Poetry Project

The Poetry of War Project

Due: Tuesday, April 5 (Remember, NO LATE WORK will be accepted after the end of the sprint.)

Instructions: Write THREE original poems, each using MANY of the poetic devices we have discussed in class. Use any three of the following prompts:

1.1. Use war as a metaphor for something in your life.

· Example: “My mother’s war on weeds”

· What other war-related concepts can you use as metaphors? (example: recruiting, flanking the enemy, weapons)

2.2. Respond to a modern war through a poem.

· Possible wars to consider: Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan

· You don’t have to be an expert on the war. You can simply write a poem about how you as a teenage American in 2011 understand war (or fail to understand war).

3.3. Write about WWI from an unusual perspective.

· Examples: from the point of view of a young man who stayed behind when his friends enlisted, from the point of view of a child of a soldier, or from the point of view of an airplane pilot flying over the trenches

4.4. Compose lyrics for a song about war (and perform it in class, or record it and play it in class, for extra credit).

5.5. Write a poem that is a letter to a war vet.

6.6. Make a metaphor collage to describe war.

· Use at least ten different pictures cut from magazines and paste them together in an original way.

· Each picture should not be literal depictions of war (e.g., tanks and guns), but should be used like metaphors to represent what war means (e.g., a picture of a bird’s nest that has been raided, with broken egg shells).

· The colors, shadows, and angles of the pictures you select should create the tone or mood you are trying to communicate about war.

Grading:

	Points Possible	Score
Project includes 3 original poems based on 3 of the poetry prompts. Each poem is at least 12 lines long.	30
Poems are rich in poetic devices.	20
Poems avoid sentimentality. They do not tell the reader what to think about war, but allow the reader to feel something because of the images and words that are used.	5
Poems use mostly concrete images (think of your five senses), rather than abstract concepts (e.g., “love”, “fear”, “tyranny”)	10
Poetic devices are fresh, not worn-out clichés.	10
Capitalization, punctuation, and grammar enhance the meaning of the poem because they are used intentionally rather than haphazardly.	5
Gives a 2 minute oral presentation of one of the poems during class.	10
Overall professional quality of work. It is appealing and beautiful.	10

As with all assignments, plagiarism on this project will result in an automatic failure.