CI 5410 Week 4.2 - Assignment #3; "Dude, your poem sucks because _______"

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION
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Although the following activity is a bit of a knock-off of the “A Difficult Poem” exercise as found on page 145 of our course text, I argue that the following modifications stand to render the overall task more analytical in nature.

Due to the creatively terrible writing required of this task (more on that in a moment!), I imagine this activity to take 2 class periods (introduced / assigned as HW on day ONE, reflected upon on Day TWO).

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SPECIFICS
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After you and your class have started to get a working handle on the formal elements of poetry (perhaps after you have completed the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt” activity), require that your students complete the following:

DAY ONE

1.) Have each student select ONE (or TWO maximum) formal elements of poetry to critically “spoof” / “suck at.” (e.g., imagery, general clichés, meter, alliteration, assonance, and so on).

2.) Swear them to secrecy / do not let them share their selected target elements! (They will critically identify / discuss what is being “spoofed” / “sucked at” on Day TWO).

3.) Using targeted element(s) as the meta-purpose guiding their writing, have students write a poem of any length in which targeted element is creatively “spoofed” / “sucked at.”

4.) Remind students that EVERYONE’S poem will absolutely “suck.” Model / set the worst possible example by selecting an element to “spoof” / “suck at” and create an atrocious poem of your own. Then, read it aloud and have the class tell you what SPECIFIC formal element of poetry you are “spoofing” / “sucking at” and WHY.

5.) Remind everyone to keep things appropriate!

6.) Whatever is not complete in class, assign as homework.

NOTE: I can foresee a large portion of students selecting elements potentially easier to “spoof” / “suck at” than others. For example, I would argue that it would be easier for students new to exploring formal elements of poetry to consciously write a terrible simile than a terrible rhyme scheme. To prevent this uneven undertaking of elements, consider assigning quadrants of the room and / or groups specific elements that they will be required to target in their poems.

DAY TWO

1.) Either as a class and / or in small groups (again, whatever you deem appropriate to YOUR unique class and learning context), have students read each other their poems, critically listen, and complete the following sentence:

“Dude, you’re poem SUCKS because ____________”

…in which they will complete the above sentence via identifying a.) which specific element(s) are being “spoofed” / “sucked” at, and b.) how / why they can tell / "suck" so bad.

Other variations of this critical analysis could also include bringing in typed / written copies of the poems to physically mark on (the presence of marking on a physical may appeal to some learning styles, but wouldn't necessarily have to be required).

2.) As a class, critically select the poems that represent various formal elements of poetry best (er… worst!), and publish them in a “Suckiest Poems” anthology.

Have fun!