William wordsworth poetry lesson plan iambic tetrameter by the Turk

1. William Wordsworth
Daffodils

2. • Target Language: English Language Level: U.intermediate
• Target Students: (ELL)Literature Ss Turkey Classroom: 15/Turkish Ss
• Novel: W.Wordsworth Time: 2 lessons 45 minutes
• Materials: Video, Blackboard, Pdf of Poem. Length: 1-3 weeks
Aims: Students will be introduced to iambic tetrameter, stanza and
also the format which poetry follows (ABABCC). Daffodils by
W.Wordsworth, will be an introduction and a learning curve into
tetrameter, as students have already seen iambic pentameters
previously. Students will try to use the metaphors and similes and
personifications.

3. Pre-Reading Activity
• Introduction to the author. 1min
• Background knowledge of the poem and its era
1mins
• _Ice-breaker_
• Guessing the title and the relation to the poem.
1mins
• Video 2-3mins
• Ss will look for metaphors, similes and personifications
in the poem by skimming & scanning.
4 mins

4. William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850)

5. • William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850)
• was a major English Romantic poet who, with
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the
Romantic Age in English literature with their joint
publication Lyrical Ballads
• Dorothy Wordsworth, was very important in
William Wordsworth’s life as she was the one who
inspired him to write poems. After their parents
pasted away they where all what was left and had.

6. • "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (also commonly known as
"Daffodils") is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth. It is
Wordsworth's most famous work.
• The poem was inspired by an event on 15 April 1802, in which
Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy came across a "long belt"
of daffodils. Written some time between 1804 and 1807 (in
1804 by Wordsworth's own account), it was first published in
1807 in Poems in Two Volumes, and a revised version was
published in 1815.
• In a poll conducted in 1995 by the BBC Radio
Bookworm programme to determine the nation's favourite
poems, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud came fifth. Often
anthologised, the poem is commonly seen as a classic of
English romantic poetry, although Poems in Two Volumes, in
which it first appeared, was poorly reviewed by Wordsworth's
contemporaries.

7. ICE-BREAKER
• Guessing the poem by the title.
• What has it got to do with “Daffodils”?
• Watching the video via YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35uXO7D
pT2U

8. While Reading
• Underlining words to choose a different word to suit
5mins
• Analysing phrases/words and metaphors etc.
6mins
• After reading the poem students are asked to look for a
format or rhyme. 3mins
• What kind or type of rhyme(guess) (this is to awaken
their interest). 1min
• Teaching and discussion on the format and rhyme
• 6mins
•

9. Words

10. Metaphors, similes & personifications

11. Rhyme & Format

12. Understanding Tetrameter
• As you should already understand the concept of
rhyme, let’s define tetrameter: It's a line composed
of four metrical feet. A metrical foot is the pattern
of long (stressed) and short (unstressed) syllables
that give a series of words its rhythm. If a diameter
is made up of two identical metric feet, a
tetrameter is made up of four feet with the same
metrical pattern. In its simplest form, a tetrameter
with metrical feet consisting of one unstressed and
one stressed syllable each has a rhythm of eight
beats: duh-DUH, duh-DUH, duh-DUH, duh-DUH.

14. • I wandered lonely as a Cloud" has a fairly simple form that fits its simple and folksy
theme and language. It consists of four stanzas with six lines each, for a total of 24
lines.
• The rhyme scheme is also simple: ABABCC. The last two lines of each stanza rhyme
like the end of a Shakespeare sonnet, so each stanza feels independent and self-
sufficient. This is called a "rhyming couplet." There aren't even any slant rhymes to
trick you. Here's the first stanza with the rhyme scheme labeled:
• I wandered lonely as a Cloud (A)
That floats on high o'er vales and Hills, (B)
When all at once I saw a crowd, (A)
A host, of golden Daffodils; (B)
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, (C)
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (C)
• The meter is iambic tetrameter, which just means that each line has four ("tetra")
iambs. An iamb is a short, unaccented syllable followed by a longer, accented
syllable. Below is an example. We broke up each of the iambs and put the
accented syllables in bold font.
• I wan|-dered lone|-ly as | a cloud
That floats | on high | o’er vales | and hills.
• The meter is regular and consistent, especially compared to many of Wordsworth’s
other poems, which have a more conversational sound. All in all, the poem is as
tidy and orderly.

15. Discussion

16. Post Reading
• Ss have a chance to write & give their personal
reactions on the poem. 5mins
• Ss are to write a review as a group and share as a
whole with the class. 3mins
• Ss debate on what they have learnt and how they
have used the new words and other parts. 4mins
• And an overall feed back on the lesson. 2mins

17. Thank you!!!
T.Tekinoglu