English Poetry Study Worksheets

General Objective

• Identify forms and characteristics of English poetry

Worksheet 1: Aesthetics of the Poetic Text

• Objective: Describe the poem as a celebration of beauty
• "The Painter" by John Ashbery: The poem depicts a painter who is captivated by the sea and the buildings. He creates a portrait of the sea, but the process is disrupted by the people in the buildings who want him to paint another subject. The painter then chooses his wife, and the buildings comment that the portrait is an uninspired self-portrait. The crowd of people literally throw the painter and his canvas into the sea.

Worksheet 2: The Sonnet as a Major Type in Traditional Poetry

• Objective: Distinguish the two types of sonnet in English poetry
• Poem 1: "That time of year thou mayst in me behold" by William Shakespeare: This poem describes the imagery of autumn and fading into old age.
• Poem 2: "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" by William Wordsworth: This poem showcases the joy found in simpler life, such as that enjoyed by a nun, hermit, student, maid, or craftsman. It emphasizes contentment in ordinary life, and the poet finds solace in this ordinary life.
• Traditional Organization: Poetry is organized into stanzas (four lines).
• Shakespearean Sonnet: Three quatrains and a couplet.

Worksheet 3: Diction

• Objective: Define the term diction in English Poetry
• "Baptism" by Claude McKay: This poem uses bitter diction, in which the speaker goes into battle with the world, and emerges stronger.

Worksheet 4: Syntax

• Objective: Identify the syntax as a distinct feature of poetry
• Poem 1: "I(a," by E. E. Cummings: Poem illustrates the unconventional arrangement of words and phrases to create a specific effect.

Worksheet 5: Metaphor and Simile

• Objective: Distinguish the two expressions of comparison.
• "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth: This poem employs a metaphor comparing the speaker's state of mind to a cloud. The poem also uses similes to compare the daffodils to stars and their arrangement.

Worksheet 6: Poetic Rhythm

• Objective: Measure the line of poems.
• "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost: This poem is written in iambic tetrameter. The poem describes the narrator's longing to rest in the woods but his duty/promise to others keeps him from doing so.