The Power of Poetry “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
Poetry:
Words follow end rhyme schemes. . .or not.
Words corralled into stanzas. . .or not.
Words showcase figurative language. . .or not.
Words confined to an exact number of syllables. . .or not.
Words tell a story. . .or not.
Free verse
Haiku
Ode
Sonnet
Spoken Word
Lyrics
Ballad
A common thread woven through all:
A personal statement.
The Power of One.
The Power of Poetry.
The Possibility of Explosive Emotion.
In 2022 when the bombs momentarily fall silent,
Ukrainians gather in the streets and plazas
to sing their national anthem, a rallying cry, a rousing melody
that speaks to Love of Country,
Pavlo Chubynsky’s patriotic poem, set to music:
“Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished”
The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished
Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians.
Our enemies will die, as the dew does in the sunshine,
And we, too, brothers, we’ll live happily in our land.
We’ll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom
and we’ll prove that we brothers are of Kozak (Cossack) kin.
Consider “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the U.S.
Witnessing the shelling of Fort McHenry by British ships
during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, penned a poem.
“Defence of Fort M”Henry.”
O say, can you see
By the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hail’d
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?
(Can students recite the words? Do they know its history?)
What started as a poem that told a story of our country
under attack by a foreign power became a National Treasure.
Renamed and set to music the poem lives on,
sung at the start of athletic contests
and from Olympic medal platforms,
at ceremonies and memorials.
Our anthem speaks to Love of Country and a determination to be Free.
Just like Ukraine today.
Two poems transformed into National Anthems.
The Power of Poetry.
(Play the Ukrainian and the American national anthems. Youtube has many choices.)
(This lesson blends history, music, and literature.)
