Poetry assignment for first-year writing

1. ENG100 Summer 1 2010
Instructor: Jaimie Gusman
Poetry Assignment (Reading Response #5)
DUE: Post to blog by Sunday at 5pm
Not only did we discuss how poetry allows us to see the world through different lenses, we also
discussed how different poetic devices are effective tools for your prose. Your assignment is to
write a poem modeled William Stafford’s poem “Things I Learned Last Week”.
Part 1: Write a Poem
Step 1: Make a list of 20 things that you learned last week. “Las week” could literally mean last
week or last month, today, yesterday, or even years ago. This is creative writing, and just like
Andre Aciman and Brenda Miller tell us, all writers fib. Think about what you’ve learned as an
observer, things you’ve learned by reading the newspaper or watching television, things you’ve
learned about yourself from your family, things you’ve learned about your family, things you’ve
learned about people, things that people have taught you, things you’ve learned about a place,
and so on.
Step 2: Now go through this list and pick out the 7 [of what you find to be] the most interesting
things. Like Stafford, you will have 7 stanzas, each stanza representing something you learned.
The parameters:
1. Each stanza has to be between 2 and 4 lines (no more and no less).
2. You must include an epigraph, and you must also include one simile or metaphor per
stanza.
3. You must also include one allusion (this can be an allusion to Stafford, Stafford’s poem,
another literary figure, or even some other social reference, i.e. Obama, Britney Spears,

2. etc.)
4. You must use [at least one instance of] repetition in some way.
5. You must title your poem, and it cannot be a cliché (unless you decide o use a mixed
metaphor)
6. You must have at least one instance assonance AND consonance in each stanza.
7. You do not have to rhyme, but you should try. [Remember, rhymes don’t occur only at
the end of lines, they can also occur within the line. “Internal rhyme” is a term used to
describe this kind of rhyme. For example, the famous line from Edgar Allan Poe “Once
upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary” has internal rhyme (dreary
and weary). Another example would be the line “so cold” from William Carlos Williams’
poem “This Is Just To Say.” “So” and “cold” rhyme, and also exemplify assonance!]
Part 2: Analyze Your Poem
Now that you have written your poem, write a 250-words reading response, using the following
guidelines. You will be graded on the usual: creativity, improvement, maturity of thought,
grammar, and the ability to follow directions.
I. Summary: What is this poem about? Describe this poem as a reader, not a writer.
Talk about what this poem means to you. How is the epigraph important to the
poem? What poetic devices are present in the poem? Which ones are working and
which one aren’t? Why?
II. Response: Reflect on this poem, as the writer. Questions to consider:
1. How did it feel to write this poem? Was it easy or difficult? Why?
2. In your experience, how does writing a poem differ from writing different types
of prose?
3. How is writing a poem similar to writing prose? Which tools do you find to be
useful for writing the poem? Which tools do you think will be useful when
writing an essay?

3. 4. What is the conceit of your poem?
5. Which similes and metaphors are your favorites? Why do they work in the
poem? Which ones are weak? Why? What would you change about them?
6. Did you find that you have a natural rhythm when writing? What about rhyme?
7. How is ambiguity working in this poem? Can ambiguity actually weaken the
poem?