UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGOGICA EXPERIMENTAL LIBERTADOR

INSTITUTO PEDAGOGICO DE CARACAS

DEPARATMENTO DE IDIOMAS MODERNOS
CATEDRA LITERATURA
LITERATURA BRITANICA

AN OVERVIEW TO POETRY IN ELT

Professor Author:
Adriana Gonzalez Beidith Gutierrez
Class 001
Caracas, Julio 2019
 Societies have an influence on the lives of the individuals growing up in the systems they
belong to, in some way or another. For some, this influence could be perceived as positive and
for others negative, as such, our perspectives can vary enormously; however, when considering
societies that share the same language (the English language), but belong to different societies,
the difference becomes more obvious. When contrasting English speaking countries, we can
notice the diversity regarding points of views related to traditions, beliefs, lifestyles, ideas, etc.
Therefore, teaching a language, generally, implies the grasping of cultural aspects. In that
sense, literature can be considered as one of the most complete ways of providing access to a
different culture. Like seen in class, literature has been defined as the use of language to represent
reality in a creative and aesthetic way. In this sense, authors make use of such aspects to express
ideas and messages through literature.
Moreover, poetry not only compresses language components but a set of events that shaped
the respective society to become what it is today: wars, geography, religious changes, and social
movements, are just a couple of examples. In this case, and for this written work, the poem In my
craft or sullen art, by Dylan Thomas, is the main concern for the elaboration of an analysis and
the designing of a lesson plan. So, certain aspects of the poem, published just after finishing
World War II events, in England, will be explained in the following paragraphs, reflecting on the
universal climate about such events, and after, the importance and adaptation of a literary text in
the teaching of the English language.
Because of that, it depicts similarities and differences at levels such as behavior, points of
views or lifestyles. In an EFL context, there are, sometimes, differences among participants,
multicultural classroom, such as not speaking the same language or even sharing the same
language and not the same cultural aspects; students from different countries that take the same
course, etc.
 ANALYSIS

