Dustin's+Design

This class is designed with these results in mind.

The students will be asked to first read the poem to themselves several times through, taking the time they need to get a basic grasp of the language the poem is using, and to identify any poetic devices at work (though there need not be requisite understanding of these devices).

After having taken some time reading the poem the students will be asked to write a short response to the poem. The students will be encouraged to write their immediate thoughts on the poem, including what they did or did not like about the poem, what they think the poem is about, and whether or not they think the poem was successful in conveying the ideas it seems to be attempting to convey. At this point the response should be fully subjective and needn't address any extra-textual aspects of the poem. The students will be encouraged to write a subjective response, but one that deals only with the language of the poem and intricacies that language may carry with it.

After giving time for a thoughtful response the students will be asked to volunteer to read the poem out loud. The students may choose to read one line, one stanza, or the poem in whole. If a student chooses to read the entire poem a second student will be asked to read the poem with their own infliction, and finally the teacher might read the poem or play a recording of Frost or some other reader so that the students might hear a few different approaches to reading a poem out loud.

After having heard the poem read out loud the students will be asked to give a second response. Has their original reading been swayed by these other readings? If so, why? If not, why not? Does the difference in audible inflection suggest something about reading on a larger scale? Does it suggests there might be more than one way to read a poem?

Finally, after giving the students time to write their thoughts and a chance to share them with the class (though the sharing ought to be purely participatory), the instructor can discuss his or her own understanding of the poem as well as a few "common," if sometimes conflicting, critical interpretations of the poem. Do the students agree with any of these other readings? If so, why? If not, why not? Ask them to site textual evidence for their claims.

After students have engaged with the text and with a few critical interpretations of the text the instructor can then use the poem to illustrate some formal, poetic devices at work. The instructor can also offer some information on the poet and the historical setting wherein the poem was written. Do any of these factors have an effect on the way one would respond to the poem? Has your initial interpretation changed or remained the same? Given your answer to this, what do you think are some of the more important factors in your interaction with and interpretation of a poem? Lastly, do you think your work with this poem will help you analyze poems you may encounter in the future?