April 28

Ap 28/16 Station C: Comparing Poems – are they more alike than not?

A lot of poems can be written about the same topic, though the author’s approach can be very different. Pick any topic and you could write a poem that celebrates it or complains about it.

You’ll review two poems and try to decide if they’re more similar or more different.

Task: With a partner or on your own

  1. Read through each poem and summarize its meaning. Depending on the difficulty level and whether there are any unfamiliar words, you could consider breaking the longer one down into pieces to summarize each before you decide on a general summary of the whole poem at the end.
  2. Make a t-chart with room to identify their Similarities (on the Left) and Differences (on the Right).
  3. Review both poems with your partner (if you have one) and try to identify what about the poems can be compared. It may include things like:
    • the tone or attitude towards the topic – whether it is positive or not
    • the formatting of each – a typical type of formatting or more unique/specific
    • language used – familiar words, general words, combinations of words used together for effect
    • punctuation use – did they use it or not, how did it change/affect reading the poem
    • is the poem narrative (tells a story) or more figurative (hypothetical)
    • is the purpose of the poem clear or obscure
    • does the poem make meaning clear (explicit) or do you have to infer a lot (implicit)
    • is there a clear speaker for the poem? whose voice is it told through? is a character established as the speaker?
    • what point of view is it told from? 3rd person omniscient, 3rd person limited, 2nd person, or 1st person?
    • use of plays on sounds of words: alliteration, consonance, assonance, rhyme, repetition
    • what is the poem asking of the reader?
    • other – what else can you recognize of importance in the poem?
  4. After studying and comparing the similarities and differences between the two poems, add a comment below in this post As a Team and explain what your final conclusion is: are the two poems more alike or more dissimilar from each other? What is your reasoning/proof?
  5. Be sure to leave your name(s) in your comment.

 

The poems to compare are given below.

B5 Poem – Life

B5 Poem – Whatll It Be

 


Posted April 28, 2016 by Waldner in category ELA B10

18 thoughts on “Ap 28/16 Station C: Comparing Poems – are they more alike than not?

  1. Sara sagen

    We think these two poems are more different than alike. Although the general theme of life is the same, the deeper meaning is different. One focus is on not enough influence, and the other is too over whelmed by influence.

    Reply
  2. Calina

    We think this poem is negative because all she does is get down on herself and settles for the bare minimum. She has no faith in herself and has decided to be unsatisfied for the rest of her life and coping with it by crying.

    Reply
  3. Morgan

    Jenna and Morgan
    These poems are mostly similar. They both have a very similar message. Each person in the poems were told something about they’re life and how they could life it and make it what they want to be. At the end of each poem the people find out that life’s not quite like the people told them it would be and it really does matter. Although the structure of the poems are very different, they share a very similar message.

    Reply
  4. Saleen Hammy

    poems are a like because because they are both about life and failing in the end. The poems are both dark toned

    Reply
  5. Rachael

    Rachael
    I think that overall these poem are more alike. They are both generally the same story, just with a different outcome that is still really similar. The authors tell the story in different ways, but it is still about both of the choosing the hard path in life. They are both told how life can be but not told how hard it would be to get there and they could fail. The structure is different in these two poems but they are the same in meaning.

    Reply
  6. Tyson

    I do believe that these two are the same in generle idea and in how they went about in there way of doing things, they were both about how they were told that life could be anything they wanted all they had to do was make it, but after some of it is said and done are wondering why everything didn’t go there way.

    Reply
  7. becky2015b

    We think the overall tone of these poems are the same. They start off positive and then they transition to a negative tone for the end half of the poem. They are both about the reality of life and how it’s not as simple as it’s made out to be.
    Mackenzie, Trystan, Bella

    Reply
  8. leahl2015

    We feel that these poems are mostly similar. They have pretty much the same message, talking about life and how it isn’t all what I sometimes is made out to be. They start off positive and then turn negative towards the end. The poems may have a different layouts. They have many differences in this sense, but the meaning of the poems are very similar.

    Leah and Carson

    Reply
  9. Brooke

    I believe that these two poems are more alike than not. They both start off talking about their life and their future in a positive way, but by the end, other people had interefered and messed up their original plans about the future. Both of the poems, especially “What’ll it be?”, have choices that need to be made, but someone interferes and it prevents them from getting to where they want to be.

    Reply
  10. Jenna

    They are mostly alike because, they have very similar messages and they are both about how others influence your choices. They also have a similar tone, there transitions are similar and lead to Almost the same conclusion.

    Reply
  11. nate2015p

    These poems to me mean the same thing the person in the poem was told that life could be anything they want. But when they got into the reality of life they fell apart and gave up. They have the same tone they both are kinda dark and depressing. They leave asking why did thy end up that way.

    Reply
  12. Brennon & Kaylan

    I need our opinions these poems are both very similar but not identical. In the poems start off talking about the future in their lives as well as the path they’ll take. In they end they both end of negativity by showing that they had failed their path in life. The main difference between the two is one ends up alone in the end while the other ends up with no food and is starving. They both a dark tone to them.

    Reply
  13. Cole

    I think that the two poems are more different t than alike. I think this because, even though there formatting is simalar, but the overall message of each are different. The first poem’s message is about why people have told you that you have control over your actions, but then turn around and try and control your life. The second poem’s message is quite the opposite, in that it talks about how you do have a choice, but thought that this was a lie because their own decision put them into a bad situation. These are different because both start out the same, but the first ends without that choice, while the other still had choice. Both, however, start out happy and cheerful, but end negatively.

    Reply
  14. Ethan and Chloe

    We think that the poems are similar but not identical, because the messages are very much the same. The poems have a similar topic about bringing someone down and not letting them live their best lives. Also the formatting of both poems are identical starting off positive and then both ending in a negative way. The end of the poems are almost identical both failing at what they wanted to do in life.

    Reply

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