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ELA 5: Brainstorming an Autobiographical Poem 36 Views


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Description:

It shouldn't be too hard. It is a poem about you , after all. Who else knows more about you than you? This video is about writing an autobiographical poem.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

Let's say you're in your bathroom, trying to find some inspiration for your next poem. [Boy thinking in strange places in the bathroom]

00:18

You happen to look in the mirror, and BOOM!

00:20

There it is!

00:21

The subject of your next poem. [Boy looks in the mirror and sees the toilet]

00:23

…No.

00:24

Not the toilet.

00:25

Besides, nothing good rhymes with "toilet."

00:26

A little to the left…and…there! [Boy sees himself and looks shocked]

00:29

Bingo.

00:30

You.

00:31

Why not write a poem about yourself?

00:32

There's even a name for this type of poem…an autobiographical poem. [Coop dancing with a top hat]

00:36

And guess what?

00:37

Since you've spent your entire life as yourself, you're basically the foremost expert on the [Boy holding a PhD certificate in 'self study']

00:41

subject of…well…you!

00:44

You can put all sorts of stuff in an autobiographical poem, as long as it relates to your life.

00:49

A good place to start might be with your birth! [Picture of a children's hospital]

00:52

Although you should definitely go beyond just saying where and when it happened. [Baby crashes through the window]

00:55

Birth certificates don't exactly make great poems. [Picture of a birth certificate saying Jack was born in a hospital but quickly ended up on the road]

00:59

As with regular poems, a particularly vivid memory or important event can be a good starting

01:03

point for an autobiographical poem. [Kid looking happy at a birthday party]

01:05

Maybe the feeling of freedom you experienced the first time you ever rode a bike… [Guy riding a bike]

01:09

…or maybe the feeling of pain after you crash landed thirty seconds later. [Guy crashes and one of the bike wheels appear]

01:12

You could also focus your poem on some of the people in your life. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

01:16

You might have an annoying younger sibling who walks around the house, banging pots and [Kid banging pots in the kitchen]

01:20

pans together…

01:21

…but maybe you can channel that annoying clanging into poetry gold! [Gold bars with poetry on them appear]

01:24

Once you have your subject in mind, it's worth thinking about what poetic tools you can use [Poetry toolbox on fire]

01:29

in your autobiographical poem.

01:30

And there are no rules to which tools you can use in an autobiographical poem. [Emily Dickinson holding a chainsaw]

01:35

Seriously!

01:36

You can pick and rhyme scheme or meter, you can use figurative language, you can sprinkle

01:39

it with similes, or toss in a choice metaphor…go nuts.

01:43

But if we could make one tiny suggestion, we'd definitely recommend using imagery. [Woman looking down a microscope to see the tiny suggestion]

01:48

Since this is an autobiographical poem, you probably remember all sorts of imagery associated

01:52

with the focus of your poem…

01:54

…so why not share some of that rich, beautiful imagery with your readers? [Sylvia Plath looking in a mirror and typing]

01:58

And yes.

01:59

Once you're done with your autobiographical poem, you can get crackin' on that toilet [Shakespeare sat on the toilet]

02:02

poem.

02:03

But don't blame us if you're pooped after all that writing.

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