Poetry+HW+1

Read the following poems and answer the questions that follow. Type your work in a Pages document; no need to include the poem or re-type the questions. Your homework will be checked on the screen in the next class (do not print).


 * "January"**
 * by John Updike**

The days are short, The sun a spark Hung thin between The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps **5** Track the floor, And parkas pile up Near the door.

The river is A frozen place **10** Held still beneath The trees' black lace.

The sky is low. The wind is gray. The radiator **15** Purrs all day.


 * "Identity"**
 * by Julio Noboa Polanco**

Let them be as flowers, always watered fed, guarded, admired, but harnessed to a pot of dirt.

I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed, clinging on cliffs, like an eagle **5** wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.

To have broken through the surface of stone, to live, to feel exposed to the madness of the vast, eternal sky. To be swayed by the breezes of an **10** ancient sea, carrying my soul, my seed, beyond the mountains of time or into the abyss of the bizarre.

I'd rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone, than to be a pleasant-smelling flower, **15** growing in clusters in the fertile valley, where they're praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands.

I'd rather smell of musty, green stench than of sweet, fragrant lilac. **20** If I coud stand alone, strong and free, I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed.

__Questions:__
1. Paraphrase lines 1 - 4 of "January". Put what you think these lines are saying into your own words.

2. Two part question... a) Paraphrase lines 13 - 18 of "Identity". b) How does your paraphrase enable you to understand the meaning of that passage?

3. How can you tell whether a poem is a haiku?

4. Why is free verse an appropriate form for "Identity"?

5**. Rebuttal**. In "Identity" the author Polanco argues that it is better to be ugly and free than to be beautiful and pampered/kept under another's control. Take the **opposing** view, and write a **persuasive paragraph** in which you support your argument (that it is actually better to be beautiful and spoiled than ugly and independent). Remember to have a strong topic sentence that you support with concrete examples and details, as well as a relevant concluding sentence. Re-read and revise your paragraph carefully, focusing on clear ideas.