1、 To talk about the main idea of this lecture transcript; To interpret the four tips on how to read a poem; To appreciate a poem following the four tips; To analyse the writing techniques of this lecture transcirpt. Lets enjoy a poem. 1. Why do people read poem? 2. What aspects of a poem do you pay a
2、ttention to when you read it? 1. Why do people read poems? Poems create vivid pictures and tell stories by using language creatively. Readers enjoy the challenge of trying to understand the poets intention in writing a poem. A poem is a window into the poets ideas and feelings about issues happening
3、 during the time when it was written. Readers can look at the poems form and literary devices to see what the poet saw. By reading it aloud, they can feel the rhythms and rhymes of the poem as well as the poets emotions. 2. What aspects of a poem do you pay attention to when you read it? I pay atten
4、tion to a poems form, its rhythm and rhyme, as well as the words used by the poet. The purpose of the poem is often shown by its form. For example, poets use extremely long forms for narrating stories. A poems rhythm and rhyme help me understand the poets feelings through sound. Word choice and lite
5、rary devices enable me to understand the meaning of the poem better. 3. Do you have any difficulty in reading a poem? 4. Do you know how to read a poem? Scan the lecture transcript and complete the chart below. Reading Sound Sense How does it sound? an explorer in an unfamiliar landscape patient ful
6、ly understand a poem to appreciate it 1. How is poetry different from other types of literature? 2. What aspects should you pay special attention to when you read a poem aloud? Read the lecture transcript again carefully and answer the following questions. More than other types of literature, it usu
7、ally implies a deeper meaning beyond the words on the page. The aspects of rhythm, repeated words, rhymes and other special effects. 3. What are the basic questions you should ask to understand a poem? 4. What does the lecturer think of poems that are easy to understand? Who is talking? Who is being
8、 talked to? What is being described? Is there a sense of place? Are there other people or objects there? They are often less interesting than those that constantly reveal deeper and previously unrecognized meanings. Focusing on paragraph 2, read aloud the stanza from Sweet and Low. How does it sound
9、? Firstly, the words “Wind of the western sea” are repeated. Secondly, there are several rhyming words: “low” rhyming with “blow” and “go”, “sea” rhyming with “me”. Focusing on paragraph 3, read aloud the stanza from Caged Bird. 1. What is being described? 2. What images come into your mind when rea
10、ding it? The poet is talking about a singing bird which is kept in a cage. When we read it, we see in our mind the images of a bird in a cage and a distant hill. Read paragraphs 4 and 5 and answer the following questions. 1. What should you do when you have difficulty in understanding a poem? When w
11、e have difficulty in understanding a poem, we should set it aside and come back to it later. With our insight into life becoming deeper, we may one day find it not so hard to understand at all. 2. According to the lecturer, what is more important in appreciating a poem? Poetry reading can make us fe
12、el something or let us perceive another level of meaning, which is more important and worth our effort. Read the last paragraph again and discuss in pairs the following question. Is the last paragraph a good ending? Why or why not? The last paragraph is a good ending. At the beginning of the lecture
13、, the speaker points out that poetry is a combination of “sound” and “sense”. The last paragraph echoes the beginning by mentioning it again, which makes the lecture more coherent. Read the lecture transcript again and discuss the following questions. 1. What are the functions of the three poems quo
14、ted in this transcript? The first example (lines from “Sweet and Low” by Alfred Tennyson) sounds great with strong rhythm and it is written in rhyme. The lecturer uses it to support the tip of “follow your ears”. The second example (lines from “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou) includes several images. B
15、y using it, the lecturer suggests paying attention to images in poems when reading a poem. The third example (lines from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost) is not easy to understand, which is suitable as an example to support the tip of “be patient when having trouble in underst
16、anding a poem”. 2. Why doesnt the lecturer quote a poem as an example to support the fourth tip? By giving the fourth tip, the lecturer emphasizes that the importance of reading poems lies in what the poem can make us feel or perceive. Unlike the previous three tips, this tip is not focusing on the
17、ways to understand a poem, but on what attitude and expectations we should have when reading a poem. As a result, it is unnecessary to give an example of a poem to support this tip since it is not related to the understanding of the content or meaning of a poem. 3. Apart from the four tips given by
18、the lecturer, what other tips can you give on how to read a poem? From my point of view, to understand a poem better, we should also know more about the poet and the background in which the poem was created-the theme of a poem usually has a close relationship with the background in which the poet wr
19、ote it. Reading a text critically Reading critically means having a dialogue in your head with the author, relating the text to your own reasoning and experiences and forming your own ideas about the text. Ask yourself questions about what the author says and think for yourself. Soon enough, you wil
20、l build up a pretty good sense of what needs more research and form your own opinion. 1. The lecturer says that one does not need to fully understand a poem to appreciate it. Do you agree? Share your points of view with other group members. Support your opinion with your own experience of reading po
21、etry. Yes, I agree. There are other aspects of poetry that can be appreciated besides the poets message. I recall reading “Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare”. The language was quite difficult to understand, but because of the sound aspects, I appreciated its easy flowing rhythm and rhymes. It was ver
22、y pleasant to read-like a song. I hope to understand its full message one day. Read the following poem and share your understanding of it. When analysing the poem, you can follow the tips given in the lecture transcript. The Noble Nature (By Ben Johnson) It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth m
23、ake Man better be; Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, To fall a log at last, try, bald, and sere: A lily of a day Is fairer far in May, Although it fall and die that night; It was the plant and flower of Light. In a small proportions we just beauties see; And in short measures life may perfect be. Reading 1. Write a summary of the lecture transcript. 2. Find the lines in the lecture transcript that rhyme and write lines of your own using words in rhyme.
