Other
Tips for Reading Dickinson's Poetry
Directions for engaging in close reading of Emily Dickinson's poetry are provided on this site.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: Poetry
Discover close readings, critical interpretations, and personal responses to Shakespeare's sonnets, the poetry of John Donne, and more.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Keepers With Questions/activities[pdf]
"Prairie Keepers with Questions/Activities" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the efforts to restore the praire. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes:...
Channel 4 Learning
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Click a room, then the poetry book and find a thorough study of Shelley's famous poem, "Ozymandias," including an audio file, synopsis, games for close reading and more.
CPALMS
Cpalms: A Chilly Feeling
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this close reading activity, the students will analyze the poem "It Fell in the City" by Eve Merriam. They will read the poem, identify words or phrases that show feelings or appeal to the senses,...
Other
Lexiconic.net: Elements of Poetry
This resource explains how to approach an analysis of a poem. It discusses assumptions people may have, the importance of reading it closely before analyzing it, looking at the stanza structure, the type of poem, the sound patterns,...
British Library
British Library: Coleridge's Kubla Khan: Composition
This activity, which aims to develop students' understanding of 'Kubla Khan' after completing an initial study of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, will encourage students to make links between the poem and a number of historical sources.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]
"Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet" is a one page, biographical passage about Gwendolyn Brooks, an African-American poet from Chicago. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...
British Library
British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: T S Eliot's the Waste Land
Through close reading of "The Waste Land" in its original manuscript form, students will explore how the poem evolved in the process of editing. By reading contemporary letters and reviews, students will be guided towards a more informed...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Practical Criticism
A general introduction to literary criticism, this website provides teachers and students with idea about how to derive meaning from poetry through personal interpretation.