarves.
- ↑ The Greek geographer Strabo noted that "Homer was not ignorant about the ebb and flow of Okeanos": Strabo, Geography, 1.7.8.
- ↑ Theophile Cailleux, Pays Atlantiques décrits par Homère, 1879, Maisonneuve & Cie, Paris
- ↑ West, Martin. The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth. (Oxford 1997) 402-417.
- Greek Myth: the Odyssey
- The Meaning of Tradition in Homer's Odyssey by Marcel Bas. Views The Odyssey from the perspective of Indo-european tradition and religion.
- Homer's Odyssey resources on the Web by Jorn Barger. Provides links to the original and various public domain translations.
- John Jackson
- Homer: Odyssey © Oxford Univ. Press 1902, parsing and English definitions by John Jackson © 2006 Free eBook for Palm Handheld
- George Chapman, 1616 (couplets)
- Alexander Pope, 1713 (couplets); Project Gutenberg edition;
- William Cowper, 1791 (blank verse)
- Samuel Henry Butcher and Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg edition;
- William Cullen Bryant, 1871 (blank verse)
- William Morris, 1887
- Samuel Butler, 1898 (prose), Project Gutenberg edition;
- English Text Samuel Butler, 1898 (prose)
- A. T. Murray (revised by George E. Dimock), 1919; Loeb Classical Library (ISBN 0-674-99561-9)
- T.E. Shaw (T.E. Lawrence), 1932
- W. H. D. Rouse, 1937
- E. V. Rieu, 1945
- Richmond Lattimore, 1965 (ISBN 0-06-093195-7)
- Robert Fitzgerald, 1963 (ISBN 0-679-72813-9)
- Walter Shewring, 1980 (ISBN 0-19-283375-8), Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics)
- Allen Mandlebaum, 1990
- Robert Fagles, 1996 (ISBN 0-14-026886-3); an unabridged audio recording by Ian McKellen is also available (ISBN 0-14-086430-X).
- Stanley Lombardo, 2000 (ISBN 0-87220-484-7) has what is considered by some to be the best combination of faithfulness to the original Greek and a more vernacular style. An audio CD recording read by the translator is also available (ISBN 1-930972-06-7).
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|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home|
Cynthia H. Roberts
It is my intention to show that students of poor neighborhoods, if given the chance and opportunity to write, have a tremendous amount to say and they are very anxious to speak through poetry. These students will be given the opportunity to let go and be creative.
- 1. To encourage self-analysis, especially of one’s own pattern of thinking and rationalizing.
- 2. To develop an awareness of pride in the many contributions made by Afro-American poets.
- 3. To gain an appreciation for poetry.
- 4. To be able to express orally and in written form their feelings and emotions.
- 5. To increase reading comprehension and vocabulary building.
- 6. To enhance students’ oral language and social skills through group work.
- 7. To help students feel a sense of pride, promote learning, social growth and to help build self-esteem.
This unit will cover an eight to ten week period. Classes will meet twice weekly for a total of 48 minutes each class.
I. INTRODUCTION—I will introduce and discuss poetry in depth. Students will understand that poetry is age old and in its varied forms has always been the way that mankind has given expression to something more than ideas. Like music, its rhythms and cadences are universal in their emotional appeal.
II. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES/SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Biographical sketches of poets will be presented to students. Students will be exposed to the historical events taking place in each poet’s career. These events include the Harlem Renaissance and the Post-Depression.
IV. POETRY TERMINOLOGY
I will familiarize students with terms used in the poem selections. Students will define and discuss the terms found in the unit. Students will then cite examples in selected poems by poets.
V. POETRY READING
Students will read each selected poem by a poet, memorizing whenever possible, and looking closely at the theme of the poem.
VI. POETRY CREATIONS
The final activity for this unit will deal with creative writing. Students will be asked to use any theme or style to create several poems on his/her own life. The lesson plan in the unit will detail specific suggestions.
Poetry universalizes experience. It has the power to make an event seem to be happening to us although it may have occurred many years ago to people we don’t know. In this way, it opens up to every one an experience originally enjoyed by only a few.
The poet sees and feels a situation in away that enables him to express it for our better understanding and enjoyment.
