Poetry Analysis (The Lakes)

Name________________________ Per_____ Date________ Student Interactive Notetaker - Poetry Analysis (The Lakes) ELA.8.R.1.4: Analyze structure, sound, imagery, and figurative language in poetry. SWIFT Poetry Analysis Directions: Analyze the poem using the SWIFT method below. Poem Title: “The Lakes” (2020) Poet: Taylor Swift 1​ Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me? 2​ I'm not cut out for all these cynical1 clones, 3​ These hunters with cell phones. How is the poem organized? (form, line length, white space, indentation, line breaks, and stanza breaks) Structure (Shifts) 4​ Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 5​ I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you; 6​ Those Windermere peaks2 look like a perfect place to cry. 7​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse.3 8​ What should be over burrowed under my skin 9​ In heart-stopping waves of hurt? 10​I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze 11​ Tell me what are my words worth. 12​ Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 13​ I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you; 14​Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry. 15​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse 16​ I want auroras and sad prose. 17​ I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet, 18​ 'Cause I haven't moved in years. 19​And I want you right here. 20​A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground, 21​ With no one around to tweet it. 22​While I bathe in cliffside pools, 23​With my calamitous4 love and insurmountable grief. Sound What is the rhythmic pattern? (end rhyme, internal rhyme, slant rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, repetition, and meter) Speaker What do you know about the speaker? (as a person) 24​Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 25​I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you. 26​Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry. 27​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse: 28​ No, not without you 1 Cynical - concerned only with one's own interests and typically disregarding appropriate standards in order to achieve them. Windermere Peaks - Windermere, lake, the largest in England; Lake District mountains are located there 3 Muse - a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist. 4 Calamitous - disastrous, fatal, deadly 2 Word choice The Lakes by Taylor Swift 1​ Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me? 2​ I'm not cut out for all these cynical5 clones, 3​ These hunters with cell phones. 4​ Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 5​ I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you; 6​ Those Windermere peaks6 look like a perfect place to cry. 7​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse.7 8​ What should be over burrowed under my skin 9​ In heart-stopping waves of hurt? 10​I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze 11​ Tell me what are my words worth. Annotate powerful words for connotation. (positive or negative) Positive word choice: Negative word choice: What tone is created by the word choice used? Imagery What pictures come to mind? Annotate (appeals to the senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, hear) 12​ Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 13​ I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you; 14​Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry. 15​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse 16​ I want auroras and sad prose. 17​ I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet, 18​ 'Cause I haven't moved in years. 19​And I want you right here. 20​A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground, 21​ With no one around to tweet it. 22​While I bathe in cliffside pools, 23​With my calamitous8 love and insurmountable grief. 24​Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, 25​I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you. 26​Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry. 27​ I'm setting off, but not without my muse: 28​ No, not without you What tone or topics do the images represent? Figurative Language Annotate words or phrases that do not have a literal meaning. (metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, allusion, and idiom) How is the figurative language used to contribute to meaning? Topics and Theme What topic(s) are being explored in the poem? What message is being sent to the audience about those topics? Topics: Theme(s): Connect the poem’s structure, use of sound, imagery, and/or figurative language to meaning in the poem. 5 Cynical - concerned only with one's own interests and typically disregarding appropriate standards in order to achieve them. Windermere Peaks - Windermere, lake, the largest in England; Lake District mountains are located there 7 Muse - a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist. 8 Calamitous - disastrous, fatal, deadly 6