Contents
|
In the movie Dangerous Minds, a schoolteacher (played by
Michelle Pfieffer) in an inner-city school breaks through with an impossible
class by getting them interested in poetry. Poetry?! To a group
like that?
Yes, poetry. But not Frost or Dickinson. Not
Angelo or even McKuen (God forbid). It's the poetry of Bob Dylan,
the poetry of rock music.
It worked for her and it works for me, too. When I
first started using rock lyrics in my classroom some twenty years ago,
I did it surrepticiously with an eye towards the hall and an ever-twitching
finger on the volume control. I didn't talk about my work in the
teachers' lounge. If a fellow department member would ever ask what I was
doing in class, I'd mumble, "Poetry," then hurry off. At parent-teacher
conferences I focused on the grammar we were doing, and the classical literature.
Yes, I kept it a secret but I must tell you, it was the only way I tried
that actually got kids interested in poetry.
Today, I openly discuss my "American Pie" unit. Other
teachers bring me newspaper clippings of Dylan, and the Beatles, and Buddy
Holly. I even have a guitar-playing history teacher/friend
come in for one day to demonstrate the key figures of 50s music and how
they each, to use Don McLean's metaphor, "caught the last train for the
coast." And now I'm going public, worldwide.
What changed? Well, for one thing, poetry as genre
in its own right basically fell off the charts. Who buys poetry books
these days, anyway? For another thing, twenty-five years went by
and guess what was still around, as popular as ever? Rock music.
And finally, those same twenty-five years moved the wild young rebel teachers
such as myself into the department chairs. And let's not forget that
movie...
What follows is a general run-through of the rock-poetry
unit I teach. It's an evolving work. I don't teach it to the
exclusion of classical poetry but rather as an entry point (aha, there's
that word again) into the entire world of verse.
I encourage you to peruse, pick, and choose what you'll use
and embellish any and all parts of it. And one more thing: write
me about what you do with (psst) rock lyrics. (Hey, I'm still a little
paranoid about this whole thing.)
Overview
The objectives of this unit are twofold:
1) To cause students to appreciate poetry in two keys ways:
-
by showing students how language can be used artistically
to express thought and evoke emotion
-
by breaking down the barriers some students have towards
the artistic use of language
2) To enhance students understanding of their own choices
of music.
It isn't a goal of mine that students will write poetry,
though many of them do become interested in synthesizing their learning
into a new creation. It also is not a goal that they become interested
in 60s rock, so-called "classic rock," though many of them do pay the Beatles
and others more attention after some serious lyric analysis. I simply
want students to get interested in poetry.
To achieve this, I start by defining for them a set of poetic
devices that we will be looking for. I use a handout and then define
the terms with them in class. From this list of terms, I focus on
these three: metaphor, irony, and imagery. The rest we study
and learn to identify, but these three are the kingpins of the unit.
The Canon
Choosing the songs for my unit was, at once, both a difficult
and simple task. I had two overriding goals: to choose songs
that demonstrate the poetic devices we would cover and to choose songs
that would enhance students understanding of the culminating work we would
study, "American Pie." If you're unfamiliar with that song, you might
want to click here right
now and check out what it's all about. I'll wait for you.
As you can see, "American Pie" is, no matter what else anyone
may say (and believe me, on the web they're saying a lot), a song about
60s music. It's a tribute to 50s music (or at least, to Buddy Holly),
but the 60s are Don McLean's subject matter. Thus, the music I had
to choose needed to be 60s music. Plus, it needed to be the 60s music
that is referred to in the song, or at least, the musicians who are alluded
to. That left me with this list: The Monotones, Fabian (et
al), Marty Robbins, Elvis, Dylan, the Beatles, the Byrds, the Stones, Janis
Joplin, and (I think) Simon and Garfunkel. And others. Well,
forget the Monotones and Fabian...the musicians in the first official verse
of "American Pie." I personally never liked this era of music and
couldn't see much of how this was sophisticated poetry.
And forget Elvis, too. Sorry, I know that's heresy
to some, but he didn't even write his own songs. I hardly think he deserves
to be in a poetry unit.
Bob Dylan. Well, of course Bob Dylan. He's the
poet laureate of this group. And the Beatles simply had to be in
the unit. Not only were they the most influential group of the 60s,
they were reference in three of the six verses in the song. Paul
Simon? Though only obliquely referenced in "American Pie," his poetic
skills simply had to be examined.
The Stones, the Byrds, and Joplin I left out because, 1)
I never really was a fan of any of them, and 2) I don't consider any of
them superior poets. Maybe I should've included the Stones since
they certainly captured youthful lust and angst, and maybe I will add them
next year (the song, "Sympathy for the Devil" would make sense).
But I left them out.
