Advanced Poetry

Now strike your sailes ye iolly Mariners,
For we be come unto a quiet rode,
Where we must land some of our passengers,
And light this wearie vessell of her lode.
Here she a while may make her safe abode,
Till she repaired have her tackles spent,
And wants supplide. And then againe abroad
On the long voyage whereto she is bent:
Well may she speede and fairely finish her intent.
~ Edmund Spenser, Fairie Queene, Book I, Last Stanza

 
 

Theory	The Advanced Poetry Books
	What to Buy
Practice (Writing Projects)	Frequently Asked Questions

Advanced Poetry builds on the foundation laid in Intermediate Poetry. This is a Great Books poetry course intended for use in high school.  Advanced Poetry reviews beginning poetry and can be used in classes with students who have no prior poetry experience. Students read in full the following great works:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Dante’s Inferno
Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
Paradise Lost by Milton

In addition, the students analyze and imitate selections from Shakespeare’s sonnets, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, as well as poems from various other poets such as Poe, Coleridge, and Taylor.

Theory

In Advanced Poetry, we introduce:

• Figures of Speech – metonomy, synecdoche, comparison, and repetition as well as a review of figures learned in Poetry for Beginners and Intermediate Poetry

• Poetic Meter – irregular meter theory and usage, as well as a review of iambic, trochaic, dactylic, and anapestic meters

• Stanza Forms – rime royal, ottava rima, sonnets, and blank verse as well as a review of stanza forms learned in Poetry for Beginners and Intermediate Poetry

Advanced Poetry is divided into four chapters which cover the following concepts:

Chapter 1 – Meter
Review of metrical systems:  iamb, trochee, dactyl, and anapest; irregular meter theory and usage, as well as the predominant use of iambic pentameter in English poetry

Chapter 2 – Stanzas
Review of previously learned stanza forms; new forms:  rime royal, ottava rima, sonnets, blank verse

Chapter 3 – Figures of Speech
Tropes and schemes; review of figures; new figures: synecdoche, metonomy, global classification of figures of comparison, and repetition schemes

Chapter 4 – Reading and Understanding Poetry
Rhetorical situation, rhetorical purpose, narrative framework, lyrical appeals, which in addition to sensory appeals include emotional, moral, intellectual, and spiritual appeals

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Practice

In Advanced Poetry students imitate poems and write analytical essays about poems. The students compose poems of his own by imitation of classic models.
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The Advanced Poetry Books

Advanced Poetry is a non-consumable text containing one semester’s worth of writing instruction and work. The lay out of the books is linear, start in chapter 1 lesson 1 and work straight through the text through Chapter 4’s final lesson. The students may cover the material simply by working through the lessons in sequence.

The material in our intermediate and advanced books is challenging and is best encountered with our student companions. These consumable texts provide weekly schedules coordinating the lessons and the reading assignments for each chapter. The student companions include models, charts, and tables for analysis and imitation, as well an answer key to select exercises. 
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What to Buy for Advanced Poetry:

Advanced Poetry
~ one core text needed per student
~ non-consumable
~ lessons laid out in chapters
~ recommended for 9th grade and up
~ Student Companion is recommended
 

Advanced Poetry Student Companion  -  optional
 ~ consumable, free pdf download, or priced print, one needed per student
 ~ weekly schedules for all assignments
 ~ optional epic poetry reading schedule
 ~ includes all models, charts, and tables needed
 ~ answer key included
 

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my students are ready for Advanced Poetry?

Before beginning Advanced Poetry, the student should be in high school. Advanced Poetry reviews all meters, stanza forms, and figures from our previous books before delving into new material.

I’d love to buy Classical Writing but we are on a tight budget.

Advanced Poetry is a non-consumable book, so it can be reused or resold.  The Student Companion to Advanced Poetry can be downloaded as a free pdf.