Starter quiz
- Maya Angelou wrote a poem called 'Still I ______' ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- 'Rise' ✓
- Match each method to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- rhythm⇔the beat, flow or pattern of a piece of music or writing ✓
- rhyme⇔the repetition of similar sounds in two or more words ✓
- syllable⇔the number of beats in a word ✓
- refrain⇔a repeated line, or set of lines, in a poem ✓
- What is the refrain in the Maya Angelou's poem 'Still I Rise'? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- its first stanza
- its speaker
- its title ✓
- its rhythm
- its rhyme
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- How many syllables does the word rhyme have? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1 ✓
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
-
- How many syllables does the word harmony have? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1
- 2
- 3 ✓
- 4
- 5
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- What books did Maya Angelou have next to her when writing her poems? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- her own autobiographies
- a biography of President Clinton
- a Bible ✓
- a thesaurus
- a dictionary ✓
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Exit quiz
- How many syllables does the word dissonance have? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1
- 2
- 3 ✓
- 4
- 5
-
- Which of these words is a synonym for rhythm? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- refrain
- tone
- beat ✓
- repetition
- rhyme
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- Which of these words is the best antonym for dissonance? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- good
- discord
- harmony ✓
- syllable
- musical
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- Maya Angelou read her work out loud after writing in order to hear any "______". ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- 'dissonance' ✓
- Which of these sentences uses the word harmony, or its forms, correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- I was pleased with the song: it had a harmonious melody. ✓
- Everyone left because the song sounded disharmonious.
- We had a harmonious meeting: everyone agreed with each other. ✓
- He asked if I wanted to go, and I said harmoniously.
- My teacher said my essay was very harmony.
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- Which of these sentences uses the word dissonant, or its forms, correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- He asked if I wanted an ice-cream and I said dissonantly not.
- I couldn't barely hear the music because the volume was so dissonant.
- I put my hands over my ears to block out the dissonant sounds. ✓
- The poem needed work: some lines were dissonant. ✓
- The song sounded great: undisonant and rhythmical.
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Poets pay close attention to how their poems sound, as well as what the words express.
- You might like a poem for its harmonious sound before you understand its meanings.
- Angelou created harmonious sounds in her poems, often relying on rhythm, rhyme, repetition and refrain.
- When writing your own poems, reading your work aloud lets you to hear what sounds harmonious, and edit dissonant sounds.
Common misconception
A poem with a good rhythm always rhymes.
Rhythm is about the flow, beat and sound of a poem. Rhyme can sometimes develop rhythm, but it is not necessary.
Keywords
Harmony - in music, a combination of sounds that sound nice
Rhythm - the beat, flow, or pattern of a piece of music or writing
Syllable - the number of beats in a word; for example, "rise" has one syllable, "history" has three syllables
Dissonance - in music, a combination of sounds that don't sound nice.
Rhyme - repetition of similar sounds in two or more words.
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