What's this?
A drawing? A map?
Can you guess where this photo was taken? Scroll down for the answer!
(hint: along the Circle Line)
(answer: Caldecott MRT Station)
Can you try reading what is written?
Activity 1: THINK-PAIR-SHARE
What kind of words and phrases can you make out?
Why do you think the artist chose these words?
What is concrete poetry?
noun [mass noun] poetry in which the meaning or effect is conveyed partly or wholly by visual means, using patterns of words or letters and other typographical devices.
"40—Love" by Roger McGough
middle aged
couple playing
ten nis when the
game ends
and they
go home
the net
will still
be be
tween them
Q: What is the poem about?
Q: What does the poem mean?
Q: Do you notice anything interesting about this poem?
Score-calling in Tennis:
Number of points won | Corresponding Call
0 | love
1 | 15
2 | 30
3 | 40
4 | game
"The Day You Told Me You Were Tired of Things That Break" by Mary Jean Chan
Ask me what material I'd use to make a human being and I'd answer: glass. Ask me what shape I'd mould it into and I'd reply
a cup – the ones that have felt the light press of lips on their collarbones, or the gentle caress of fingers easing the soapbuds off their backs after every meal. The ones that brim with liquid light in a room gone quiet after the candles are lit. Ask me if I'm scared of the thought of them breaking, and I'd ask you to imagine how easy it would be to neglect the one thing you thought was shatterproof.
Q. What is the poem's message?
Q: How is the poem shaped? How does the shape tie back to the content?
Q: Name two literary devices the poet uses. How do they work?
By the way, there's a sequel!
"The Day You Told Me You Were Tired of Things That Break: A Rejoinder" by Mary Jean Chan
I have heard you whisper: broken things are sharp edges. Brokenness begets brokenness. Why not turn your gaze towards the glazed ceramic vases, with their perfect posture and silent mouths? They have never cursed their maker, and will forever be of use. I reply: Consider this. Perhaps the hand touching the shattered pieces sees more life in them than in things that have never stood at the edge of the world.
rejoinder | rɪˈdʒɔɪndə | noun a reply, especially a sharp or witty one: she would have made some cutting rejoinder but none came to mind.
HOMEWORK
Q: How is this “sequel” different from the first one?
Q: Do you agree with the message? Why or why not?
Q: Write a PEDAL paragraph about how the poet uses ONE of the following literary devices:
- juxtaposition
- personification
- irony
- metaphor.
Now it's your turn to try writing concrete poetry!
Resources
For students: Worksheets
For teachers:
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