Lesson 3: Emulating Emily Dickinson: Poetry Writing

• The Digital Public Library of America has a variety of maps, manuscripts, and magazine articles related to Emily Dickinson that can provide context in the classroom.
• A half-hour documentary about Emily Dickinson was produced as part of the American Women of Achievement series, highlighting influential women throughout American history. The documentary features information about how her poems were published after her death and her role in Amherst.
• This PBS New Hour features stories about the misunderstood life of Emily Dickinson and how her legacy is still affecting scholars today.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Activity 1. Poetry Analysis

As a class, read through "There's a certain slant of light" (258), available both at the Academy of American Poets and the American Verse Project. divide students into small groups and have each group focus on one element of figurative language present in the poem. Once students have completed their analysis activity as a group and discussed their element of language, have them share their work with the class.

• Metaphors — With this handout, students will illustrate an important metaphor from the novel and use textual evidence to analyze their drawings.
• Word Choice — After identifying important words in the poem, students will identify how those words build mood, theme, and motif. They will then identify other types of media (books, poetry, movies, television shows, video games, etc.) that have the same mood or motif and analyze how that type of media creates that mood.
• Rhythm or Meter — Students will identify important elements of rhythm and meter in Dickinson's poem and rewrite the poem by only changing line length, capitalization, and punctuation. Then students will compare how this poem functions differently from the original.
• Personification — Students will draw a character representation of an object personified in the poem. Using quotes from the poem, students will consider how that object would look, talk, and act as a real person.

Once students have presented, start a class discussion using the following discussion questions as a guide.

• How is each element of figurative language relevant to the poem?
• How does the figurative language work together to create mood, tone, motif, and theme?
• Which elements of figurative language are most powerful in the poem?
• What other forms of figurative language are evident in the poem?
• What other forms of figurative language could be used in the poem to make the mood and tone stronger?

Activity 2. Writing Like Emily

• Pass out the Emulate Emily handout to every student. Have students complete the first part of the assignment, which asks them to think again about how the poem "There's a certain Slant of light" presents its message, and then to write a poem of their own emulating it, in class or for homework.
• Once they've written their poem, have students follow step #4 from the Emulate Emily handout. They will exchange their poems with their partners and offer critiques, based on what they've learned thus far in the lesson. Finally, students will, in step #5 from the Emulate Emily handout, write a reflection analyzing what they have learned and how they applied these lessons to their writing.

Students will create a colorful one-pager for this activity. Although every one-pager is unique and requirements can vary based on the subject and intentions of the lesson, a general guideline of what can be included on a one pager is below. It is important to remember that one-pagers are generally an image heavy, colorful, and creative way for students to express their knowledge.

• Name of the author
• List of poems/famous works
• Images that relate to themes, metaphors, or other relevant parts of poems
• Major themes and motifs
• Biographical facts about the author
• Description/discussion of figurative language
• Important quotes
• Questions students still have about the work
• Connections to modern media (movies, books, television shows, video games, etc.)

Curriculum Unit Assessment

Ask students to submit a portfolio of their work, including their essays, their letter, their poem, and their handouts with their poem critique. Assess them based on the rubric below, granting point values as preferred.

Have the students read the poem "Emily Dickinson" by contemporary poet Linda Pastan. The poem is available from Titanic Operas, Folio 1 on the Dickinson Electronic Archives through the EDSITEment reviewed Academy of American Poets site. Note how Pastan addresses and then challenges the myth of Dickinson. Ask the students to consider how Pastan responds to Dickinson's poetry and her image and how she expresses her views through her poem. Then, have your students pen a poem that reflects their perceptions of Dickinson and her influence on them.