The goal of this stage is to create a thematic structure of the poem. To do so you will use all of the skills you developed in the Introducción a la poesía. The strategies and tasks in this stage also require you to use the knowledge of syntax that you reviewed in the Introducción a la narrativa.

Strategy 1. Identify Literary Language

Task 1. Review and Scan.

1.			Review the classifications of figuras retóricas in the graphic organizers you completed in the figuras retóricas section of Lenguaje literario. Then scan the poem and identify clear uses of any of these rhetorical figures, making note of them on your working copy. You will revisit them later.

Task 2. Review and Scan.

2.			Review the definitions of tropos from Task 2 in VIIc. in the Lenguaje literario section. Then scan the poem again and identify any clear uses of any of these tropes. Make notes on your working copy to refer to later.

Strategy 2. Analyze Syntax

Task 1. Rewrite.

3.			Use a Parts of Speech chart (see Appendix) to rewrite each sentence or clause in the poem, putting the parts of speech in grammatical order. (Remember that each sentence or clause must contain a subject and a predicate.) The purpose of this task is to confirm that you understand "who does what to whom or what" in the poem.

Task 2. Decode Verbs.

4.			Extract the verbs from the poem and write them into a Verbal Elements chart (see Appendix). Decode each verb by determining its verbal elements.

Task 3. Decode Pronouns.

5.			Highlight the pronouns in the poem and complete a Pronoun Identification chart (see Appendix) in order to decode the pronouns.

Strategy 3. Summarize Each Segment

Task 1. Review and Brainstorm.

6.			Pull together the results of all the tasks from Strategy 2. Read them and brainstorm about what the poet is trying to say.

Task 2. Summarize.

7.			Based on the information in Task 1, summarize each segment of the poem. The summaries can be based on stanzas or on clauses, as long as you include every line.

Task 3. Elaborate.

8.			Look at Tasks 1 and 2 in Strategy 1, where you listed the rhetorical figures and tropes in the poem. Reconfirm your first observations, elaborate on them or add others that you did not see, or eliminate those that were incorrect.

Strategy 4. Create Thematic Structure

Task 1. Complete Graphic Organizer. Use the graphic organizer below, one of the graphic organizers in the Appendix, or one of your own design to document the thematic thread of the poem. This is where you tie together everything you have done in Stage IV.

The graphic organizer is a .pdf file; you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view it and print it out.

9.			Graphic Organizer (85.0K)

Task 2. Ask Yourself. If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, scan the relevant parts of this chapter to refresh your memory.

10.			Could you go to class and discuss all of the poetic elements you have explored in this chapter?
11.			Could you teach another student how to count poetic syllables and identify the type of line based on the number of syllables?
12.			Could you identify the major types of poems presented in this chapter and the main characteristics of each?
13.			When discussing poetry in your class, will you be able to explain your answers and observations using correct poetic terminology?
14.			Do you feel more confident about your ability to read and understand Spanish poetry?