Synesthetic Writing
Lesson Plan by Sarah Brockhaus
Audience: High School, College, or Continuing Education Poetry Students.
Objectives:
- Students will develop their ability to talk about the craft elements of poetry and their impact within a specific poem.
- Students will practice thinking about poetic craft through the lens of synesthetic synthesis.
- Students will generate their own poems and have a new tool for approaching writing.
Discussion: (25-35 minutes)
- Select one to three broadsides to center discussion on, as time allows (“Ghost Log,” “Los Macheteros,” and “At Cape Perpetua” would all work well for this, but any could be used).
- Begin discussion by reading the poem aloud and asking students to identify poetic craft elements used in the poem (for example: enjambment, alliteration, rhythm/sound, diction, form, etc.). Encourage students to not only identify the poetic element but also explain what they believe it is accomplishing in this specific poem. Keep a list of the poetic elements.
- Next, ask students to identify visual craft elements in the paired artwork (for example: color, shading, realism, absurdism, medium, texture, dimension, etc.). Students do not need to have the specific vocabulary, but should be encouraged to notice the choices the artist has made in the image and think about why. Keep a list of the visual elements. Repeat this process for as many broadsides as time allows.
- Now, link them. Ask students where the poetic elements of the poem correspond with the paired image. Specifically, what element of the visual art is doing the same emotional work as an identified poetic element? (For example: “the color scheme of this piece matches the enjambment of the poem,” or “the soundscape of the poem creates the same emotional impact as the color palette of the art”). There are no right or wrong answers, but students should be able to provide logical explanations of why they see the visual and poetic element as doing the same work in different mediums. When necessary, prompt students to dig deeper with questions (for example, “is sound as a poetic element pairable with color as a visual element? If so, what color would voiced sounds be? What about unvoiced?”)
Writing Activity: (25-35 minutes)
- Have students choose one or more of the art pieces and write a poem that borrows the visual elements and translates it into their own corresponding poetic elements. They may use the identified corresponding visual and poetic elements from discussion, but should also be encouraged to make their own connections.
- If time allows, ask students to share their poems and explain the choices they made.