After introducing students to poetry, the students will then proceed to studying selected Afro-American poetry in depth utilizing a format such as learning biographical and historical information about the poet (exploring the lives of each of these writers), listening to selected poems read by the teacher, using choral speaking, learning new vocabulary words, discussion of poetry terminology, answering questions relating to the understanding of poetry, and writing creatively in response to the poetry selections. I will use selected poems from exceptional writers. These include:
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
These writers and their works were chosen for diversities in their theme, styles, and the historical perspectives.
The poems I will use are influenced by art as by life. These authors write for an audience as well as out of experience. Students will have the opportunity to analyze the following poems for their reflection of Afro-American problems. These include: “Mother To Son”, “I, Too”, and “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. “Incident”, “Yet Do I Marvel” and “Tableau” by Countee Cullen. “Nikki Rosa”, “Mothers”, and “My House”, by Nikki Giovanni. “The Tropics in New York”, by Claude McKay. “Golden Slippers”, and “A Black Man Talks of Reaping”, by Arna Bontemps. “Sympathy” and “We Wear The Mask”, by Paul Laurence Dunbar. “We Real Cool”, by Gwendolyn Brooks.
Students will look closely at the works of the Afro-American poets and how they perceive the world around them. Such topics as the following will be analyzed and discussed: oppression, feelings of grief, sadness, motherhood, relationships, families, and injustices.
Students will get to know these gifted individuals. Each of them proved that one person can make a difference.
These individuals make a difference by the part each played in awakening America to the many contributions they made.
The biographical sketches given only provide students with a small amount of information on the author. I plan to emphasize through discussion and group oral reports, the many contributions each poet made to America.
Students will learn in many ways these authors are individuals are just like they are. They had childhoods, families, goals, and dreams. Sometimes, they had to overcome disappointments.
These poets, help us to understand ourselves and the world around us. They make us laugh, or cry and sometimes think. Often, their works inspire social change.
Detailed treatment will be given to several poems. For this purpose, I plan to use choral speaking with students.
Choral Speaking has many advantages:
Each poem in this section is an experience—it was for the poet who wrote it and it can be for the reader who participates in it. It has a meaning for the poet; the author combines story and idea or mood and impressions.
- 1. It will help to develop good clear speech.
- 2. It develops a love for poetry.
- 3. It is a form of artistic expression in which all students can join.
- 4. It offers for greater variety than possible through solo speaking.1
A poem always “means” something, but not all poems have the same kinds of “meaning”.
|LANGSTON HUGHES2||NIKKI GIOVANNI4|
|“Mother To Son”||“Nikki Rosa”|
|COUNTEE CULLEN3||CLAUDE McKAY5|
|“Incident”||“The Tropics in New York”|
|ARNA BONTEMPS6||PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR7|
|“A Black Man Talks of Reaping”||“We Wear The Mask”|
“We Real Cool”
An appreciation of poetry is deepened and broaden by an acquaintance with it.9
In working with students, I’ve come to realize that students especially black students, have little to no knowledge about the Renaissance and how this period has anything to do with their Cultural background.
I will in some detail, cite events that have occurred in History.
The word Renaissance means rebirth and resurgence of art, music, and culture.
There was a charge that occurred between artist and intellectuals. There was a demand for equality. This was the beginning of the Renaissance.
The Harlem Renaissance began around 1918 and lasted until about 1933. Although it was short lived, it changed the face of black America forever. During this time, it features some of the biggest names in writing, literature, as well as other related fields.
During the Harlem Renaissance, for the first time black writers suddenly began to appear and assert the values of the black culture.
There was a group of black writers who formed a group in Harlem, so they could meet and share their problems and they analyzed their works together.
For the first time, blacks had attained freedom to be themselves. They had the freedom to write.
By the 1900’s many blacks became professionals. There were scientist, poets, artist, and musicians. There was a desire to promote and defend the talents of blacks.
Afro-Americans did flourish in their writings. The following individuals were among the poets of that period who were considered skillful in competition with other writers.
Writers such as Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes established themselves as exceptional writers of this period.
In the Post-Depression of the 30’s, the economic problems hit blacks the hardest. During this time, writers became concerned about the survival rather than expression. These writers found themselves getting their subject matter from the South and throughout the United States. Their subject matter was about suffering, frustration suffered by poor blacks, and humiliation of extreme poverty.
