Contemporary Poetry

Sylvia Plath p. 1145

Anne Sexton p. 11512007 COS – 1a; 2

2010 COS –Rl.11-12.1; RL.11-12.4; RL.11-12.6; RL.11-12.10; W.11-12.4; W.11-12.10; SL.11-12.1; L.11-12.1; L.11-12.2; L.11-12.4; L.11-12.5; L.11-12.6AHSGE – R.III.3: R.IV.2

Literary Terms

Speaker (p. 1146) – the person (or thing) addressing the reader directly, using the pronoun I

Tone (p. 1148) – the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in the work, or the audience

Imagery (p. 1152) – the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a place, a thing, or an experience

Quickwrite #1

What might a mirror say about you?

“Mirror” p. 1146

1. Who is the speaker of the poem?2. How does the speaker view itself?3. Metaphorically, in line 10 to what is the speaker

compared?4. According to the speaker, why does the woman

look into the mirror?5. Why does the speaker refer to the candles and the

moon as “liars” (line 12)?6. Why does the woman get upset?7. What is the real subject of this poem? (It is not

really about a mirror.)

Quickwrite

List different kinds of bells.

“The Bells” p. 1153

1. Who is the speaker? 2. To whom is the speaker talking?3. What kind of bells does the poem mention?4. What are “the three rings of danger”?5. What are the other rings mentioned in the poem?6. How did the child’s father make her feel?7. One theme of the poem is conveyed in lines 28-

30. How would you paraphrase these lines – that is, how would you state the theme in your own words?

Activity

Write a poem in which you give your mirror a voice. Let your mirror speak as “I.” What does your mirror think about the people and events it reflects. Use Plath’s poem as a model for yours.