For those who like love poems . You can use this for your lessons . You will find lots of activities for language learners  in the following link :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/adrian-henri-love-is/1316.html

 

Love Is...

by Adrian Henri

 

 

Love is...

Love is feeling cold in the back of vans

Love is a fanclub with only two fans

Love is walking holding paintstained hands

Love is.

Love is fish and chips on winter nights

Love is blankets full of strange delights

Love is when you don't put out the light

Love is

Love is the presents in Christmas shops

Love is when you're feeling Top of the Pops

Love is what happens when the music stops

Love is

Love is white panties lying all forlorn

Love is pink nightdresses still slightly warm

Love is when you have to leave at dawn

Love is

Love is you and love is me

Love is prison and love is free

Love's what's there when you are away from me

Love is...

Here is one for those who like wine:

A Drinking Song

By William Butler Yeats 1865–1939

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye;

That’s all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth,

I look at you, and I sigh.

Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred.

Here is one of my favourites:
The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

More Poems and Poets!

Hey Everyone,

Here's some more ideas for poems to read!

Maya Angelou is a famous female African-American poet, her poems use simple and direct language and focus largely on the theme of defiance in the face of continual opposition. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and "Still I Rise" are two of her most famous poems.

Matsuo Basho  was a haiku writer in 17th century Japan. Although haiku's are very short poems, they are open to a lot of interpretation in their meaning, and also in their different translations. For example "The Old Pond" has many different English translations.

I thought I would include as well the current poet laureate, which for the United States is Natasha Trethewey. I particularly liked her poem titled "History Lesson," and on the article page of her biography, you can find not only the text of the poems but audio recordings as well.

The poet laureate in the United States holds the position for only one year, while the poet laureate in the UK holds the position for life (or until retirement). The current poet laureate in the UK is Carol Ann Duffy. This page includes a biography along with detailed explanation of some of her poems. And here is the text to many of her poems.

Have a good weekend!

For Next Time!

Hello Everyone! I hope you are having a good week! (And that you subscribed to the blog!)

We met last Wednesday at 6:30 on the 8th of November for the first time this year. And we introduced ourselves and we talked about songs and narration! As promised, here are the links to the songs we talked about:

"Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin

"A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash

"Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen

"The Last Time I saw Richard" by Joni Mitchell

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon

"We are Young" by FUN.

And NEXT TIME, we will be meeting December 5th, at 6:15. And we will be talking about POETRY. Your HOMEWORK is to research 2-3 poems (or 1 really long poem) to share with the group. You should have at least some of the following information:

• A printed copy of the poem
• Author (and a short Biography)
• Title of Poem
• Genre of Poem
• Type of Poem (haiku etc.)
• Plot of Poem (if there is one)
• Description of Characters
• Explanation of important themes/ideas
• Explanation of important vocabulary
• And why you chose the poem!

I can´t wait to see what you picked!
(For inspiration, you can look at the previous post, and I will post more links in the coming days to more poems and poets as well.)

See you in December!

Welcome Back!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are having a great start to the school year. I just wanted to let everyone know that the bookclub for this school year starts TOMORROW. We will start off talking about songs and music! And then we're going to talk a little bit about poems. After all, songs are a type of poem. Here's some different websites to think about poems:

This website is about Shel Silverstein, an american poet. Although he writes primarily  for children his charming poems are still enjoyed by people of all ages. (And not all of them are for children!) If you like Shel Silverstein, Dr. Suess is also a classic children's poet, well loved by almost all English speakers.

William Carlos Williams, is another famous american poet that writes in a very modern, free verse style. His poem "This is Just to Say" is very short but interesting nonetheless.  Similar poets are Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot

If you are looking for more classical poetry, Shakespeare's sonnets are excellent to read bit by bit. This website has all of his sonnets, along with his plays!

And I have to include Robert Frost, as he is one of  the most famous poets from my home state, Massachusetts. His poems "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" are well-known throughout the United States.

I'll post some more poems in the coming days! See you Soon!