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Today, we read a selection of two poems and voted on the "best." Clearly, "best" is a very subjective term, and so here is your space to justify your choice. Select your favorite of the poems and compose a BRIEF précis that illuminates the basis of your decision. This FIRST poetry précis is due by THIS Sunday night, but moving forward, these will be due each night that we review poems (only one précis for any of the poems read in a single day). Your poetry precis does not have to be the winning poem of the day. You may select your favorite of any that we cover in a day. Some days, we will read only two poems; others, we may read up to SIX! Please follow the instructions for writing a poetry précis found on Google Classroom. The graphic organizer you used in class will be helpful to you here. You may use your own name or the pen name you used with The Handmaid's Tale.
Offlarry
3/28/2026 12:10:18 am
In the poem "Diving Into the Wreck" by Adrienne Rich, there is a self-journey that has revealed the truth beneath the surface. Through the metaphor of the diver exploring the sunken ship, the author uses it to symbolize unpeeling hidden stories and confronting the realities of our lives that we try to keep in the back of our minds. The speaker starts by preparing us for the dive, emphasizing the seriousness and isolation of being on the diving board and how quiet it is, which makes it feel serious and intense. This reflects more of a journey of locking in . So as the diver jumps off the diving board and prepares to do their flip, the wreck becomes a symbol of sinking and swimming, of personal goals and growth from experience, and of the power to change. I love this poem for its powerful imagery, for my swimmer's heart, and for the deeper message behind it: seeking the truth within yourself rather than relying on other people's stories. It is relevant because sometimes we should lean on our own understanding.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:49:57 pm
This précis shows a thoughtful understanding of the poem as a journey of self-discovery and confronting hidden truths. I especially like your idea of the wreck as a symbol of “unpeeling hidden stories” and your attention to the speaker’s preparation, which captures the seriousness and isolation of the dive. Your emphasis on imagery and personal growth also reflects strong engagement with the poem’s meaning. As a next step, try to maintain a more formal tone (avoiding phrases like “I love this poem”) and clarify a few moments of analysis so your ideas come across more precisely.
Oftim
3/29/2026 06:14:48 pm
Adrienne Rich’s, free verse poem, Diving into the Wreck (1973), uncovers women’s hidden histories. Rich carefully descends into the ocean, with vivid imagery representing suppressed female experiences, while the wreck symbolizes damaged histories. The “book of myths” critiques male-dominated narratives that rewrite these stories. She shifts identity, as both mermaid and merman, challenges traditional gender roles and emphasizes reclaiming truth. The free verse form and uneven stanzas reflect the complexity of this journey. The tone moves from serious to reflective.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:51:23 pm
This is a strong and focused précis that clearly captures Rich’s exploration of hidden histories and gender. I especially like your mention of the “book of myths” as a critique of male-dominated narratives, and your insight about the speaker as both “mermaid and merman,” which thoughtfully addresses shifting identity. Your connection between free verse form and the complexity of the journey is also well observed. As a next step, try to smooth out a few sentences for clarity and flow so your ideas connect more seamlessly.
OFTOM
3/29/2026 08:12:34 pm
In the poem Kindness, Naomi Shihab Nye illustrates that for one to know what kindness really means, they need to lose an important aspect of their lives. They need to go through hardship and experience what it's like being empathetic towards one another. They need to put themselves in others' shoes to feel their pain and know what it's like losing something. She uses metaphor and symbolism to compare how empty the world can be when one embarks on a journey of kindness. In the second stanza of the poem, she uses an Indian woman in a white poncho lying dead on the side of the road to symbolize how disoriented and emotional one might feel for encountering such a tragic event.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:52:46 pm
This précis shows a clear understanding of Nye’s idea that hardship deepens one’s capacity for kindness. I especially like how you focus on the need to “put themselves in others’ shoes,” and your reference to the image of the woman on the roadside demonstrates strong engagement with the poem’s powerful imagery. Your attention to metaphor and symbolism is also a solid analytical move. As a next step, try to refine your wording for clarity and accuracy (especially in describing specific details) so your analysis feels more precise and polished.
