Unit 1Unit 1

Narrative Writing Narrative Writing

Write a Narrative PoemWrite a Narrative Poem

Narrative Poem

What is a narrative poem?• A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story.• A traditional form of narrative is the epic, a long

story often told in verse that features heroes and foes and provides a portrait of a culture.

• In this assignment, you will write a narrative poem about a contemporary hero facing a contemporary “foe.”

Assignment • Compose a narrative poem about a modern-

day hero

Purpose • To describe a contemporary hero using

traditional poetic conventions

Audience • An author interested in using your narrative

poem to introduce a book on your hero

WRITING RUBRICWRITING RUBRIC

A successful narrative poem has these qualities: tells the story of a hero facing a challenge uses poetic conventions such as stanza,

meter, and rhyme uses imagery, sound devices, and figurative

language

Prewrite

Select a Topic• Many people can be considered modern-day

heroes:—police and firefighters protecting lives

—teachers improving minds

—scientists curing diseases

• What other modern-day heroes can you think of?

Prewrite

Select a Topic• Make a list of three or four specific people who are

possible heroes.• For each, identify a challenge he or she faces. • Choose the hero you feel you can best portray in a

narrative poem.

Prewrite

Gather Information• Research your hero to learn more about his or her

life.—If the person is famous, use both library and Internet

resources.

—If the person is not famous, talk to others or draw from your own experience with this individual.

• Gather information about this person’s background, personal qualities, and accomplishments.

Prewrite

Gather Information• Also gather information about the foe or challenge your

hero has faced. —Is it another person or group of people?

—Is it a custom or law?

• Look into the background of the foe, and identify its qualities.

• Determine how this foe has stood in opposition to your hero.

• Record your research findings using a graphic organizer like the one on the next slide.

Hero Chart

HERO FOE

Background Background

Qualities Qualities

Accomplishments Accomplishments

RESULTS

Prewrite

Organize Ideas• Review the information you recorded on each side of

the chart.—Which details best represent the qualities and achievements of

your hero?—Which details best represent those of your foe?

• Put checkmarks next to five or so items on each side that you will use to tell your hero’s story.

• Identify information from the bottom “RESULTS” section to use to create an overall impression of your hero and his or her challenge.

Prewrite

Write an Organizing Statement• Based on the items you have chosen, write one

sentence that states the message you want to convey about your hero.

• This sentence will not appear in your narrative poem but will help you focus on your message.

• One student wrote this organizing statement:

Martin Luther King Jr. was determined to bring about change using peaceful means, no matter what his opponents did to him.

Draft

Conventions of Poetry• Writing a poem involves using the unique

conventions of poetry. • For instance, whereas a work of prose, such as an

essay, is written in paragraphs, a poem is written in stanzas.

• Common types of stanzas include couplets, comprised of two lines, and quatrains, comprised of four lines.

Draft

Conventions of Poetry• Traditional poems also have meter and rhyme.

—A regular rhythmic pattern in poetry is called meter. Meter is determined by the number of beats, or stresses, in each line.

—The repetition of sounds at the ends of words, as with sight and rite, is called rhyme. Many poems have end rhyme, in which the words rhyme at the ends of lines.

—A common rhyme scheme, or pattern of end rhymes, is to have every other line rhyme.

Draft

Conventions of Poetry• Other conventions of poetry relate to how words

are used, or word choice. • By using literary devices such as imagery and

figures of speech like simile and metaphor, poets can mold language in unique ways.

Example of Simile

The stars against the midnight skywere sparkling like mica in a riverbed.

from Gilgamesh

Draft

Conventions of Poetry• For this assignment, focus on writing a traditional

narrative poem that —is organized into stanzas

—has both meter and rhyme

• In addition, experiment with using at least two literary devices, such as imagery, alliteration, and metaphor.

“Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.” —Percy Bysshe Shelley

Draft

Structure• Unlike an essay or report, a poem does not have an

introduction, body, and conclusion. • However, as a story, a narrative poem should be

structured to provide an opening and a closing in addition to the details of the story.

• Follow the three-part structure outlined on the following slide.

Narrative Poem StructureOpening stanza

• Introduce your hero, and create a context for his or her story.

