Aim: How can we use the poem, “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams as inspiration for our own poems?
Do Now: Describe a time when you or someone you know did something that was “technically wrong” and you should have felt sorry for it but you didn’t. (Class Discussion)
The objective of our “do now” today was to have a discussion about when we should’ve felt sorry for something but we didn’t. Some responses shared by various classmates included:
Letting family sleep through their alarm and letting them late to an important test.
Sneaking into the bathroom and hiding from teachers
This Is Just To Say
BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
The backstory behind this poem is that the author had eaten the plums his wife left in the fridge and decided to leave a note to inform her. The note has no regular rhythm, syllabic count, rhyme, or punctuation. However this note is a strong model for inspiration to write poems. It has no structure but it clearly expresses an idea.
Another example of a model poem is:
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.
2
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the
next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
3
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!
-- Kenneth Koch
After our spirit reader read the poem we discussed the poem. Post discussion, we attempted a challenge. The challenge was to create as many “This is Just to Say” poems with our teams in five minutes. The poem did not have to have the same number of lines as our example; it only had to portray the same concept. Three peers of mine had tied with seven poems each. They each earned 50 points for their teams. Their poems unsympathetically discussed various ideas such as using credit cards, stealing parking spots, and using people’s credit cards.
Using Imagery in Poetry:
The root word of imagination is image. Derived from the latin word “imago”- meaning picture how you see things. Instead of using words like sad and happy we can use imagery to express an emotion or experience. Using images helps us to let the reader feel what we are feeling. Poems put us in touch with our own unexpected feelings.
More on imagery: Red Room Poetry Object Poetic Device #2: Imagery | ClickView
Examples of imagery in poetry:
the clouds collapsed,
they’re touching the ground
trying to come alive,
but they can’t.
Images that explain a landscape are being used to express a feeling of hopelessness
My heart was warm,
Like the swelling waters of the ocean,
Just basking in the first rays of morning sun
Images of the sun and ocean are being used to express joyfulness
I felt the end of something great,
Like when you take the last bite of birthday cake,
And all that’s left is a few powdery crumbs on your frosting streaked dish
Images of finishing birthday cake are used to portray feelings of sadness and melancholy.
“Fast Break” By Edward Hirsch
A hook shot kisses the rim and
hangs there, helplessly, but doesn’t drop,
and for once our gangly starting center
boxes out his man and times his jump
perfectly, gathering the orange leather
from the air like a cherished possession
and spinning around to throw a strike
to the outlet who is already shoveling
an underhand pass toward the other guard
scissoring past a flat-footed defender
who looks stunned and nailed to the floor
in the wrong direction, trying to catch sight
of a high, gliding dribble and a man
letting the play develop in front of him
in slow motion, almost exactly
like a coach’s drawing on the blackboard,
both forwards racing down the court
the way that forwards should, fanning out
and filling the lanes in tandem, moving
together as brothers passing the ball
between them without a dribble, without
a single bounce hitting the hardwood
until the guard finally lunges out
and commits to the wrong man
while the power-forward explodes past them
in a fury, taking the ball into the air
by himself now and laying it gently
against the glass for a lay-up,
but losing his balance in the process,
inexplicably falling, hitting the floor
with a wild, headlong motion
for the game he loved like a country
and swiveling back to see an orange blur
floating perfectly through the net.
Annotations (ORANGE HIGHLIGHTS):
1: Author uses a metaphor to explain the grandiosity of the way the players were reaching for the ball.
2: Thoroughly explains each play, helping the reader visualize what was happening.
3: Intricately depicts how desperate the players are for the ball through their actions.
4: Uses imagery to express the power each player was playing with
Poem analysis (UNDERLINED TEXT):
“2” Literary Devices/Techniques Identified and an explanation of use:
“Gathering the orange leather from the air like a prized possession”- used to show the player’s grace.
“A hook shot kisses the rim”-used to show the shot didn't make it but it was close.
1-2 Examples of imagery and analyze their connection to the main theme:
“Between them without a dribble, without a single bounce hitting the hardwood.”this connects to the main theme by explaining that the players put in all of their effort in trying to get the shot.
“Swiveling back to see an orange blur floating perfectly through the net.”- This connects to the main theme by depicting that the player’s hard work paid off
Reflection:
Through this lesson we learned how to convey a message, emotion, experience, or picture through imagery (visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.) This class was spent on this topic because understanding and recognizing imagery is an important skill for any reader or writer to know. It helps us include vivid details and elements in our writing. In addition, being able to comprehend the meaning of imagery while reading will help readers curate an accurate mental image of what is happening in the story at the time. This will help with being able to acknowledge complex/words pieces of text and derive their meanings. This content will be used by applying deep thinking to anything we read or write for the rest of our time in school as well as the rest of our lives.
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