Gwendolyn Brooks was among the poets during this time.
The following terminology will be presented to students in this unit. The strategy for presenting this section to students will have continuity and structure. Before students begin studying actual poem selections, they will be introduced to these terms listed below:
After having been introduced to the above terminology, students will be asked to give examples of each term. Students will be provided with cite examples to help with the distinction of each term.
- 1. MOOD—the state of feeling created by a poem, story, or play, such as sentimental or a bitter mood. Students will be given examples of each.
- 2. LYRIC—a poem that has the form and musical quality of a song in which the poet expresses an intense personal feeling.
- 3. METAPHOR—a figure of speech in which two things are identified with each other.
- 4. IMAGE—any word, or group of words, that appeals to the senses creates pictures in the mind.
- 5. ALLITERATION—the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words in a line of verse.
- 6. THEME—the central thought or idea in a poem.
- 7. TONE—the feeling conveyed by a writer’s attitude toward his subject and reveal through his style and choice of words.
- 8. REFRAIN—a line or stanza repeated at intervals in a poem.
It is my wish that the authors and their works I have chosen, will help students to understand the world better by sharpening their senses and by making them more sensitive to life around them.
The following information will be presented to students in more detail.
Students will be presented with a biographical sketch of each poet, and events which took place during their lives.
Brooks is not just a poet, she is also a novelist. In 1953, she published Maud Martha, a novel about growing up. Brooks rise to fame has been marked by a series of awards and honors. Brooks’ poetry and novel are a source of human truths. Gwendolyn Brooks is to some extent a forerunner of the modern black poets. She deals openly with disillusionment and rejection of the white society, pride of the blacks and appreciation for the poor of the ghetto.
In 1985, Gwendolyn Brooks was named Poetry Consultant to the library of Congress. She was the first black woman to hold this post. When considering the creative output of Gwendolyn Brooks, it is easy to forget that she wrote in the context of a full and active personal life.
The works of Gwendolyn Brooks suggest a mastery of form, language and theme. Students reading poems such as “We Real Cool” and “Children of The Poor” know that this is a person who can identify with their sounds, those of pain and laughter, broken hearts and yesterday’s garbage. There is a bond between the reader and Brooks, one with deep roots.
“We Real Cool”, is a poem that illustrates repetition, rhyme, consonance and alliteration. This poem will serve as an excellent model for imitation in creating personal poems. Students will be using the appropriate adjectives and nouns.10
COUNTEE CULLEN (1903-1946), was born in New York, the son of a Methodist minister, published his first book of poems when he was twenty-two. He was educated at New York University and Harvard University and where he received the Master of Arts Degree. He worked as an editor, teacher, and contributor to many periodicals, including Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people. He spent the last eleven years of his life teaching French in high school.
Countee Cullen was another significant poet of the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry deals with the black search for identity and the meaning of race.
Countee Cullen poems “Yet Do I Marvel” and “Tableau”, were chosen for the mood and tone as well as the poetic devices utilized in each.11
ARNA BONTEMPS (1902-1973), was born in Alexandria, Louisiana. When he was four years old the family moved to California where he was educated. After graduating form college, he went to New York to teach. There he formed a close friendship with Langston Hughes and came to know other negro artists of his own generation. Under a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, he visited Haiti and gathered material for several books, among the Pope and Fifina: Children of Haiti, which he and Langston Hughes wrote for children. Arna Bontemps is the author of several novels for adults, for children, in addition to Popp and Fifina, he has written You Can’t Pet a Possum and Sad-Faced Boy.
Bontemps’ work spans a half century from the Harlem Renaissance to the 1970’s. His works included: novels, children’s books, poetry, biographies, short stories and anthologies. Bontemps’ poetry is included in almost all of black anthologies and is included in his collection of Personals. Golden Slippers, and “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” will be used in this unit. Golden Slippers, is an excellent anthology for young people.
Bontemps’ poems are concerned with the injustices suffered by blacks in the past. 12
NIKKI GIOVANNI (1943- ), was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1943. She attended Fisk University where she majored in History and graduated in 1967. She is currently teaching creative writing at Rutgers University. Black judgement collection of her poems, appeared in 1968. She also writes short stories and essays, and is an editor of Black Dialogue magazine.
