Poetry: The sift process

This assignment requires you to prepare a poem for a class discussion moderated by a group of which you are a member. Your group discussion of the poem must take up a total of 15 minutes of class time. Your 15 minutes should be divided into a presentation by the group and participation by members of the class. The presentation part must include and oral reading of the poem; the discussion part must include questions which will ultimately lead to an understanding of the poem. All members of the group must contribute to the presentation.

The organizational guidelines for your group discussion are called the SIFT Process. You are going to “sift” through the poem! SIFT is an acronym for the elements of poetry that will guide your discussion:

S Situation What is the literal situation of the poem? Who is the narrator?

I Imagery How does the poet use images that appeal to our senses to convey meaning?

F Figurative Language What literary devices does the poet employ? Why? How?

T Theme What does the poem ultimate illustrate about the human condition?

Groups

2 “There’s a certain slant of Light” Emily Dickinson

3 “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” William Butler Yeats

4 “Anecdote of the Jar” Wallace Stevens

5 “The Young housewife” Williams Carlos Williams

6 “Harlem” Langston Hughes

7 “Traveling through the Dark” William Stafford

8 “Her Kind” Anne Sexton