Compare the first poem (I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud) with the annotated version. Once you're ready, annotate Margaret Atwood's 'The Moment'.
POETRY Follow the instructions carefully. First, read this poem to yourself. Still I Rise Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. Now, watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xqc9YPmws0 Think about: What did you notice about tone? Did you feel anything different from your first reading? Now, watch Maya Angelou read the poem herself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM Think about: After watching and listening to Maya Angelou, what did you learn about the tone of the poem? Now, complete the TRICKS and submit when you’re done. TITLE 1. What seems interesting about the title? Angelou reveals how she will overcome anything through her self-esteem. She shows how nothing can get her down. This poem is her declaration that she, for one, would not allow the hatefulness of society to determine her own 2. Does it feel positive, negative, neutral? the speaker asserts that she is confident in her worth, and taunts her oppressors for being intimidated by her confidence 3. Does the title give you any information? READ 1. At the end of each stanza, paraphrase the content. 2. What is the situation in the poem? 3. How is the speaker of the poem responding to the situation? 4. What is the tone of the speaker? 5. Are there consequences? How does the poem end? IMPORTANT WORDS 1. Identify any imagery or other figurative devices. 2. Why did the author use these devices? 3. What is the purpose or effect? 4. Underline words that contribute to mood or meaning. CONNECTIONS and COMPARISONS 1. What does the poem make you think of, or feel? 2. How does the poem connect to emotions or experiences that you have had? KINDS OF TONE 1. What kind of tone does the poem suggest through the speaker’s attitude towards the issue or subject? 2. What words or lines contribute to the communication of tone? STOP AT THE LAST LINE 1. What is the last phrase or idea communicated? Understanding this will help you establish the theme. 2. Create a theme statement based on the poem. What is it saying about life or people? What might the poet want you to know? Humankind and Nature Annotating Poetry I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. Annotate Margaret Atwood’s “The Moment”. Make sure to include a THEME. Things to consider: · Tone of the poem or stanza · Literary devices (personification, metaphors, simile, etc.) · Effect or purpose of the devices · Diction or author’s word choice Strategies: · Highlight, underline, box, etc. · Write notes or thoughts in the margin · Paraphrase meaning of stanza · Look up words you don’t know The Moment By Margaret Atwood The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage you stand in the centre of your room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say, I own this, is the same moment when the trees unloose their soft arms from around you, the birds take back their language, the cliffs fissure and collapse, the air moves back from you like a wave and you can't breathe. No, they whisper. You own nothing. You were a visitor, time after time climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming. We never belonged to you. You never found us. It was always the other way round.