Lesson Plan - Visual Imagery in Poetry - William Carlos Williams

Primary Content Objective/Expected "Output": Students will be able to read several short poems 
by William Carlos Williams (as well as Langston Hughes and Ezra Pound - time permitting) which 
use visual imagery and will be able to use the sametechnique in their own writing.

Major Theme to be Explored in this Lesson: A short poem may frequently only provide the reader
with a snapshot, or a collection of a few snapshots - a few frames of a movie, but with a 
lot more left to the imagination. These images are created by using well-chosen words and 
selecting images that evoke a personal response. These words and images may be simple - 
poetry (and life) doesn't have to be complicated to be worthwhile.

Objectives:

Cognitive:

* Students will be able to (SWBAT) define visual imagery.
* SWBAT identify visual imagery in the works of William Carlos Williams, (as well as Ezra 
Pound and Langston     Hughes - time permitting.)
* SWBAT listen to, read, and discuss several short poems.
* SWBAT emulate Williams's style and form by creating an original example of visual imagery 
in their own poem.
* SWBAT identify William Carlos Williams as a famous poet and doctor from New Jersey who is 
famous for his use of simple language when creating powerful imagery. 

Affective:

* SWBAT experience poetry as something entertaining to both read and write - poems can be 
  funny, fun, and full of joy.
* SWBAT gain confidence in themselves as writers by creating something unique and expressive 
  of their own life experiences.
* SWBAT work collaboratively and comfortably in a nurturing, supportive environment.
* SWBAT take risks in their writing by selecting topics that are relevant and personal, but 
  might not seem (at first glance) to be worthy of poetry.

Content 

Major Concepts: 

* William Carlos Williams is poet who lived in Patterson, New Jersey. (1883 - 1963) A 
pediatrician first, he also was a poet. He is known for his keen ability to see beauty in 
the mundane and express powerful images using simple, accessible language. His poems often 
are light-hearted and fun.
* The poems of William Carlos Williams are like a snapshot. More concerned with an image 
than a story, they allow the reader to develop a storyline based on a personal response to 
the words.
* A poem does not have to be complex to be "good." Simple language and objects are fine 
fodder for poetry. Our own lives are filled with poetic moments, many of them funny and 
light-hearted, simple and small. The ability to see this is what brings out the poet in 
all of us.
* Form as well as words can affect the overall impact of a poem.

Anticipatory Set: Impressionist Art

Show students a print or original work of art, preferably by an impressionist. I used a 
Degas from my study. 
What images do you see? (Brainstorm list - I was amazed at all the things that they saw 
that were new to me)
Talk about the mood that these images convey. (Try to have students make the point that 
you get a lot of information from unclear images - in fact, that is part of the point. 
An image is a snapshot - a part of the whole. Poems that use imagery are very similar. 
They show you a bit of something and let you "fill in the blanks.") Make the point that we 
will be looking at poems which use imagery to tell their story, and that poems often are 
less driven by plot than a story or novel. 
They are more like a snapshot than a movie.

Procedures 

1. Anticipatory Set: Impressionist Painting.
2. What is imagery in poetry? Get into notes. William Carlos Williams - who is he? 
Bit of bio. Get into notes. 
3. Read poems with an eye for the images that we see. I will read the poem aloud twice. 
Call for volunteer to read the third time. Ask students to listen carefully, "looking" for 
the pictures. Explain that you should read a poem three times. 
Once to hear it, once to know it, once to own it. Poems are very personal and they have to 
be "yours."
4. Discuss the images that we "see." Point out the key words that helped to create those 
images. Students will "see" many images that are not explicitly stated in the poem. Discuss. 
Underline the key words.
Discuss the mood created. How did he do that? What do you notice about the language? Are 
there "hard" words in this poem? What about the objects discussed? Are they complicated? 
Why is the overall effect a pleasing one? Where do you think you might find this poem? 
What does it sound like? Do you believe that the author is really sorry for having eaten 
the plums?
5. Internalize. Think of a time when you have said that you were sorry for something, but 
you were really secretly glad that you did it. Jot these down. Try to think of at least three.
6. Model. Get some ideas up on the board. Using the same style as Williams, and using the 
same title as our starting line, write one collaboratively. Make sure that we have a 
good image - the image is the key here, because our delight in the image is what shows the 
reader that they enjoyment was worth it - and that we're not really all that sorry.
7. Write. Using the ideas that they have jotted down, or a new one that has come to them 
during the collaborative writing, create an original poem.
8. While students are writing, circulate around the room, helping them to strengthen their 
word choices.
9. Collect the poems and read a few, praising the good words and phrases. Point out that the
whole poem doesn't have to be perfect.What are the images?
10. Time permitting, follow the same procedure with the remaining three poems.

Closure:
1. Review the definition of imagery.
2. Evaluate the poems that we have read. Thumbs up? Down? Which do you like the best? Why? 
(Discussion)
3. Take out a piece of paper. What did you learn today? Write it down. Hand in.

TWO STUDENT EXAMPLES:

I threw a water balloon
at your best friend

I'm sorry,
but I couldn't stop

myself from throwing it:
but it was so nice to watch it fly

toward your best friend's head
and watching (heh) him getting all wet.

*************

I went to the store
that was on the corner

I took your
money and
spent it all over

I'm sorry 
that I did that
I really am
I bought brand new shoes
Aren't they cute?

Don't be mad
Don't be sad
It's not my fault
for all the money that you had
____________________________________

William Carlos Williams
American Poet, (1883 - 1963) 

This is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in 
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold



Between Walls

the back wings
of the

hospital where
nothing

will grow lie
cinders

in which shine
the broken

pieces of a green
bottle


(adapted from something I say in Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? by  Kenneth Koch 
(highly recommended reading.))
 
Ruth Dunnan
Englewood Cliffs Upper School
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey