Year 8
Poetry
Homework Tasks
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You should spend at 30 – 45 minutes on each homework task.
One task should be completed each week.
You can attend homework club in the Library on Monday and
Thursday from 3.10 – 4.10 to use computers, books, or to find a
quiet space to work.
Remember to complete your Glossary at the back of this booklet.
Task 1: 'I used to think nurses were women, I used to think police were men, I
used to think poets were boring, until I became one of them.' (Benjamin Zephaniah)
Find out as much as you can about one of the poets you have studied so far this
term. Present your information below as a detailed mind map, showing what you
have learned. Use the subheadings to start you off.
Background
Why they became a poet
Poet’s name:
Interesting events in
Famous poems they have
their life
written
Task 2: Read the poem below and annotate the following language features: simile,
alliteration, repetition, metaphor, rhyme, personification, proper nouns. Briefly
explain the effect. The first one has been done for you.
Simile
The poet compares
the poem to a
rhythm that can
“drop”, almost as
though it has a life
of its own.
Dis Poetry
Dis poetry is like a riddim dat drops
De tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shots
Dis poetry is designed fe rantin
Dance hall style, big mouth chanting,
Dis poetry nar put yu to sleep
Preaching follow me
Like yu is blind sheep,
Dis poetry is not Party Political
Not designed fe dose who are critical.
Dis poetry is wid me when I gu to me bed
It gets into me dreadlocks
It lingers around me head
Dis poetry goes wid me as I pedal me bike
I’ve tried Shakespeare, respect due dere
But did is de stuff I like.
Dis poetry is not afraid of going ina book
Still dis poetry need ears fe hear an eyes fe hav a look
Dis poetry is Verbal Riddim, no big words involved
An if I hav a problem de riddim gets it solved,
I’ve tried to be more romantic, it does nu good for me
So I tek a Reggae Riddim an build me poetry,
I could try be more personal
But you’ve heard it all before,
Pages of written words not needed
Brain has many words in store,
Yu could call dis poetry Dub Ranting
De tongue plays a beat,
De body starts skanking,
Dis poetry is quick an childish
Dis poetry is fe de wise an foolish,
Anybody can do it fe free,
Dis poetry is fe yu an me,
Don’t stretch yu imagination
Dis poetry is fe de good of de Nation
Chant,
In de morning
I chant
In de night
I chant
In de darkness
An under de spotlight,
I pass thru University
I pass thru Sociology
An den I got a dread degree
In Dreadfull Ghettology.
Dis poetry stays wid me when I run or walk
An when I am talking to meself in poetry I talk,
Dis poetry is wid me,
Below me an above,
Dis poetry’s from inside me
It goes to yu
WID LUV.
Benjamin Zephaniah
Listen to Zephaniah perform this poem live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlnJ_WgAUYM
Or search ‘Benjamin Zephaniah Dis Poetry’ on YouTube.
Task 3: D.H. Lawrence wrote the poem ‘Storm in the Black Forest’ about
experiencing extreme weather. Using the word bank below, write your own poem
about an extreme weather event. (For example: thunder, lightening, rain, tornado,
hurricane, snow, heatwave). Aim to use 3 poetic terms (see back page) you have
studied so far.
Word Bank
Colossal
terrible
helpless
enormous
enjoyable
freezing
terrifying
sky
sweltering
land
unexpected
sea
rain
suffocating
angry
awesome
Task 4: Take one of the poems you have studied so far this term. Write an
interview between a reporter and one of the characters in the poem, focusing on:
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Their day-to-day life
Their thoughts and feelings about what happens in the poem
Their hopes for the future
Task 5: Read the following poem, by Pie Corbett. Answer the question which
follows on the next page.
Goodnight Stroud
The Clock Tower glowers.
Its hands fidget
towards dawn.
Dark streets yawn.
It’s late –
the streets wait –
restless as rain.
Trains idle up sidelines;
a cyclist sidles by.
Black taxis scuttle
down back alleys.
A bright bus blunders
up the High Street.
The Belisha Beacon blinks.
Parked cars huddle,
like wet toads;
the night thinks
that the stars
are sending morse-code.
Pie Corbett, the poet, uses lots of personification in the poem. How does he use
this technique to describe the city of Stroud so vividly?
Success Criteria
Quotations from the
poem
Introduce your
quotations
Language techniques used in
the poem
The effect of the
language techniques
Connectives
Your opinion
Sentence Starters
Corbett uses the technique of personification. We can see this in the quotation “…”
The poem effectively describes the city by making it seem…
The personification has the effect of…
Furthermore, the line “…….” Makes the reader think of………. because……..
Task 6: Write a summary of one of the poems you have studied this term. It
should be between 50 – 70 words long. Aim to include 7 key things we learn in the
poem. Use the sentence starters below to start you off.
Sentence Starters
In the poem we learn that…
The first thing we are told is…
As the poem progresses…
At the conclusion of the poem we are told…
Furthermore, the poem shows us that…
In the opening stanzas the poet says…
Towards the close of the poem, we learn…
Glossary
As you work through this unit of work, add your own definitions to the
poetic terms, and any other new words you learn
Poetic Terms
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Adjective: a word that describes a noun.
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Alliteration:
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Culture:
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Dialect:
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Imagery:
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Juxtaposition:
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Metaphor:
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Metre:
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Noun:
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Onomatopoeia:
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Personification: describing an object as though it has human characteristics.
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Repetition:
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Rhyme:
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Simile:
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Stanza:
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Syllable:
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Themes:
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Tone:
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Verb: