Activity 1: Free Writing Exercise
1. Write a poem about yourself
2. Share it with your partner
What is Free Verse?
1. No set meter or verse
Can mimic natural speech patterns. Can contain rhymes or none at all.
2. Length
Can be short or long.
3. Experimental
Since free verse is not tied to specific form, poets have more room to experiment with structure.
Free verse has its own tools beyond meter and rhyme - like punctuation, line break and vocabulary.
Rupi Kaur
Caged Bird by Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Fan-Piece for Her Imperial Lord by Ezra Pound
O fan of white silk,
clear as frost on the grass-blade,
You are also laid aside
In a station of a Metro by Ezra Pound
The apparition of these faces in a crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Is this a free verse poem?
(Love song, with two goldfish) by Grace Chua
(He's a drifter, always
floating around her, has
nowhere else to go. He wishes
she would sing, not much, just the scales;
or take some notice,
give him the fish eye.)
(Bounded by round walls
she makes fish eyes
and kissy lips at him, darts
behind pebbles, swallows
his charms hook, line and sinker)
(He's bowled over. He would
take her to the ocean, they could
count the waves. There,
in the submarine silence, they would share
their deepest secrets. Dive for pearls
like stars.)
(But her love's since
gone belly-up. His heart sinks
like a fish. He drinks
like a stone. Drowns those sorrows,
stares emptily through glass.)
(the reason, she said
she wanted)
(and he could not give)
a life
beyond the
(bowl)
Consider the following questions:
What is this poem about?
What does this poem mean?
Do you notice anything interesting about the poem?
Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
Like the careful undressing of love.
Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.
I am trying to be truthful.
Not a cute card or a kissogram.
I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.
Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,
If you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.
Consider the following questions:
What is the poem about?
What does this poem mean?
HOMEWORK
Q: Write a PEEL paragraph about how the poet uses form to provide a reading of the poem:
Stanza Break
Line Break
Line Length
Resources
For students:
For teachers:
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