The laboratory poem annotated. How to Annotate a Poem 2022-12-11

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The Laboratory is a poem written by Robert Browning, first published in 1844. It is a dramatic monologue that tells the story of a woman who has been driven to madness by her obsession with creating the perfect poison.

The poem is set in a laboratory, and the speaker is the woman who works there. She is described as "old" and "gray," which suggests that she has been working in the laboratory for a long time. The speaker is also described as "calm," "cold," and "scientific," which further emphasizes her dedication to her work.

Throughout the poem, the speaker reveals her motivations for creating the perfect poison. She explains that she wants to create a poison that is "quick and clean" and "leaves no trace." This suggests that the speaker is motivated by a desire for revenge or justice, as she wants to be able to kill someone without getting caught.

However, as the poem progresses, it becomes clear that the speaker's obsession with poison has taken a toll on her mental health. She talks about how she has "lost all sense of time" and how she "cannot sleep." She also mentions that she has "lost all fear of death," which suggests that she has become desensitized to the consequences of her actions.

Despite her deteriorating mental state, the speaker remains fixated on her work. She talks about how she has "tried and tested" various poisons and how she is "always searching" for the perfect one. This obsession with her work ultimately drives the speaker to madness, as she is unable to think about anything else.

The Laboratory is a powerful and unsettling poem that explores the destructive nature of obsession. It shows how the pursuit of a single goal can consume a person's entire being, leading them down a path of self-destruction. The speaker's descent into madness serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of letting oneself become too fixated on a single goal or idea.

The Laboratory Stanza 1

the laboratory poem annotated

Is it fixed or variable? It is certainly worth highlighting. Even if you Annotating implies that you are doing the hard work while reading, allowing you to refer to previous work and have a clear starting point for future work. Why Do We Annotate a Poem? Ana-pest Control Now for the meter, which is a little trickier. You'll see that same pattern of rhyming couplets in every stanza of the poem. You can then read more carefully and critically, annotating the key words, especially any vivid adjectives and effective verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, rhyme repetition, figurative language, and other aspects of imagery. We'll show you how it works, using the second stanza stressed syllables in bold : He is with her, and they know that I know Where they are, what they do: they be lieve my tears flow While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear Empty church, to pray God in, for them! Also, we should point out that there are four anapests in each line. One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Agayne I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tyde, and made my paynes his pray.

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7 Steps to Annotating Poetry

the laboratory poem annotated

By breaking these phrases, Owen is able to draw attention to the words and present the image more effectively to the reader. What drew your attention? Light is used to convey something positive: goodness, life, or hope. How do I prepare my students to annotate poetry? Like most poets, he changes things up a little when he feels the need. Did you enjoy it or dislike it? I always like to encourage personalization for student annotations. What is an annotation? A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I my selve shall lyke to this decay, and eek my name bee wyped out lykewize. While annotating, you may want to encourage students to circle and look up any words they do not readily know and add personal observations or talk-to-the-text notations in the margins. However, you could set up a standard color-coding system for your class that dictates what each annotation color represents like red is for figurative language, blue is for diction, and orange is for structure and that might just help to streamline the grading of poetry annotations.

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How to Annotate a Poem

the laboratory poem annotated

Annotation is an active reading strategy for articles or textbooks. Annotate for use of meter, line breaks, caesura, enjambment, or colons used for emphatic statements. Symbolism is the use of imagery to emphasize deeper meanings and emotions. Is there a rhyme scheme? Similes Since a simile is a comparison between two things, you should try to identify both nouns. Annotating Rhyme Scheme If a writer has added a pattern of sounds to the end of lines, you should identify this rhyme scheme by adding the appropriate letters. There's an odd man out every now and then like that "He" in line 5 , but for the most part it goes da-da-DUM da-da-DUM, da-da-DUM.

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The Laboratory Form and Meter

the laboratory poem annotated

Reread Read the poem again. Is the tone formal or informal? How to annotate a poem in 7 easy-to-follow steps. Lastly, they read the text and paraphrase the content. Distinguish between tone, mood, syntax, and diction. Help your students get the most out of poetry with these practical tips. In fancy poetry talk, we call a four beat line "tetrameter" "tetra" just means four.

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How to Annotate a Poem (a Guide with an Example)

the laboratory poem annotated

Rhyming Couplets and Wait for Itā€¦ Anapestic Tetrameter This poem is divided up into chunks of four lines. Your approach can be an easy one or a very complex one. Easy as can be! You can ensure that you understand what is happening in a text after reading it by annotating it. Suddenly, Browning throws back the curtain, and we figure out what all this stuff with smoke and glass and the devil is really about. Furthermore, no matter the grade level, you must first teach students the nuances of poetic language BEFORE students attempt to annotate a poem.

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KS4 GCSE

the laboratory poem annotated

Annotating is a critical thinking skill that students will need, not only for AP courses but throughout their high school and college education. B See how that works? Is the poem an identifiable fixed form such as a haiku, a sonnet, or a villanelle? We hope this article on how to annotate a poem has been helpful. Annotating Enjambment If an image or thought runs from one line into the next without a break in the syntax, usually a comma or dash, this is called enjambment. Annotating Repetition When a writer repeats a sound, word or phrase, they are using repetition. Instead of saying "as you do your job," our speaker says "as though pliest thy trade.

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the laboratory poem annotated

These steps progress in difficulty and should be followed in the order given. Read the poem first without writing on it. And if students can, read the poem out loud. Please endeavour to share this article with family, friends, and colleagues. All that even spacing helps give the poem a calm, controlled feeling, even though the lines turn out to be about blood and guts and poison and grisly death. Focus on the speaker.

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the laboratory poem annotated

Identify irony and paradoxical language. Consider how this 6. Identify All of the figurative languages should be circled. Spring symbolizes new beginnings, renewal, and hope; whereas Fall can symbolize impending death and represent the inevitable changes we all face in life. Look at the structure. How about sound devices like assonance, consonance, alliteration, and onomatopoeia? Well, a smithy is where a black-smith works, but this guy is doing dirtier, more evil work than thatā€”the kind of nastiness the devil himself might be involved with.

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the laboratory poem annotated

Annotating poetry can be very rewarding for both you and your students. Whenever it comes to responding to an essay question or a controlled assessment, your notes will be the perfect revision guides. It is important to read everything at least twice. He's talking about really ugly things, but he does it in this beautiful, orderly, and controlled way. Where when as death shall all the world subdew, Our love shall live, and later life renew. Imagery is the expression of all senses in the poem, not just visual elements. The following example is from the third verse: Of course, these lines and shapes can get confusing so you could use different colours to distinguish between the various aspects of language and form.

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the laboratory poem annotated

Pay careful attention to colors, seasons, and light vs dark. Look for figurative language like metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, understatement, synecdoche, apostrophe, metonymy. Are connotative words used to convey emotions or a particular response in the reader? By annotating a poem, students can ensure that they understand what is happening in a poem after they have read it. Look for a synonym that you are familiar with and write it next to the word in the poem. If there is alliteration, you should circle the first letters and then look at where they appear on the line because this will help you understand the impact on the rhythm. Use these classroom strategies for analyzing and annotating poetry. Make a list of An Example of an Annotated Poem Below is an example of an annotated work with an explanation to back it up for better understanding.

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