Page 4 Annotating Poetry

Read the following poem about the power of words in poetry.

How the Book of Baseball Was Written      J. Patrick Lewis (1942- )  An old man who lived alone on an island was a little sad. Sprayed by whitecaps, swayed by trade winds, he had only his daybook, a pen, and a young boy’s heart for company. Each day the sun rode out at noon. One morning a word—gleaming and new, never heard before—appeared like the glint of a ship’s hull on a distant swell. He watched a gull pose, holding up the sky, a tortoise grip the earth as if it were a carousel. The new word hung in the air until he reached out—and caught it. Shortstop. The old man put it down in his daybook... and kept on writing.

One way to lighten the mood is to joke by using multiple meanings of words. Consider words that have more than one meaning, such as apple. Apple has broadened from meaning a red fruit to a computer company and its wide range of products.

Similarly, although green can refer to a colour, it also is an ecological movement or a feeling such as sickness or jealousy and even can be used to refer to money.

When Words Don't Fit

I have such a fit (tantrum)
When these words don't fit (match)!
I'm not trying to be mean (cruel),
But what do these words mean? (imply)

Q: Why did the teacher wear sunglasses?

A. Because his students were so bright. (light or smart)

Did you hear about the optometrist who fell into a lens grinder and made a spectacle of himself? (glasses or show)

Research the meanings of

• words unfamiliar to you
• words you "sort of" know
• important words

Annotation: What is it?

Annotating requires you to engage with the text at a more than superficial level. It is almost like having a conversation with the text. It involves writing in the margins, questioning and clarifying main points. Annotation encourages the reader to think critically (examine words, phrases, structures, mood and message) so the reader can develop a response to a text.

Annotation (note-taking) is a strategy to help you understand a text by reading it several times, looking for clues to meaning.  It is writing notes of your interpretation of what the author has written.  It is a useful reading strategy for all kinds of text.

To annotate, you will need:  at a minimum a pencil;  as you become more proficient, you might enjoy using pens, pencils, highlighters and post-it notes, depending on whether or not you own the text you are annotating.

Annotating a Poem: A Guide



• In your initial reading,  write any questions you have.
  
• Identify words that you do not understand and check their meanings.  Write the definitions beside the poem.                  
• Highlignt words that are powerful or stunning. As you give attention to the literal meanings of the words in the poem, you may see patterns related to diction within the poem. For example, does the poet use "street talk" or slang, formal English, foreign language phrases, or jargon (technical phrases)? Determine connotative or emotional meanings attached to the words. 
  
• Consider figures of speech . How do they contribute to the meaning of the poem? 
  
• Consider sound devices such as rhythm (count the number of syllables) and rhyme;  determine the rhyme scheme by using a new letter for each set of end rhymes.
  
• Identify sound devices such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, consonance, euphony, and cacophony. How do these affect the text?       
  
• Identify text that is repeated.  Why might the author have repeated the text?        
• Identify imagery —pictures or senses evoked in words—present in the poem. What imagery is most striking or frequent? Why might particular images be used?
• Identify the tone or mood that results from the imagery.
• What does the poem mean to you?