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Performance Poetry

Overview

Pupils will explore the art of spoken word poetry, analysing techniques – both language and performative – used during performances to convey meaning. Pupils will examine ‘slam poetry’ and evaluate performances in preparation for their own performance of a Christmas poem for the annual Christmas poetry festival.

Unit aims:

  • Explore the art of Spoken Word poetry.
  • Analyse techniques, both language and performative, used during performances to convey meaning.
  • Write poetry inspired by A Christmas Carol and apply knowledge of the art to create effective performances.
  • To understand the term, ‘Slam poetry’, and to explore the techniques used to create meaning.
  • Evaluate performances of poems, forming judgements about areas to improve.

Example Key Words

Euphony

The quality of being pleasing to the ear.

Didactic

Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

Prosodics

The patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry.

Intonation

The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.

Assonance

Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words, arising particularly from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels, but not consonants (e.g., sonnet, porridge), but also from the use of identical consonants with different vowels (e.g., killed, cold, culled).

Consonance

Consonance occurs when sounds, not letters, repeat.