I have chosen, “Nikki Rosa”, “Mothers”, and “My House”, to emphasize more personal themes such as physical characteristics, emotional needs, a desire to move forward, and appreciation of others, and relationships.13
LANGSTON HUGHES (1902-1967), was born in Missouri. He was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance, but continued to write later than most of the others of this period. He wrote poetry, short stories, essays and edited many collections of black literature.
Regardless of form, the subject for most of Hughes’ poetry centers around the black struggle for political power and economic well-being within the American framework of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
Hughes poems are about things that high school students are concerned with, such as dreams, romance, family and jobs.
I have chosen the following poems by Langston Hughes for study, “I, Too, Sing America” “Mother To Son”, and “Salvation”. Hughes’ poems deals with prejudice, simile, repetition, rhymes and imagery. 14
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (1872-1906), was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872. He was the first black poet who became well known throughout the United States. Dunbar started writing poems at the age of 6. He was the only black in his high school class, but his teachers saw his talent. They encouraged him to write poems. He could not afford to go to college. Newspapers would not hire him because of his race. So, Dunbar worked as an elevator operator and wrote poems in his spare time.
Dunbar paid $125 to have a book of his poems printed. He sold copies to passengers on his elevator. Some of them helped him to bring out a second book. A famous white writer, William Dean Howells, saw the book and praised it in his magazine. Soon Dunbar’s work became known throughout the country. Besides his poems, he wrote songs, novels, and short stories. He traveled the country, giving reading from his work.
Dunbar’s work is easily understood by high school students because his poems demonstrate good poetic techniques.
I have chosen for study, “We Wear The Mask”, and “Sympathy”. These two poems illustrate Dunbar’s use of rhyme, imagery, simile, metaphor and repetition in his expression of emotions related to the oppressed black. “We Wear The Mask”, tells of the reality of being black behind smiling masks, in spite of their feelings of grief, sadness and oppression.
The poem “Sympathy”, compares the plight of the blacks to that of caged bird who longs to be set free. 15
CONCEPT TO RECALL FACTS ABOUT AFRO-AMERICAN POETS.
OBJECTIVE TO INCREASE READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY BUILDING.
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (1872-1906), was the first black poet who became well known throughout the United States. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872, Dunbar started writing poems at age 6. He was the only black in his high school class, but his teachers saw his talent. They encouraged him to write poems. He could not afford to go to college. newspaper would not hire him because of his race. So, Dunbar worked as an elevator operator and wrote poems in his spare time.
Dunbar paid $125 to have a book of his poems printed. He sold copies to passengers on his elevator. Some of them helped him to bring out a second book. A famous white writer, William Dean Howells, saw the book and praised it in his magazine. Soon Dunbar’s work became known throughout the country. Besides his poems, he wrote songs, novels, and short stories. He traveled the country, giving readings from his work.
Dunbar’s life was tragically short. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 33. Today, one of the largest high schools in Dayton, Ohio, is named after him. Here is one of Dunbar’s poems.
- We Wear The Mask
- We wear the mask that grins and lies,
- It hides our cheek and shades our
- eyes,—etc . . . 16
Vocabulary guile—deceit, cunning myriad—many subtleties—hidden meanings
- _____ 1. Dunbar began writing poems
- ____a. at age six.
- ____b. in high school.
- ____c. after he worked as an elevator operator.
- _____ 2. Dunbar’s first book of poems
- ____a. brought him nationwide fame.
- ____b. was paid for by Dunbar himself.
- ____c. never sold any copies.
- _____ 3. Dunbar was helped by a
- ____a. White writer.
- ____b. Wealthy woman.
- ____c. Black doctor.
CONCEPT REVIEW POETRY TERMS.
OBJECTIVES TO INCREASE VOCABULARY BUILDING.
Students will choose each correct answer and write the word in the space provided.
|1. rhyme||6. lyrics|
|2. metaphor||7. theme|
|3. imagery||8. alliteration|
|4. tone||9. refrain|
- 1. _____ a line or stanza repeated at intervals in a poem.
