Poetry Analysis

POEM: “What I’m Made Of,” page 32

December 2017/January 2018
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Analyzing Poetry
Below is Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s poem “What I’m Made Of.” Read the poem a few times. Then answer the questions on
the next page. This activity is meant to be completed in groups or as a class.

What I’m Made Of

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Go to
Scope Online
to hear this 1 Of open doors and closed ones
poem read
aloud. of rainstorms and race cars and dreams of
walking on the moon.
Of barn doors and basketball hoops
5 of maple donuts on autumn days
and bikes and guitars and dirt roads
by campsites, of visits to cities with
neon signs, I’m made of grit and brave,
hush and wind, of rockets and robots
10 and snowforts, of fishing poles
and beach lights and pines near
bridges and old Cedar Road.
I’m made of broken and craggy,
of riddle and map and Highway 10,
15 of fist bumps and scoreboards.
Of struggles with spelling
and genius with numbers,
of iron and snowfall and wonder.

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 Poetry Analysis
POEM: “What I’m Made Of,” page 32
December 2017/January 2018

Directions: Work with your group to answer the following questions. There are no right or wrong answers!
Note: To keep things simple, we refer to the speaker as “she” in this activity—but the speaker is not necessarily female.

People usually don’t use phrases that start with the word of without giving a bit more information to let you
know what they are talking about. For example, someone might say, “The hallway was full of open doors
and closed ones,” but they wouldn’t walk up to you and just say, “Of open doors and closed ones.” You
wouldn’t understand what they were talking about.
In this poem, the speaker does use phrases starting with of. You can figure out what the speaker means by
looking at other parts of the poem.

1 What two words could the speaker add to 2 Explain how you figured out the answer to
the beginning of line 1 and to other places where question 1.
an of phrase is used if she wanted to turn those
phrases into complete sentences?

Now let’s look at the kinds of things that the speaker says she is made of.

3 Find at least two 4 Find at least three 5 Find at least one 6 Find at least six
words or phrases in words or phrases in word or phrase in the words or phrases that
the poem that refer the poem that make poem that describes a give you a clue about
to weather. List them you think of places. sound. Write it here: activities or hobbies
here: List them here: that the speaker
enjoys. List them
here:

7 Find the lines in the poem that tell you 8 Find the place where the speaker reveals
one of the speaker’s strengths and one of her one of her goals. Write what she says here:
weaknesses. Write them here:

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 Poetry Analysis
POEM: “What I’m Made Of,” page 32
December 2017/January 2018

Now let’s consider the meaning of certain lines in the poem.

9 In line 1, the speaker says that she is made 10 In line 14, the speaker says she is made “of
“of open doors and closed ones.” What might she riddle and map.” What might she mean?
mean? Are the doors a metaphor for something?

11 In line 18, the speaker 12 Also in line 18, the speaker 13 Now think about the very
says she is made “of iron.” says she is made “of snowfall.” last word in the poem: wonder.
What might she mean? What images, qualities, or What kind of word is wonder?
emotions does snowfall What do you think the speaker
make you think of? Are they means when she says she is
similar to or different from made of wonder?
the qualities or emotions you
associate with iron?

One last question:

14 Why or how do you think the speaker chose the particular things that she names in this poem?
For example, why might the speaker have listed guitars rather than some other objects in her life—socks
or pencils or books? Why might the speaker have named Highway 10 rather than some other road?

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