I put Neil Young into my unit because, even though he isn't
anywhere to be found in "American Pie," he's a 60s rocker with a gift for
imagery who is still around.
Here's the most important thing you must do in putting together
a rock poetry unit of your own: choose songs you like. If you
like them, you'll know them better and probably have more historical texture
to add to your teaching. At least you can tell them, "Yeah, I remember
when my girlfriend Sue and I listened to 'Me and My Bobby McGee' while
watching 'Night of the Living Dead' at the drive-in." Kids like that
sort of background info.
Or just use my songs. That's what they're here for.
I don't claim them to be the holy canon. Some of the songs aren't
even all that poetic ("Helter Skelter" comes to mind). But they are songs
I know and like and that's what any teacher should choose when they put
together a unit such as this one. And -- and this is important to
me when I teach any literature -- they all are thematically tied together,
as you shall see.
Now for a second point about choosing the songs: Be open.
Let the unit evolve as the years go by. Broaden your tastes by listening
to the songs the kids like (that's part of the unit). This year,
I added Garth Brooks' "The Thunder Rolls" after reading one student's unique
exegesis on it.
And a third point: choose songs that demonstrate the poetic
devices of the unit. I made sure I had at least one example of each
of the poetic devices I would teach. You should do the same if you
take on this challenge.
That said, here's a look at my "canon."
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
-
Like a Rolling Stone
-
Mr. Tambourine Man
Paul Simon
Neil Young
-
The Needle and the Damage Done
-
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World
Garth Brooks
Don McLean
Poetic Devices
I begin the unit by going over the 21 poetic devices that
I consider important. I simply give them as notes for the students
to write down. My notes consist of three parts: the name of
the device, the definition, and an example. To help students organize,
I've grouped them into three main groups. Here they are with definitions
and examples.
Playing with the SOUNDS of words
Rhyme: word endings that sound alike including at
least the final vowel sound.
Ex. Time, slime, mime
Rhythm: a regular pattern of accented syllables.
Ex. i THOUGHT i SAW a PUSsyCAT.
Repetition: The recurrence of words and phrases
for effect.
Ex. I was so so so so glad.
Alliteration: repeated consonant sounds at the
beginning of words.
Ex. Fast and furious.
Assonance: repeated vowel sounds.
Ex. He's a bruisin' loser.
Onomatopoeia: words that sound like their meanings.
Ex. Swoosh, Zip, Gurgle
Playing with the MEANINGS of words
Simile: a comparison using "like" or "as."
Ex. He's as dumb as an ox.
Metaphor: a direct comparison.
Ex. He's an zero.
Personification: Treating a non-human thing
with human characteristics.
Ex. The days crept by slowly, sorrowfully.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration used for effect.
Ex. He weighs a ton.
Metonymy: Substituting one word or phrase for
another that is closely related.
Ex. The White House stated today that...
Synecdoche: A part represents the whole.
Ex. The football player is hanging up his spikes.
Symbol: an object that represents something
else.
Ex. A small cross by the dangerous curve on the road
reminded all of Johnny's death.
Contrast: closely arranging things with strikingly
different characteristics
Ex. He was dark, sinister, and cruel; she was radiant,
pleasant, and kind.
Paradox: a seeming contradiction.
Ex. The faster I go the behinder I get.
Irony: something said that is opposite its intended
meaning.
Ex. Wow, thanks for expensive gift...let's see: did
it come with a Fun Meal or the Burger King equivalent?
Playing with the IMAGES of words
Imagery: the use of vivid language to generate
ideas and/or evoke emotion via the five senses.
Examples:
-
Sight: Smoked mysteriously puffed out from the
clown's ears.
-
Sound: Tom placed his ear tightly against the
wall; he could hear a faint but distinct thump thump thump.
-
Touch: The burlap wall covering scraped against
the little boy's cheek.
-
Taste: A salty tear ran across onto her lips.
-
Smell: Cinnamon! That's what wafted into
his nostrils.
Interpreting the Songs
Once the terms have been defined, each day I try to cover
two song/poems with the students. The process for covering them is
as follows:
1. Take in the work.
2. Formulate an initial response to it.
3. Share responses.
4. Analyze the lyrics for its theme.
5. Analyze the lyrics for its use of poetic devices.
6. Write out a summary of the work.
Let's take a closer look at those six steps.
1. Taking in the work.
Students take in the work by listening to the song with the
lyrics in front of them. They always enjoy this part. As students
become aware of the process involved in the unit, they begin to swallow
the song differently they did in the past. They become aware of poetic
devices, meaning signals, and the underlying emotion. They start
noticing instruments and musical devices (though this isn't something I
spend much time on).
