Poetry Out Loud: Evidence of Understanding

One of the criteria for your Poetry Out Loud performance is evidence of understanding. In order to prepare to show you understand the poem, do some research.

First, research any words that are unfamiliar and/or any allusions that might be in the poem. If there are no words that you don't know, this poem is probably too easy for you! But if you still love it and want to recite it, choose a word that is more complex and explore the complexity of the word's connotation and meaning. Write about the words and allusions you researched and how they add to your understanding of the poem.

Second, research your poet and find a reading/performance of your poem on the Internet. Using Wikipedia is okay for this assignment as the goal here is just to find out some information about your poet rather than to do an in-depth research project. Find out about your poet's life: what else did/does he/she do besides write poetry? What kind of education did he/she have? What is his/her family life like? Answer these questions and remark on why you think he/she would've written the poem that you are working on for Poetry Out Loud. How does this add to your understanding of your poem?

Finally, watch someone else read/perform the poem. You can usually find a reading on YouTube or another website. Write about which words/lines were given emphasis and what you think the tone of the speaker's voice conveyed about the poem. If you can't find a reading of your poem, watch a performance of another poem on poetryoutloud.org and write about how the student performing shows the meaning of his/her poem through the performance.

Write three paragraphs for this post. The first paragraph is about the words and allusions that add to the meaning and enhance your understanding. The second paragraph is about how understanding some part of the poet's life helps you understand the poem and the third paragraph is about how watching a performance helps you think about how you can perform your poem in a way that portrays your understanding of its meaning to your audience.

Due Monday, December 19.