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Reader Response - Reading and Responding To Poetry

The document provides directions for a reader response assignment on the poem "Introduction to Poetry." Students are asked to summarize the poem, note word choice, figurative language, images, and other elements. They are then instructed to submit their responses on Moodle by the deadline for grading according to a rubric.

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Sher Singh
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35 views

Reader Response - Reading and Responding To Poetry

The document provides directions for a reader response assignment on the poem "Introduction to Poetry." Students are asked to summarize the poem, note word choice, figurative language, images, and other elements. They are then instructed to submit their responses on Moodle by the deadline for grading according to a rubric.

Uploaded by

Sher Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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READER RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT

Poetry Reading Process

Directions:

 Review the manual pages listed on the Moodle site


 Read the poem, “Introduction to Poetry” (15)

 Complete the assignment on this document typing your responses under each section (in
a different colour font), and submit on Moodle by the deadline with your name at the
front of the file

A. Summary: read the poem as many times as needed to complete a brief ‘literal’
interpretation or summary of the poem: consider the 5 W’s of the poem.
Your Summary Notes
-
The poem “Introduction to Poetry” is a very simple narrative lyric poem. As a
response to the “5 W’s”, it is very simple to answer. First, this poem is addressing those who are
at the very least, interested in poetry. This poem is about a process to understand poetry in a very
imaginative and open fashion that is very liberal. As to answer any 2 “when” and “where”
questions, this poem does not have a reference that can enlighten anyone about anything about
them. The why, being the most complex part of this poem, is to put in simplest terms, how poetry
should be enjoyed with feelings and emotion over analyzed about details and facts. All in all, the
poem, follows the stanza aspect of being a poem. After analyzing the poem with acute analysis,
no rhyme scheme, feels more like a paragraph pretending to be a poem than anything else.

B. Active Reading: mark the text and list your notes below indicating what you have
noticed about the following
o Word choice
o Figurative language
o Images
o Other?
Your Notes
o Metaphor: The entire poem can be seen as a metaphor for the way poetry should be
approached. The act of "torturing a confession out of it" is a metaphor for trying to
analyze or dissect a poem too harshly.
o Simile: "Like a color slide" is a simile that compares the poem to a color slide,
suggesting that it should be examined and appreciated like a work of art.
o Personification: "I want them to water-ski" personifies the words, giving them the
ability to water-ski, which is a playful image.
o Imagery: The poem is rich in imagery, describing how poetry should be "held up to
the light / like a color slide" and "press[ed] an ear against its hive."
o Allusion: The mention of "a poem should not mean / but be" alludes to Archibald
MacLeish's famous statement on poetry, using an allusion to reinforce the idea that
poems should be experienced, not overanalyzed.
o Irony: The poem is ironic in its tone. It begins by suggesting that students should
"torture a confession" out of the poem, which is an ironic way of saying that poems
should be appreciated and interpreted gently, not forced to reveal their secrets.

Grading Rubric: Reader Response Assignments


- your grade will be highlighted and in red

9/10 or 10/10 – Completed as directed with excellent/outstanding thought & effort

8/10 – Completed as directed with very good thought & effort

7/10 – Completed as directed with good thought & effort

6/10 – Mostly completed as directed with satisfactory thought, effort

5/10 – Incomplete or not completed with adequate thought, effort

Note: Any incomplete/inadequate assignment with a lower grade than 5 will not be counted

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