Ofbrian
3/29/2026 09:24:21 pm
In the poem "Diving Into the Wreck" by Adrienne Rich, she uses a single diver to show that finding the truth requires leaving behind the safety of what we are told and facing reality directly. The heavy equipment and the dark, cold water represent the mental difficulty of confronting things people usually try to avoid or hide from. By choosing to ignore the “book of myths” and explore the wreck herself, the speaker reveals that history and identity are often different from what we are taught and must be discovered through personal experience. This shift from being a passive witness to an active participant shows personal growth and can also relate to struggles like addiction, where real progress only happens when someone stops running from the truth and faces their situation head-on.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:54:11 pm
This is a thoughtful and well-developed précis that clearly captures the poem’s focus on truth and self-discovery. I especially like your use of the “book of myths” to highlight the contrast between accepted narratives and personal exploration, and your interpretation of the diving gear and environment as symbols of mental difficulty is very perceptive. Your idea of the speaker shifting from passive to active is also strong and insightful. As a next step, try to keep your analysis more tightly connected to the text (especially with the addiction comparison) so your interpretation remains grounded in the poem itself.
Ofowen
3/29/2026 10:31:50 pm
In the poem "Kindness" written by Naomi Shibab Nye explains only when something tragic in your life happens is when kindness is truly meaningful and understood in that moment. It emphasizes an act of empathy for one's loss and it is a very vulnerable experience that people find themselves connected to when that one act of kindness is shared through someone. Someone has to experience some type of loss or tragedy in order to experience what kindness really means deep down from the heart. Nye uses metaphor and imagery to express how the world would be empty if someone didn't experience a tragic event to show an express of empathy. In the second stanza she uses an Indian woman who was laying on the sidewalk dead as imagery to show an understanding of grief shared from human experiences.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:55:36 pm
This précis shows a clear understanding of Nye’s idea that loss deepens one’s ability to understand kindness. I especially like your focus on vulnerability and shared human experience, and your reference to the image of the woman on the roadside shows strong engagement with the poem’s powerful imagery. Your attention to metaphor and imagery is also a solid analytical move. As a next step, try to tighten your wording and correct small errors (like the author’s name and some repetition) so your ideas come across more clearly and precisely.
Ofben
3/30/2026 06:00:45 pm
In her poem “Kindness,” Naomi Shihab Nye asserts that in order to understand and enact true kindness, one must experience immense hardship, loss, and isolation. The author emphasizes this by personifying the concept of kindness and by utilizing various metaphors throughout the poem. Through the metaphors of the passengers in stanza one and the “Indian in a white poncho” in stanza two, she illustrates the prevalence of isolation and loss while emphasizing humanity’s tendency to ignore tragedy, yet the necessity of confronting it. Structurally, the poem shifts from a utilization of sorrowful metaphors that emphasize the hardships one experiences to imagery that personifies kindness as nurturing and supportive. The poem ends with a simile comparing kindness to “a shadow or a friend,” illustrating the ambiguity of what going through such adversity can do to a person. The author maintains an instructive and assertive tone, evident in the repetition of phrases such as “you must,” while also painting the poem with a varnish of hope in the last line by emphasizing how, despite one’s struggles, compassion, empathy, and kindness will remain.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:58:09 pm
This is a sophisticated and well-structured précis that presents a clear, defensible thesis about the relationship between hardship and kindness. I especially like your use of specific textual references, such as the “Indian in a white poncho” and the final simile comparing kindness to “a shadow or a friend," which effectively ground your analysis, and your discussion of the shift from sorrowful metaphors to more hopeful imagery shows strong attention to structure. Your explanation of tone, particularly the repetition of “you must,” is also perceptive and well integrated into your argument. As a next step, you might slightly streamline some longer sentences to improve clarity and flow, ensuring your insightful analysis remains easy to follow.
OfCurt
3/30/2026 11:48:32 pm
In the poem "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye, the value of kindness is analyzed and really put into perspective through her structure of the poem and her personification of kindness itself. Throughout the text, and particularly at the beginning of each paragraph in the poem, Nye employs the phrase "Before __, you must...", with each time exploring a different aspect of kindness, as a friend, as a cherished treasure only visible when all other glittering gold have faded, a drive for life. Nye maintains an admonishing yet warm and amicable tone throughout the poem, underscoring the power of kindness in the reader's lives.
Aunt Lydia
4/3/2026 08:59:56 pm
This précis offers a clear and engaging interpretation of how Nye develops the idea of kindness. I especially like your attention to the repeated structure of “Before…, you must…,” which shows strong awareness of composition, and your description of kindness as both a “friend” and a “cherished treasure” effectively captures the poem’s layered imagery. Your observation of the tone as both admonishing and warm is also thoughtful and accurate. As a next step, try to include one specific, quoted example from the poem and tighten a few phrases for clarity, so your analysis feels even more precise and grounded. Comments are closed.
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