The poem I am doing is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. It was somewhat difficult to analyze, but I have some ideas about it. Symbollically, I think it means a lot of different things. One, it is about making good choices. At the last line, when he says the road not taken makes all the difference, I think he is trying to say he made a good choice and it has benefited him. Second, I think the poem is about doing what may not be the popular thing, but the right thing. The road not taken obviously means it is not very popular, but if it has made all the difference, it must be a good thing. Also, when he says he takes the other road, it wasn't all that great ("and had really worn them about the same) so perhaps its trying to say it wasn't a good decision. Lastly, I think the writer is trying to make a statement of self reliance, and how it is important. When the poem says "and perhaps having the better claim" (claim as the key word) it kind of confused me, but I think it meant someone told him to do something (take the popular road, for instance) and he did it, and found it not to be all that and a bag of chips. So again, at the last line, it not only means he made a good choice, but he did his own decision, and didn't need anyone to influence him to what he thought was doing right.
I feel like this poem can apply to my own life. I do things people tell me to, or I feel is worth doing, and I regret it soon after. So I try to do good choices and not to get in to trouble, 'cause there's consequences for myself if I get into bad things.
I have no thought ideas for physical expression, dramatic effects or fluent speech factors to presenting this poem. Yet. However, I do think I will enjoy doing this poem, for I somewhat feel attached to it I always feel that way about things, even if they aren't human. I feel attached to my guitars, my house, and other unusual things, and I feel as though I have a strong connection to this poem and I'll have no problem presenting it for the competition.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Poetry Out Loud Worksheet-Emery
Part one:
1. Eagle Plain
2. London
3. Kubla Kahn
4. The War In The Air
4. The Wooden Toy
Part two:
The poems I enjoyed reading were Eagle plain, The Wooden Toy, London and one I did not list called Snow Day. I liked Eagle Plain because I like eagles and it portrayed the eagle in the poem as a patriotic, majestic great bird. I liked London because the poem made me think of my family in England who someday I would like to meet. I liked the beginning because it seemed like it was a Christmas poem about a happy child receiving a toy for Christmas, but soon turned strange. I didn't really get it, it seemed like the toy was turning dark and demonic at the end, so I enjoyed it because of the change in mood. I found it a little funny, actually. Like the poem we read about the girl afraid of her baby dolls. The extra one I read, Snow Day, was one I enjoyed because it was described as a revolution of snow, so it made me think of uprising and war from a child's perspective. I also found the names of the schools that were closed down from the snow quite funny, too. The War In The Air was okay, I just didn't like it much because I had high hopes of it being about airplanes and things, maybe from WWII, but I didn't receive that impression from it. Kubla Kahn was the one suggested for me. I didn't like it at all. For one, I couldn't understand what it was about after several times of analyzing through it, and it was very long and rambly. It was my least favorite out of all of the ones I read. As for ones I would enjoy looking further into, Eagle Plain, Snow Day and The Wooden Toy would be my top choices.
Part Three:
The criteria I'd have no problem with would be voice and articulation. I am a moderately good speaker, and have no problem getting up and talking. I also am well with the physical portion, like eye contact, posture, etc. The criteria I'd have a problem with is the dramatic part. I can do well at being solemn and serious, but acting is one of my weaknesses. The other one is accuracy. While doing a poem, I have no doubt I'll mess up a couple words or a phrase or two. Its just a natural thing for me, I sometimes have trouble talking around my family or close friends without minor flukes. Not because I'm a nervous speaker, I'd rather call it a speech impediment, although it isn't.
Part Four:
William Farley: This person did an excellent job performing. He acted it out very well and created a mood that actually seemed like you could see the poem in your head. I thought that this person had a good storytelling voice, very calm and wise sounding. I liked the drama he put into speaking this poem. I couldn't find anything wrong with it, and it was an enjoyable video for me.
