Parody, Found Poetry, Dramatic Monologues, Protest

PERSONAL STORIES, PARODIES, FOUND POETRY, DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES

In-class writing today focused on personal stories, Fitzgerald “That which’s makes a good story”, conflict, and having a hook.

We will deliver these stories in class tomorrow. This exercise is teaches you how to tell a simple story, directly and honestly. The story is also an example of a monologue.



PARODY: A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.

Examples of parodies using William Carlos Williams:
THE RED WHEELBARROW
SO MUCH DEPENDS
UPON

A RED WHEEL
BARROW

GLAZED WITH RAIN
WATER

BESIDES THE WHITE
CHICKENS


PARODY:

SO MUCH DEPENDS
UPON

A GREEN GARBAGE
TRUCK

GLAZED WITH ACID
RAIN

BESIDE THE GOLDEN
ARCHES


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

PARODY:

THIS IS JUST TO SAY

I maced
Your mother’s dress
Hanging in the closet
The one you were saving
To wear to your
Wedding

Forgive me
But you’re such
A consumer
And I know
You can always
Buy a new one.

Protest Poem by Mickey Wilson
This is just to say

I have ignighted

the oil fields

that were hidden

underground
those ones

that were going to

fuel your cars

your technology
forgive me

but it smoked

and shimmered nicely

and i didnt give a shit

about the future.

Protest Poem by Shola
This is just to say

My dear Fiancée

I sold all our new cars

In other to reduce the effect we have on global warming

I know you are probably smiling reading this

Forgive me

But wait I got good news

I bought us a new BMX, not a BMW.

Why use parody: The form already exists. People might recognize it. People parody national anthems or works with meanings associated to the things that they’re protesting against.

I played “This is Just to Say” examples from THIS AMERICAN LIFE

Writing exercise – spend 10 minutes writing a “This is just to say” parody.



FOUND POETRY:
Found poems take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poems. The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.
A pure found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet.

a poem consisting of words found in a nonpoetic context (as a product label) and usually broken into lines that convey a verse rhythm

Here is a good sight on how to write a found poem

A dramatic monologue is a type of poem, developed during the Victorian period, in which a character in fiction or in history delivers a speech explaining his or her feelings, actions, or motives. The monologue is usually directed toward a silent audience, with the speaker's words influenced by a critical situation. An example of a dramatic monologue exists in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, when a duke speaks to an emissary of his cruelty. Another example is the modernist poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot and also, in a more contemporary way, "The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team" by Carol Ann Duffy, and "Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath.

Examples of dramatic monologues:

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

dramatic monologues for women

more dramatic monologues

POETS AGAINST THE WAR - A sight for poems that protested the Iraqi War.