KS3 · English
Single poet study: Maya Angelou
Hear two poems you've never met and still tell they're by the same poet? That's poetic voice, and you're about to prove it.
English · Poet study
One poet, three ways to describe her voice
Tap a word to see what backs it up. There's no single right answer, but every answer needs evidence.
Which word fits Angelou's poetic voice best, and what in her poems backs it up?
Lyrical
Two examples, two different poems
- In this lesson, lyrical means expressing emotions in an imaginative or unusual way.
- You can argue her poems are lyrical because they often express speakers' emotions in unusual ways, particularly through metaphorical language, similes and figurative language.
Forthright
Two examples, two different poems
- Forthright means bold, frank, clear, honest, direct.
- A forthright speaker says things plainly, whether the subject is the world around her or herself.
Commanding
Two examples, two different poems
- Commands come through in many of her poems, and the speaker's voice is very commanding.
- The reader or listener is directed to do something.
Common ground
- The poems may be different, but the way Angelou expresses her ideas, the dominant tone or emotion in her voice, is identifiable across them.
- Each word is an interpretation, not a fact. It's valid when you support it with examples from her poems.
- Other words were suggested too: uplifting, honest, joyful and rhythmical.
Compare the positions, then weigh them yourself.
Your move
Pick the word you most agree with, then be ready to back it up with examples from two different poems. You'll do exactly that in the writing task at the end.
English · Poet study
Speakers, ideas or methods?
Pick an observation, then pick the category it belongs in.
Still to sort
Speakers (0)
Who is speaking in the poems, and how do they come across?
Where the line is: If it describes the person speaking, it's about speakers. If it describes what the poem is about, it's an idea. If it describes a tool the poet uses, it's a method.
Ideas (0)
What the poems explore.
Where the line is: An idea is what a poem explores. The tool that explores it is a method.
Methods (0)
The tools she uses to create her poems.
Where the line is: Methods can be discussed in one poem or across a whole collection.
Angelou keeps doing certain things across her poems. Decide whether each one is about who is speaking, what the poems explore, or the tools she builds them with.
WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
A quick recap of today's lesson.
Read her poems as a collection, then choose a word for her voice and prove it.
What you need to know
- Maya Angelou was a prolific poet, which means she wrote many poems.
- Exploring her poems as a collection helps you understand her as a poet, not just one poem.
- Clear comments about a poet's work as a whole are fine, as long as specific examples from specific poems support them.
- Comment on similarities between speakers, ideas and methods; phrases like often, in many of the poems and frequently show overall understanding.
Have a goPriya writes: 'In this poem, Angelou...' Tom writes: 'In many of the poems, Angelou...' Whose comment is about her work as a whole?
Tom's. 'In many of the poems' looks across the collection.
Priya's phrase points at one poem. Often, in many of the poems and frequently show you're thinking about the poet's work overall.
- Often, Angelou creates assertive speakers, explores ideas about oppression in many poems, and frequently uses a refrain to convey her main message.
- Other methods in many of her poems include repetition, directly addressing the reader, and command words.
- Poetic voice is how a poet expresses her ideas, the dominant tone or emotion, and it is identifiable even when the poems differ.
Have a goTwo Angelou poems are different, yet you can still tell the same poet wrote both. What has stayed the same?
Her poetic voice: how she expresses her ideas, the dominant tone or emotion.
The poems may be different, but the way she expresses her ideas is still identifiable across them.
- Adjectives such as uplifting, commanding, lyrical or forthright describe a poetic voice; choose the one you agree with and support it.
Have a goYou say Angelou's voice is forthright. A friend says, 'Prove it.' What do you point to?
Examples from her poems.
These adjectives are interpretations, so each one is valid only when you support it with examples from her poems.
- Lyrical means expressing emotions in an imaginative or unusual way. Forthright means bold, frank, clear, honest, direct.
- A strong exploration has a clear idea, examples from two different poems, and a comparison of how the voice differs between them.
The big picture
Reading Maya Angelou's poems as a collection lets you hear her poetic voice. You'll choose a word for that voice, such as lyrical, forthright or commanding, and back it up with examples from two different poems.
Key points
Worked example
Problem
You've noticed that in Life Doesn't Frighten Me the reader is directed to do something. Turn that into a comment about Angelou's work as a whole.
⚠ Watch out
Thinking you must stick to one poem because whole-collection comments are 'too general'. They aren't, if specific examples from specific poems back them up. The opposite slip is just as easy: a big comment with no examples at all.
Memory hook
Three things to compare: Speakers, Ideas, Methods. Three parts to your answer: one idea, two poems, one comparison. And 'whereas' is the bridge between your two poems.
Check yourself
Often, Angelou creates assertive speakers. Is that comment about her speakers, her ideas or her methods, and which word shows it covers her work as a whole? (Answer: speakers; the word often.)
Flashcards
(14)What does prolific mean?
What is poetic voice?
Why is it fine to comment on a poet's work as a whole?
Name three phrases that show you are commenting on a poet's work as a whole.
Which kind of speaker does Angelou often create?
What does defiant mean?
Which method does Angelou frequently use to convey her main message?
Besides a refrain, which three methods does Angelou use in many of her poems?
What does lyrical mean in this lesson?
What does forthright mean?
Which poem uses an extended metaphor to explore oppression and injustice?
What does whereas help you do?
What are the three parts of a strong exploration of poetic voice?
Which poem did Angelou write and perform at President Clinton's inauguration in 1993?
Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.
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