Jackson Hille: This person was a very good speaker. He sounded very sophisticated, and he didn't stammer, mumble or do anything of the sort. He spoke with great confidence, and you could tell he knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I didn't like how he had his hands clasped together. Its no big deal, but it makes you wonder if he is nervous and is playing with his fingers or something.
Poetry Out Loud seems fun, and like a good thing to participate in. I think the competition is going to be a memorable experience, fun and competitive. I think it will be something like the Geography Bee in middleschool. Although, this may be somewhat harder, because you have to memorize and it can be quite nerve-wracking for some folk. I'd like to say I have full confidence in myself. But I can't say if its true or not. I have yet to choose a poem to memorize, but I certainly like the ones that sound the most like stories out of a book. Theres something appealing about them to me. I very much enjoyed the video portion of the website, but reading the criteria did bore me a little bit. For a final conclusion, I think I'll like the contest a lot.
1. Eagle Plain
2. London
3. Kubla Kahn
4. The War In The Air
4. The Wooden Toy
Part two:
The poems I enjoyed reading were Eagle plain, The Wooden Toy, London and one I did not list called Snow Day. I liked Eagle Plain because I like eagles and it portrayed the eagle in the poem as a patriotic, majestic great bird. I liked London because the poem made me think of my family in England who someday I would like to meet. I liked the beginning because it seemed like it was a Christmas poem about a happy child receiving a toy for Christmas, but soon turned strange. I didn't really get it, it seemed like the toy was turning dark and demonic at the end, so I enjoyed it because of the change in mood. I found it a little funny, actually. Like the poem we read about the girl afraid of her baby dolls. The extra one I read, Snow Day, was one I enjoyed because it was described as a revolution of snow, so it made me think of uprising and war from a child's perspective. I also found the names of the schools that were closed down from the snow quite funny, too. The War In The Air was okay, I just didn't like it much because I had high hopes of it being about airplanes and things, maybe from WWII, but I didn't receive that impression from it. Kubla Kahn was the one suggested for me. I didn't like it at all. For one, I couldn't understand what it was about after several times of analyzing through it, and it was very long and rambly. It was my least favorite out of all of the ones I read. As for ones I would enjoy looking further into, Eagle Plain, Snow Day and The Wooden Toy would be my top choices.
Part Three:
The criteria I'd have no problem with would be voice and articulation. I am a moderately good speaker, and have no problem getting up and talking. I also am well with the physical portion, like eye contact, posture, etc. The criteria I'd have a problem with is the dramatic part. I can do well at being solemn and serious, but acting is one of my weaknesses. The other one is accuracy. While doing a poem, I have no doubt I'll mess up a couple words or a phrase or two. Its just a natural thing for me, I sometimes have trouble talking around my family or close friends without minor flukes. Not because I'm a nervous speaker, I'd rather call it a speech impediment, although it isn't.
Part Four:
William Farley: This person did an excellent job performing. He acted it out very well and created a mood that actually seemed like you could see the poem in your head. I thought that this person had a good storytelling voice, very calm and wise sounding. I liked the drama he put into speaking this poem. I couldn't find anything wrong with it, and it was an enjoyable video for me.
Jackson Hille: This person was a very good speaker. He sounded very sophisticated, and he didn't stammer, mumble or do anything of the sort. He spoke with great confidence, and you could tell he knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I didn't like how he had his hands clasped together. Its no big deal, but it makes you wonder if he is nervous and is playing with his fingers or something.
Poetry Out Loud seems fun, and like a good thing to participate in. I think the competition is going to be a memorable experience, fun and competitive. I think it will be something like the Geography Bee in middleschool. Although, this may be somewhat harder, because you have to memorize and it can be quite nerve-wracking for some folk. I'd like to say I have full confidence in myself. But I can't say if its true or not. I have yet to choose a poem to memorize, but I certainly like the ones that sound the most like stories out of a book. Theres something appealing about them to me. I very much enjoyed the video portion of the website, but reading the criteria did bore me a little bit. For a final conclusion, I think I'll like the contest a lot.
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