2. Formulate an initial response to it.
Immediately after listening to the work, they all must write
an initial response to it, just a short paragraph or so. Students
should try to comment on their emotional response to the song.
As the unit develops, these initials responses mature...something
that the teacher (me, in my case) finds quite rewarding.
3. Share responses.
After the five minutes allotted for the initial response,
I ask volunteers to read their responses. This often generates some
discussion right away. After the readings, I ask students more pointedly,
"What was you emotional response to the song?" And then, "Why did
it make you feel that way?" The point of this is to emphacize the
emotional aspect of poetry, to prevent the entire unit from turning into
a mental "What's the deeper meaning?" type of activity.
4. Analyze the lyrics for its theme.
Now it's time for analysis, always a dangerous time.
I happen to believe in analysis, and I happen to believe that the writer's
original intent is what matters most (in other words, I'm no post-modern,
deconstructionist) and I really want the students to consider what Lennon
and McCartney had in mind when they were crooning about all the lonely
people.
But I am very aware of the danger of dissection. The
way I try to avoid over-analysis is to not spend too much time on it...just
enough to whet the appetite. Also, I make it a point to allow for
error in interpretation. We search for truth, but we do it gingerly
and with full knowledge of our ignorance.
I begin this process by rereading the poem aloud with the
class. I encourage them to interrupt me with questions as we go along.
One point I make early in the unit: repetition is a device often used to
convey the meaning. Thus, we look especially closely at the chorus
and any other repeated parts. Since these are all works I've gone
over before class, I definitely have a better handle on the meanings than
students do. I develop some questions ahead of time that will point
them to some of the more masterful lines in the poem.
At this point the meaning becomes a full-fledged discussion.
I try to let the students have a great deal of say in what direction it
takes, but I challenge their views, always citing a passage that conflicts
with what they're saying.
It starts out as an exercise in inductive reasoning.
We look at the particulars and draw conclusions. But once generalizations
are made, we reverse the process, looking at the particulars to see if
they support that conclusion. Deductive reasoning.
It's a delicate task, as any teacher who's led a discussion
knows. You spend a lot of time dignifying wrong answers, a lot of
time corralling the herd back a certain way, and not a small amount of
time stopping and reflecting for a moment yourself as a student brings
to light a point you had previously not considered deeply enough.
5. Analyze the lyrics for its use of poetic devices.
Next I ask the kids to find examples of particular poetic
devices that I have determined ahead of time are in the poem. I always
want to find at least two strong examples, hopefully more. Most poetry
has some form of imagery: we look for that. Often there is
irony involved. Many, many songs have some form of alliteration.
Almost all have rhyme. All have a rhythm, and I want students to
understand that musical rhythm and linguistic rhythm must match.
We spend some time tapping out accented syllables.
6. Write out a summary of the work.
This is tomorrow's assignment. Now they've considered
the piece, albeit briefly. If we've covered two songs in one period,
they may choose just one to write about. This writing should take
into account all of what we've discussed and analyzed. I expect about
a page (150 words) per song, maybe more.
Of course, it never happens this neatly. I spend too
much time on one piece and am forced to neglect others. The discussions
gets sidetracked. The class clown creates diversions. I forget
to say something one day and spend part of the next day repolishing it.
And I throw in some quizzes and other assignments that I dream up on the
spot.
But the unit works, it really does. And it all ends
with "American Pie," which we really do analyze. Why "American Pie?"
For a whole lot of reasons. For one thing, this song is truly loved
by the world. Most of my students have some familiarity with it,
even the foreign exchange students. But no one understands it.
That's the second reason I like using it: it gives students a chance to
use most of the poetic devices they've learned in one piece. Then
there's the allegory angle. I used to teach a unit of nothing but
allegory. When our textbooks changed (and I lost Poe's "Masque of
the Red Death,") I dropped the unit. But I still love allegory and
find it's a form of literature students really enjoy. Well, "American
Pie" is an allegory, that's for sure. Another reason I use "American
Pie" is because it provides students with a framework to view the 60s.
I tell them -- and I believe this deeply -- that "American Pie" teaches
history better than any history book they'll ever read. And there's
still another reason for using "American Pie": this song is about
rock music and my unit is about rock music. It's a natural match.
You can find a brief summary of my interpretation of some
of the songs in this unit (I'm working on getting them all edited and uploaded...it
takes time!) which may help you in guiding discussions of the same.
Also, you'll find the lyrics for all the pieces included there. And
I've added a list of crucial poetic devices.
As I said before: peruse, choose, refuse and/or use
(a poetic device: internal rhyme) as you please. And, if you've got
something to add, email me.
Enjoy!
|
Aha!
D. Comedy
Do This
Don't Do
Editor
I Want You
Logic
Mr. Schnuck
Other Stuff
Puzzle
Software
