Unit 1 | Poetry

Unit 1
IHINTRODUCTION TO POETRYIH

What is poetry?

In what forms do poems exist?

How are poems part of our everyday lives?

What is poetry made of?

How does poetry make us feel?

How does poetry make us feel the way that it does?

© Naval Base SS | Literature | 2025 Sec 2

Unit 1 | Poetry

© Naval Base SS | Literature | 2025 Sec 2

Unit 1 | Poetry

Name: ________________________ ( ) Class: _____________ Date: __________

Naval Base Secondary School

Secondary Two Literature in English
Unit 1 Lesson 1: Introduction to Poetry

Poetry is a type of literature that uses ______________________, _____________________ and

______________________ to create, convey and emphasises meaning.

Types of Poems
Do you recognize any of these types of poems?

© Naval Base SS | Literature | 2025 Sec 2

Unit 1 | Poetry

Butterfly Cat’s Fiddle

David Schondelmeyer

Danna Smith

A Coke Poem
The World’s
favourite What are the features of
muck
I’d like to
this type of poem?
teach the
whole world to
drink Coca Cola;
black muck pop soda
for caffeine addict; open
any fridge in Singapore,
Britaina, Holland,
Columbia, Portugal,
even Yugowslavia -
where the people
have been bullied with
international sactions -
there will be, Coca Cola;
bridge in a bottle. The
words on the bottles
may need translations, but
otherwise, the biz of this fizz
is to teach the whole world
to sing “Chill Out!”

© Naval Base SS | Literature | 2025 Sec 2

Unit 1 | Poetry

The Eagle
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crags with crooked hands; ___________

Close to the sun in lonely lands, ___________

Ring’d with the world, he stands. ___________

The wrinkled beneath him crawls; ___________

He watches from his mountain walls, ___________

And like a thunderbolt he falls. ___________

What descriptions in the poem stand out to you?

Draw the eagle as described in the poem!

Poet Persona
The _______________ of the poem. The _______________ that speaks in the poem.

We understand the poem through their

The poem may not be from the poet’s
perspective.
_________________________

© Naval Base SS | Literature | 2025 Sec 2

Unit 1 | Poetry

Poetry Overview

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

Name: ________________________ ( ) Class: _____________ Date: __________

Naval Base Secondary School

Secondary One Literature in English
Unit 1 Lesson 2: Turning Ten

Warm-up Questions:

• Draw an object from your childhood that you remember. What sort of memories come
to mind?

• What happened to that object as you grew up?

• What does it feel like to grow older? Is it exciting, sad, or a mix of both? Why?

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Unit 1 | Poetry

Read the poem, On Turning Ten below.

On Turning Ten

The whole idea of it makes me feel

like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit, 5
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.

You tell me it is too early to be looking back,

but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one 10
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way. 15
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

But now I am mostly at the window

watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage 20
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,

as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends, 25
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe

there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life, 30
I skin my knees. I bleed.

Billy Collins

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

Key Questions
• How does the speaker feel about turning ten? Use evidence from the poem to support
your answer.

• What does the speaker miss about being younger?

• What is the tone of the poem? Does it change throughout? How can you tell?

• What are some examples of figurative language you can identify? Highlight and annotate them
in your poem.

If you could speak to the speaker of this poem, what advice or thoughts would you
share with them about growing up?

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

Name: ________________________ ( ) Class: _____________ Date: __________

Naval Base Secondary School

Secondary One Literature in English
Unit 3 Lesson 3: Sound Devices

One of the things that makes poetry different from Prose and Drama is that there is an emphasis on

using sound devices. Remember, Poetry is made to be heard, not just read.

Sound devices are special tools the poet / writer can use to _____________________ certain effects

in the poem to _____________________ and ________________________ meaning through sound.

Alliteration is the __________ of consonant sounds Onomatopoeia is when a word imitates the sound that

at the beginning of words. it is describing.

“She Sells Seashells on the Sea Shore”

Rhyme is the ______________ of sounds at the Repetition is _______________________________

endings of words for emphasis.

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Unit 1 | Poetry

Regular Rhyme Scheme Irregular Rhyme Scheme

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears, 5

Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.

Till it bore an apple bright. 10
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,

When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see; 15
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

By William Blake

Key Questions
• Identify the sound devices used in the poem. What effect do they create?
• Are there any words or lines repeated? Why do you think the poet chose to repeat them?
• What is the main message of A Poison Tree? How does the speaker deal with anger towards
a friend versus an enemy?

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

Name: ________________________ ( ) Class: _____________ Date: __________

Naval Base Secondary School

Secondary One Literature in English
Unit 1 Lesson 4: First Day at School

First Day at School

A millionbillionwillion miles from home

Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy? So much at home they
Must have been born in uniform 5
Lived all their lives in playgrounds
Spent the years inventing games
That don't let me in. Games
That are rough, that swallow you up.

And the railings. 10

All around, the railings.
Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?
Things that carry off and eat children?
Things you don't take sweets from?
Perhaps they're to stop us getting out 15
Running away from the lessins. Lessin.
What does a lessin look like?
Sounds small and slimy.
They keep them in the glassrooms.
Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine. 20

I wish I could remember my name

Mummy said it would come in useful.
Like wellies. When there's puddles.
Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.
I think my name is sewn on somewhere 25
Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.
Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea.

By Roger McGough

Key Questions
• What are the speaker’s thoughts and feelings about their first day at school?
• How does the poem capture the confusion and wonder of a young child starting school?
• What does the poem suggest about how children perceive the world differently from adults?
• How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is it humorous, anxious, or something else?

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Unit 1 | Poetry

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Unit 1 | Poetry

Name: ________________________ ( ) Class: _____________ Date: __________

Naval Base Secondary School

Secondary One Literature in English
Unit 1 Lesson 5: Festival

Singapore is home to many different races, all of whom have their own cultural festivals and
practices.
Do you recognize these cultural practices?

Do you enjoy such cultural activities, or do you feel more connected to modern
celebrations? Explain your reasons.

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Unit 1 | Poetry

Festival

We sit in a corner, my friends and I

In a house filled with the roaring of the
Docks and harbours of our ancestors, and the
Colours of the sun which burned their fields.

The old men talk at the tables, 5

Remembering old times. We know them
Not, nor the language that they speak,
Yet we are relatives, only two generations apart.

We watch the television, glued to its screen,

Not knowing the meaning of the lotus seed 10
We unseeingly eat.
They are just more candy to us.

When the dinner is brought on,

With special foods prepared by the elders,
We grimace at the "tasteless" stuff 15
And think longingly of cheesy pizzas.

Somewhere down the street

Lion dancers twirl to heart thumping music
In my room we, too, dance,
But to the latest rock hits. 20

On my door hang spring couplets:

Quotations from Shakespeare.
Door gods adorn our entrances
Posters of Schwarzenegger and Stallone.

We watch the organized festivities 25

And are reminded of our culture, our roots
And we think: "I'm proud to be Chinese,"
In English.
By Kenneth Wee

Key Questions
• What is happening in the poem? How does the speaker feel about the festival?
• What examples of contrast / juxtaposition can you identify in the poem? Why do you think the
poet wrote in this way?
• How does the speaker’s attitude towards the elders’ traditions differ from their own
preferences?
• How does the poem portray the impact of globalisation and modern culture on traditional
practices?

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

NOTES

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025
Unit 1 | Poetry

NOTES

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©Naval Base SS | Sec 2 Literature | 2025