Read poem by Walt Whitman "I Hear America Singing".
Analyze and discuss meaning.
Various questions about the poem could include:
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a) What is Whitman singing about?
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b) In what way does Whitman glorify the workingman?
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c) Based on what you have read about Whitman's life why is does he glorify his country?
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Then read Langston Hughes poem "I Too Sing America".
Analyze and discuss.
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a) Why does Hughes say I too sing America?
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b) What does he mean by "darker brother?
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c) When might "tomorrow" be?
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d) What does the metaphor "sitting in the kitchen" stand for?
Write five to six paragraph essay comparing and contrasting them.
The outline for this assignment could look like the following:
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I. Introduction: includes names of both poems and names of both authors
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II. Overall meaning of Whitman's poem
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III Overall meaning of Hughes poem
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IV. Compare them
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V. Contrast them (in what way/s are the poems different?
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VI. Do you sing America? Are you part of this country? How?
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VII. Conclusion
In a new book of poetry you hear me? a collection of poetry by teenage boys, a poem "There's a Harlem Renaissance in My Head" pays homage to Hughes."Let your ink run rampant Langston Hughes, let your fingers tickle the ivories forever, Duke." This collection has over 60 poems and a few essays that are very real and speak to kids about issues that truly affect them, "I hate school. I don't believe. I think that I'll just f. king leave". I recommend it highly. It has been a great find.
For the remainder of my poetry unit, I want to concentrate on using sports as a metaphor for life. Since this unit is designed as a way to reach non-Honors-level students who have a set curriculum and will be reading mandatory things like "The Rape of the Lock" and "The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock", I have a chance to do something kids can relate to and of course hopefully find helpful in their search for meaning. To this end, we will read the play Fences by August Wilson. Although it is a play with a beginning, middle, and an end, it is in my humble opinion, a long prose poem. Wilson uses baseball to analyze race relations in the 1950's.