- 2 _____ the feeling conveyed by a writer’s attitude toward his subject and reveal through his style and choice of words.
- 3._____ the central thought or idea in a poem.
- 4. _____ the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words in a line of verse.
- 5. _____any word, or group of words, that appeals to the senses created pictures in the mind.
- 6. _____ a figure of speech in which two things are identified with each other.
- 7. _____ a poem that has the form and musical quality of a song in which the poet expresses an intense personal feeling.
- 8. _____ the state of feeling created by a poem, story, or play, such as sentimental or a bitter mood.
OBJECTIVE Students will read and interpret poetry.
Group Size: Five students to a group.
Time required: 48 minutes (one class period)
MATERIALS Copy of Poem, “I, TOO” by Langston Hughes
- ____Question form
- 1. What is the poem saying?
- 2. What emotions are the poet expressing?
- 3. What do you think and/or feel about what he’s saying?
- 4. What are three key words in the poem? (Defend your answer)
- 1. The teacher will read the poem out loud to the class. The students are told to discuss the questions in their group, come to agreement, and write down their answers to hand in. They will also share their answers with the rest of the class.
- 2. Students will be told to work together in answering the four questions and give any further instructions. They are to turn in one set of answers for the group, which reflects the group consensus. Their signature on the paper indicates that they agree with and understand the group answers and the reason for them.
The teacher monitors the groups, occasionally checking to see if a student can explain answers already agreed upon. Students will be told that one group member is to be selected as observer and will use an observation sheet to monitor the group.
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing American.
- 1. What is the poem saying?
- 2. What are the emotions expressed by the poem?
- 3. What do you think/feel about what the poem says?
- 4. What are the three key words in the poem? (Be able to defend your choice)
- 1. Bontemps, Arna, ed., American Negro Poetry. (New York: Hilland Wang, 1974) pp. 204-296.
- 2. Ibid. p. 208.
- 3. Ibid. p. 209.
- 4. Ibid. p. 210.
- 5. Ibid. p. 211.
- 6. Ibid. p. 212.
- 7. Ibid. p. 213.
- 8. Ibid. p. 294.
- 9. Marianne Borgardt, Black Biographies. (Englewood, New Jersey: Globe Publishing Co. 1989) pp. 17-34.
- 10. Ibid. p. 20.
- 11. Ibid. p. 22.
- 12. Marianne Borgardt, Blacks in American History.(Englewood, New Jersey: Globe Book Company 1989) pp. 2-4.
- 13. Ibid. p. 6.
- 14. Ibid. p. 7-8.
- 15. Ibid. p. 9.
- 16. Richard Corbin, Currents in Poetry,(New York: MacMillian Publishing Co., 1974) pp. 76-108.
An anthology of modern poems by negro Americans.
Adoff, Arnold, All The Colors of the Race. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1982.
Giovanni, Nikki, Spin A Soft Black Song. New York: Hill and Wang, 1971.
Hughes, Langston, Don’t You Turn Back. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1969.
Scholes, Robert. Elements of Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
A valuable book for discussing poetic techniques and commenting on various poems.
Wallace, Robert. Writing Poems. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 2nd edition, 1987.
The book contains some stimulating techniques to help students write poetry.
- 1. Angelou, Maya, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969.
- Autobiography of a young black girl growing up in the rural South and then California.
- 2. Angelou, Maya, Now Sheba Sings. New York: Dial Books, 1987.
- Illustrated book of poetry dealing with the theme, black women, their beauty, strength, and dignity.
- 3. Bontemps, Arna, ed., American Negro Poetry. New York: Hilland Wang, 1974.
- Anthology of poetry by black poets.
- 4. Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems. New York: Random House, 1959.
- Selection of poems chosen by Hughes from his earlier volumes as well as later works, dealing with the many facets of the black experiences.
- 5. Jordan, June. Soulscript. New York: Doubleday, 1970.
- Selection of poetry by black writers, which includes a section written by young students.
- 6. Scholes, Robert. Elements of Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
- A valuable book for discussing poetic techniques and commenting on various poems.
- 7. Wallace, Robert. Writing Poems. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 2nd edition, 1987.
- This book contains some stimulating techniques to help students write poetry.
Contents of 1991 Volume IV | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute