We then analyzed the poem "Judge Selah Lively" so you have an exemplar of what a good formal analysis looks like. If you were not here, the poem is in your portfolio.
I then provided you with questions to answer using process of elimination. I have pasted these below. They are due at the start of class tomorrow.
How to Read
Poetry
1.
Look
at the title. Interpret what you THINK it means and write this down in one or
two words on the page
2.
Count
the stanzas and write this number down at the bottom
3.
Count
the lines in each stanza and write this down at the bottom in brackets.
4.
Do
an end rhyme scheme for each stanza starting with “a”).
5.
Determine
if the poem is a “type” or if it is free verse (your introductory assignment
will help with this).
6.
Read
the poem through highlighting punctuation to aid in reading (I use yellow).
7.
Highlight
unfamiliar words and define them on the page in your own words.
8.
Read
the poem again and highlight literary devices used (I use green).
9.
Write
down the device used on the side – also, if plausible, identify what it means
(ie: allusion… to the bible)
10.
Read
again and paraphrase the stanzas or thoughts.
11.
Determine
who the speaker is
12.
Summarize
the poem on the back
13.
Summarize
the theme at the bottom (what is the message the author is trying to get
across?)
JUDGE SELAH LIVELY
Suppose you stood
just five feet two,
And had worked
your way as a grocery clerk,
Studying law by
candle light
Until you became
an attorney at law?
5 And then suppose through your diligence,
And regular church
attendance,
You become
attorney for Thomas Rhodes,
Collecting notes
and mortgages,
And representing
all the widows
10 In Probate Court? And through it all
They jeered at
your size, and laughed at your
clothes
And your polished
boots? And then suppose
You became the County Judge
15 And Jefferson Howard and Kinsey Keene,
And Harmon
Whitney, and all the giants
Who had sneered at
you, were forced to stand
Before the bar[1]
and say "Your Honor"-
Well, don't you
think it was natural
20 That I made it hard for them?
Edgar Lee
Masters (1868-1950)
American
lawyer and writer
[1] The bar
– the railing that encloses the area in which judges or lawyers sit in a
courthouse
VII.
Read the poem and answer the following
questions.
53. In line 11, the word "They"
refers to
A. widows
B. criminals
C. grocery clerks
D. other attorneys
54. The details that most directly suggest the reason for
the speaker's resentment are
A.
"worked your way as a grocery
clerk" (line 2) and "They jeered at your size, and
laughed at your / clothes" (lines
11-12)
B. "Studying law by candle light"
(line 3) and "representing all the widows"
(line 9)
C. "you became an attorney at law"
(line 4) and "You became the County Judge"
(line 14)
D. "through your diligence" (line 5)
and "Collecting notes and
mortgages" (line 8)
55. The speaker's use of the phrase "all the giants"
(line 16) reinforces his perception
that the
disadvantages he overcame were based on
A. stature
B. morality
C. personality
D. intelligence
56. The use of the dash in line 18 serves to
A. indicate a change in speakers
B. emphasize the speaker's humility
C. reinforce the speaker's doubt about his
actions
D. reinforce a shift of focus in the speaker's
perspective
57. The way that the speaker feels about his attainment of power is
revealed in
A. "Studying law by candle light / Until
you became an attorney at law"
(lines 3-4)
B. "Collecting notes and mortgages, / And
representing all the widows"
(lines 8-9)
C. "And then suppose / You became the County
Judge" (lines 13-14)
D. "Well, don't you think it was natural /
That I made it hard for them"
(lines 19-20)
58. The speaker suggests
that his achievements are mainly the
result of his
A. overwhelming determination
B. superior intelligence
C. social acceptance
D. physical skills
59. The speaker in the poem
is ultimately seeking
A. love
B. respect
C. wealth
D. wisdom
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