Amir's Poison Tree: October 26, 2015

Focus: How do we uncover larger themes?

First Hour

1. Warming up with a close reading/Venn diagram of two simple words: "Poison," and "Tree"

2. Reading William Blake's "The Poison Tree" with three steps:

Step One: Engage the abstract, the gut reaction by exploring "the visual" (imagery)

Step Two: Engage the concrete, the intellectual reaction by exploring the syntax: grammar (periods, question marks, etc), sentence lengths and structures, stanzas, sectioning the poem 

Step Three: Synthesize abstract with the concrete to develop larger patterns, such as theme and tone (try connecting back to your Venn diagram on the title)

Ex: In Blake's "The Poison Tree," the imagery of a carefully cultivated garden and the neatly organized four stanzas of four lines each suggest that revenge is not a wild emotion but a controlled, man-made poison.

3. Synthesizing "The Poison Tree" with The Kite Runner to generate some big ideas

With your partner, compose a "found poem" using lines from the poem and lines from the novel.

Rule 1: Your poem should be four stanzas, four lines each.

Rule 2: Start each stanza the way Blake starts each of his stanzas.
Ex: The first line of your first stanza should be, "I was angry with my friend."

Rule 3: Select lines/fragments from The Kite Runner to fill in the rest of each stanza; search for lines from The Kite Runner that connect to lines from "The Poison Tree."

Rule 4: Read your poem to the class. You and your partner should share the reading meaningfully.

Click HERE for the rubric.

HW:
1. You will need your Kite Runner book and annotations this week since we will be writing a short, synthesis essay. Start thinking about a fictional hero you'd like to compare/contrast to Amir.

2. You should finish composing your speech at least three days before you deliver it.