Board work 15 IB Christina Rossetti What are

Board work 1/5 IB

Christina Rossetti • What are the major themes of CR’s poetry? Pick four and give examples for each. • What kind of characters show up in CR’s poetry? Pick four and give examples for each. • How would you categorize and describe CR’s poetry? What name would you give for her style? What are the characteristics of her style? Give examples.

CR Ghost poems • Look at the following Ghost poems: “At Home” (22), “The Hour and the Ghost” (34), “The Poor Ghost” (114), and “The Ghost’s Petition” (139). Compare and contrast them: What do they all have in common? What are some of the key differences? • Make a list of imagery from the poems (i. e. “dripping, drenching dew” or “blue flame”).

Folk Songs and Poetry • Listen to the following versions of the folk song “Barbara Allen” from the Library of Congress Archives. • During each, create a chart of three columns: What you hear, what you infer, and what you conclude about the piece. In the first category, you may put all of the sounds on the recording, including the lyrics, the background noise, the qualities of the singer's voice, etc. Keep in mind these are average people recorded by the library of congress in their everyday lives and not professional singers. In the inferences section, make note of what the various sounds in the recording mean. What can you tell about the purpose of the recording? What can you tell about the singer? What can you tell about the song? In the conclusion section, you may comment of whatever conclusions you may draw from listening to this recording. You could discuss here whether or not you enjoyed listening to it and what value the recording has musically or historically or literarily. • After listening to each version of the song, compare three based upon your notes. Which one is the most interesting? The most historically significant? The most enjoyable?

The Lyrics • Look at the three sets of lyrics and note the differences. Answer the following questions. • How do the changes in lyrics influence the story? What do they reveal about the singer, audience, time period? • Which version do you like best, lyrically? Why? • If you were to sing a version (presuming you could sing) which parts would you keep? Which parts would you leave out? Why? • Which elements of the song seem most essential to the story? Which ones, if changed, would make it no longer "Barbara Allen"?

A modern version • Listen to the Emmylou Harris version. • What difference does a professionally done, recent version of the song have? • In what way does this song appeal to a modern audience?

Folk Songs/poems about Ghosts • Listen to/Read each and note 1. The similarities and details which match the CR poems above and 2. the details which are not found in the CR poems above. • What do these similar details mean (narratively, historically, symbolically)? • What do the differences mean (narratively, historically, symbolically)? • What is the difference between the modern songs and the medieval ballad versions? What are your impressions of CR’s place in this tradition of folk poetry? What is her role?