Middle stanza • Write one stanza for each main point you

want to make about your hero.

Closing stanza• Show how the story ends, and create a

final impression of your hero.

Draft

Opening Stanza• The opening stanza of your narrative poem should

introduce your hero and set the stage for his or her story.

Draft

Middle Stanza• To write the middle stanzas, use the information

you mapped out in the Prewrite stage. —Look at the items you checked off in your Hero Chart.

—Plan to write one stanza for each main point you want to make about this person.

—Begin by jotting down each point in a phrase or two.

—Focus on the key words associated with this point, such as the person’s name, and use these words in creating rhyme.

Draft

Final Stanza• Your final stanza should do two things:

—Bring the story to an end

—Leave the reader with a final impression

Rita Dove, former poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, notes that “poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” Making careful wordchoices is critical to poetry. Dove also says about writing poetry,

• “In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things.”

• “In order to convey things accurately, the human being is almost forced to find the most precise words possible, which is a precondition for literature.”

DOVE

DRAFT STAGE

Opening Stanza

A dream was born one winter day.

Georgia had found a King.

A man set out to pave the way

for civil rights to begin.

Establishes subject

and context

Defines challenge

REVISE STAGE

Opening Stanza

A dream was born one winter day.

Georgia the South had found sired a

its King.

A man set out to pave the way

for civil rights to begin sing.

Improves meter and

rhyme

Creates alliteration

and imagery

DRAFT STAGE

Third Stanza

He went on and on, not one to quit

while others fought and raged.

They bombed his house and soiled

his name

but they could not make him stop.

Identifies events in

hero’s life

Focuses on his courage

REVISE STAGE

Third Stanza

He went on and on, On he went, not

one to quit

while others fought and raged.

They bombed his house and soiled

his name

but they could not make him stop

change.

Improves meter and rhyme

DRAFT STAGE

Final Stanza

Some of the people he fought

wanted him to stop.

With a bullet he was killed—

but his ideas, they could not end.

Brings story to an end

Creates final impression

REVISE STAGE

Final Stanza

Sadly, some of the people those he

fought

wanted him to stop would rather

break than bend.

With a bullet shot he was killed

stopped—

but his ideas dream, they could not

end.

Creates alliteration

and metaphor

Improves meter and rhyme

Creates better final

impression

Revise

Evaluate Your Draft• You can evaluate your own poem or exchange

poems with a classmate and evaluate each other’s work.

• Either way, think carefully about what works well and what can be improved.

• Start by looking at the content and organization.• Make sure that the poem tells a story based on the

organizing statement.

Revise

Evaluate Your Draft• Each stanza should present a new idea about the hero. • The poem also should follow the poetic conventions of

stanza, meter, and rhyme. • It should use at last two literary devices, such as

imagery, alliteration, and metaphor.• Make notes directly on the poem about what changes

need to be made.• Use the Revision Checklist on the next two slides to

guide your evaluation.

REVISION CHECKLISTREVISION CHECKLIST

Content & Organization

Does the opening stanza introduce the hero and set the context for his or her story?

Does each stanza relate clearly to the organizing statement?

Does each stanza use rhyme, and meter? Does each stanza use literary devices, such

as imagery and figures of speech?

REVISION CHECKLISTREVISION CHECKLIST

Does the closing stanza finish the story and create a final impression of the hero?

Grammar & Style

Do all of your subjects and verbs agree? Do you use pronouns correctly throughout?

Do the pronouns agree with their antecedents?

Revise

Proofread for Errors• Read through your poem again to check for any

remaining errors.• Use proofreader’s symbols to mark any errors you

find.

• Print out a final draft and read the entire poem once more before turning it in.

Student Model

Review the Student Model final draft on page 85 of your textbook and answer the questions that appear in red in the margin.

Writing Follow-Up

Publish and Present• Perform your poem for the class using costumed

readers, props, and musical accompaniment. • Show the class a videotaped presentation of

your poem.• Enhance the storytelling aspect

of your narrative poem by illustrating one stanza from it.

Writing Follow-Up

Reflect• Think of several contemporary heroes from

television programs, movies, and novels. —How is the modern-day hero alike and different from

the hero depicted in Anglo-Saxon literature?

—Which hero do you prefer? Why?