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Poetry Portfolio Assignment Sheet (v. 2.

I. Recitation – 15 March 2010 (75 points assessment)
memorize one of the following poems to recite in front of the class:
- Mother to Son – Langston Hughes
- Ego Trippin' – Nikki Giovanni
- Sonnet 116 – William Shakespeare
- Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night – Dylan Thomas

II. Poetry Book – 19 March 2010 (210 points)

You will compile and write a book of poetry that contains some of your
favorite poems – your favorites that were written by other authors, as well as
your favorite poems that you yourself have written. Your booklets will
contain the following:

7+ Favorite Poems

 Typed exactly as it appears

 Roughly 10 - 20 lines in length. If you want to include short poetry, two of
this equals one entry. No more than two sets of short poems
 Must include Title and Author
 No more than 1 poem per author
 Poems are numbered (organized)

Personal Response – For each favorite poem, you will: 1) analyze the
poem by looking at one literary/sound device within that poem and
explaining how it is used within that poem and how that device impacts the
overall meaning of the poem. 2) Explain why you chose the poem by making
a connection between the poem and your own experience. Consider things
you have done, and other material that you have read, heard or seen. Your
responses should be about two (2) paragraphs.
The following is a list of suggestions to help you get started on your
1. In this poem, I wondered what was meant by…
2. I really liked this poem's idea because…
3. The mood of the poem reminded me of …
4. The description of _____________ in this poem made me think of ....
5. This poem reminded me of the ___________ (another poem, story or
film) because…
6. I once had an experience like the one described in this poem, in
7. The setting of this poem is important because ...
8. When I read this poem, I imagined ...

Blank Verse
Free Verse
Self-Created Form
This is just to name a few suggestions. There are many more for you to

7 + original poems written by you in at least 5 different forms:

Personal Reflection

For paragraph 1, you will reflect on one of the literary/poetic elements you
used in your poems, just as you did with the poems that were not written by
you . Again, be sure to give specific examples of whichever element you are
describing. For paragraph 2, you will reflect on you word choice and how
your specific diction helped to convey the message you wanted to get
across. You should also identify any allusions in your poem, of which other
readers may be unaware.

Glossary of Terms and poetic forms

You will include a glossary of the literary terms used to describe the various
poetic elements being used in the works presented in your booklet. Be sure
to include all the terms we covered in class, as well as any that may be
important for your own selections. You will also need to include a description
of all of the poetic forms used in your volume. Your descriptions should
identify the name of the form and any specific structural elements, such as
line length, rhythm pattern, rhyme scheme, etc., as well as examples from
the poems in your collection. (They can come either from your own work or
from the work by other authors you have selected.) Your forms index should
also include a full description of your self-defined form.

Additional notes and extra credit:

While it is not required, you may want to include some illustrations to

accompany the poems. For extra credit you may do one of the following:

a. Poems copied and interpreted beyond the required 7

b. Original poems written and explained beyond the required 7.
c. Volunteer extra Poetry Madness Poem