UPDATE: I have created a quiz on some of the terms related to poetry, words that we used in these 2 sessions on poetry. The quiz is online. This is an experiment (I have not used this before). If you have time, please visit the quiz, try it out, and give me your feedback.

The quiz is here: http://quizlet.com/_ra17 

Today’s session will be from 3.30 (not 3 as it usually is).

For this session, we will continue our brief study of English poetry. Please bring the same poems as last time (email me if you have not received these).

In addition, I would like to introduce you to two more poems:

1. “Ode to Autumn” by John Keats (here is the poem with an analysis) (I discovered today that there is a new movie about the poet John Keats called “Bright Star” (the title of one of Keats’ poems) (see some clips here)
2. the beginning of “Under Milk Wood” by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (here is a YouTube recording of Welsh actor Richard Burton reading the beginning of this poem)

First, we will review what we talked about last time – about metre, rhyme, rhyme schemes and different verse forms such as limericks, free verse, nonsense verse, etc.

Then, we will read a sonnet by Shakespeare and discuss its structure, then a sonnet by Wilfrid Owen, “Anthem for Doomed Youth”.

I won’t spend much time discussing the meaning of these poems. Instead, I want to talk about their power: why are these poems still so famous?

The next session (#16) will be Wednesday Oct. 28th, 3-5 pm

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