March 5, 2008: Responding to William Cullen Bryant March 5, 2008

Consider the poem you have read this evening, “Thanatopsis.”   What ideas, literary devices, themes, particular lines, or other qualities stood out to you in the poem you liked best?  Why?  What did you get from this poem?

Share your ideas in a response of 7-10 sentences.

Tuesday, 3/4/08: Responding to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow March 5, 2008

1.  Read this Longfellow poem, “A Pslam of Life” at http://www.bartleby.com/42/773.html.

2.  Consider how this poem is similar to “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls”.  How are the poems different?

3.  In three paragraphs, compare and contrast these two poems.  Please consider these as points of comparison and contrast:

*theme
*use of figurative language (metaphors, similes, imagery)
*symbols used in each poem

Each paragraph should be 4-6 sentences in length.  Please refer to specific lines of poetry (put the lines in quotation marks) to support your ideas.

Poetry Help for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, March 4, 2008 March 5, 2008

Here are reading notes for tonight’s poems:

• “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Poetry Explanation, GALE Discovering Collection

If you need additional help, please let me know.