Imitation Assignment
Purpose:
Perhaps imitation is the best form of flattery. But imitation is also a great learning tool. In order to imitate what someone else has written, you must first understand that writing. In poetry, you must analyze and understand the rhyme pattern, the tone, the meter, the syntax and language. Only after you truly understand the original can you attempt to imitate it. Another great function of this assignment is that it makes all of us appreciate how hard it is to put together a 14 line poem.
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”
1. Develop a deeper understanding of the poetic form, the sonnet.
2. Appreciate the difficulty of creating a poem in this form.
3. Step outside your comfort zone.
Objectives:
1.Learn about rhyme, meter, form and tone in a Shakespearean sonnet.
2. Utilize your own skills to re-create a sonnet using your own words and experiences.
3. Create, revise and edit a poem of your own.
Getting Started:
Choose one of the two poems to imitate: “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” or “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun.”
Carefully read and make sure you understand the poem.
Review the information from the lectures on rhyme, meter, and tone.
Watch the instructional video.
The Task:
Create your own poem by re-writing the original, one line at a time. Be sure to preserve the following elements of the original poem:
*The iambic pentameter
*The ababcdcdefefgg rhyme scheme
*The sense of unity exhibited in the quatrains and couplet, and in the poem as a whole
*The sense that the couplet resolves a problem, provides an insight, or surprises the reader
*The sense of comparing a loved one to something else that each of us understands
Evaluation:
You do not have to be a poet to do well on this assignment. When reviewing your poem, ask the following questions:
Does the poem make sense?
Does the tone of my poem match the original?
Does the rhyme scheme match the original?
Does the meter match the original?
Is the topic of my poem similar?
Does the final couplet demonstrate a resolve, insight, or surprise?
Student Example:
My Lover
The eyes of my lover do not shine bright;
Burning sun has more red than do his lips;
His body white, could use some real sunlight;
His long and crazy hair could use some clips.
I have seen large tomatoes, red and ripe,
But in his coloring I have seen none;
Some find pleasure in his tobacco pipe
Others find his breath makes them turn and run.
His voice, to hear him sing, I like it well
But the stereo has a better song;
I look where the inner cowboy may dwell;
My lover, when he moves, he plods along.
And, even still, I think my love divine
As any compared with a fakey line.
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