In literature poetry there are different elements such as imagery, characterization, repetition
and such an author uses to write poetry, which as students of literature we must consider an
analysis of a literary text. Take for example, In my craft or sullen art, by Dylan Thomas (see
appendix I).This text shows, firstly, that the speaker is first person singular, participant, no
mental access, subjective because he/she uses words such as I and my; implying probably a
personal perspective. As for the topic it could be concluded it is literature, the written art, more
specifically, poetry, because it is the form in which the author presents the text. Next, the central
idea is poets must write on behalf of poetry rather than for material gains, the speaker is
expressing his ideas from the point of view of a poet, and which leads to the message: poetry
aims at common people and their reasons to love or grief. Finally the speaker perceives poetry as
a laborious and dark art to be crafted carefully as evidenced during the first and third stanzas.
Consequently the probable audience for this poem are other poets of his time. The implicit
reason for this is that they were more concerned gaining recognition rather than poetry itself.
From the third to the fourth verses. One of the reasons to write is stated, according to the poem
the reason for grief is within the person´s arms: the person that causes their grief. Then the poets
write to comfort their hearts. This is repeated from verses seven to ten. Finally, from verse
number six to verse number ten, the speaker states that a poet does not write to demonstrate his
talent nor for attention.
Additionally different elements are found in the poem: characterization and repetition. For
example, characterization can be found in the third and sixth verses respectively the moon rages
and singing light, in both cases the speaker attributes human qualities to the moon. As if stating
that it is the one focused enough to enlighten his work. Next, an analogy is found in the title as
the word sullen suggests that his art is full with other authors´ poems. Regarding repetition, ideas
such as of not writing for material profit is reinforced in different ways such as Not for ambition
or bread…Not for the proud man apart…Not for the proud man apart.
Another element found in the poem is visual imagery, throughout the poem: Exercised in the
still night…When only the moon rages …I labour by singing light. According to the speaker, the
poet writes or produces poetry at night, as there is silence and peace at night. As for the setting,
the speaker expresses that the message is written at night under the moonlight, this can be
concluded as it is stated in the poem. This predominant quietness during the poem depicts an
idyllic tone on behalf of the speaker. The poet is probably thinking that most writers of poetry are
not producing a real piece of art based on a true emotion. In this sense, the analogy between
poetry and art suggests that the speaker compares composing poetry with craftsmanship, since
poetry requires more than just th use of literary resources such as rhyme, allusion, analogies,
musicality, verses, imagery, Probably referring to an internal sense of aesthetics. For some poets,
those are essential tools, but how you see those tools are essential. As for the craftsmen, tools
such as hammer and chisel are their tools, used to make a variety of sculptures.
Furthermore the predominant atmosphere is dark and somber. Once again, throughout the
poem, the speaker states he works in the dark, at night. In doing so, he reinforces the idea that
poets and their art have been unnoticed by the audience for a long period of time. In doing so, the
poet explains why poetry is a sullen art and dark. This is probably because of the context during
the time in which the poem was produced. Due to the United Kingdom´s involvement in World
Wars I and II, most of the literary works dealt warlike sceneries and/or sorrowful, hopeless
overall environments (Sanders 1994).
In the case of Dylan Thomas, he approached the theme of death in plenty of his works such as
Death and Entrances from belief. This is reflected in his poem: Nor for the towering dead… With
their nightingales and psalms. Even though it is stated that he refers to the amount of poets that
have gone unnoticed, it is also considered to be a reference to the amount of people that died
during wars (as it was an ongoing phenomenon of global impact), without reading poetry.
Moreover, through the use of the elements presented, the speaker leads the audience to depict a
poet writing a poem during the night, surrounded by nightingales in England, with all the
possible reasons to highlight dullness. In doing so, the speaker presents a different perspective of
poetry from an English speaking person. Helping the reader to perceive in a new and different
way of what poetry represents for others.
As can be noticed, the poem is loaded with vocabulary (nightingales, psalms, ivory, stage,
strut, charms, abed, craft, sullen, rage, spindrift) and the predominant tense is the negative form
of present simple; this is evidenced as follows I labour by singing light…Not for ambition or
bread Nor for the towering dead…Nor heed my craft or…Not for the proud man apart…Nor for
the towering dead. So, it is appropriate to use this poem to teach the negative form of present
simple. Because of its extension, the poem is student friendly and useful and meaningful for the
students as they will be exposed to its structure explicitly.
Additionally, for an EFL classroom, there is a connection between the English language,
reality, the culture and literature to be taught; as the connection between them is that of
presenting the culture and reality through the target language, in a piece of poetry for instance, it
is possible to find bits of history, society, politics, economy, and different levels of language
register. In 2009 Kellem (quoted in Aydinoğlu, 2013) stated that “Among other reasons, poetry is
a source of content-rich reading material; a model of creative language in use; a way to introduce
vocabulary in context; and a way to focus students’ attention on English pronunciation, rhythm,
and stress”. In this sense, poetry serves different purposes from introducing language in context
to improve students’ language skills. Therefore by structuring lessons based on poetry, teachers
of the English language are providing a meaningful way of exposure to the target language.
Taking into account what was stated, it is imperative that teachers of the English language
include poetry as a way to complement their classes. The following lesson plan is intended to
show a form of using literature in a class designed for adults from age 26 with a level of English
A2 at a private university. The text has academic and formal language that requires prior
explanation. The class is intended to last ninety minutes and is designed under the Presentation,
Practice, and Production (PPP) method.
The audience for this class was selected taking into consideration their level of English that is
A2, in other words, they were selected due to the level and language register. That is, students are
able to communicate inside and outside academic contexts and to comprehend the subject of the
class. Because of the nature of the poem and the fact that certain knowledge of the language is
required, makes the poem adequate to be presented to these students.
According to Zohri (2018) “Presentation – Practice – Production, or PPP, is a method for
teaching structures (e.g. grammar or vocabulary) in a foreign language. As its name suggests,
PPP is divided into three phases, moving from tight teacher control towards greater learner
freedom.” Using this method for lower levels is ideal as students are familiarized with the content
initially (presentation), during the second stage (practice) students’ use the language taught
(production), students produce new material using the language taught. That is, structured lessons
around this format delimit students’ use of the language at their benefit as they make the
transition to being proficient and independent in the language. As the aim is for them to
communicate effectively through speaking, listening, reading and writing.
This lesson plan contains activities that promote interaction among students related to the
topic professions at the beginning of the class; that is in order to promote interaction among the
students. “Communicative Language Teaching aims broadly to apply the theoretical perspective
of the Communicative Approach by making communicative competence the goal of language
teaching and by acknowledging the interdependence of language and communication” (Larsen-
Freeman, D. 1986, p. 122).
It is worth to note that the following lesson plan aims at developing critical thinking. In 2007
Elder (quoted in Vdovina, 2013, pp 55-56) defines it as “Critical thinking is self-guided, self-
disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.
People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathetically.
They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.”
That is, to question every piece of information received as to judge the logic behind it.
For the development of such skill, one key factor needs to be considered: the strategies used.
According to Vdovina, (op cit) the cognitive domain “involves knowledge and the development
of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns,
and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills.” The affective
domain “includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,
appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes.” (Clark, 2010: p.2)”. Since reading requires
awareness of what is being read, the kind of text and the effect it may have of the student.
Because students will be exposed to the text in order to learn English, then it is important to
consider the kind of text and how appropriate it might be to develop students’ skills.
In that sense, the objective of each of the activities will be explained in the following
paragraphs:
As reading provides new vocabulary students might be unfamiliar with, it is important to enhance
the learning of new vocabulary. Therefore by presenting the text at first, the aim is for students to
recognize the new vocabulary in order for them to be familiar with it. This is because according
to Brown (2000) a lot of unfamiliar words are presented within a text, and from which their
meaning can be inferred from context. Yet it is imperative to use other means to learn the
meaning of a word appropriately. For this lesson plan, taking into consideration the Presentation
Practice and Production method, vocabulary is introduced through a game as to ignite students’
critical thinking. For this reason the game, Guess it if you can, was considered as appropriate for
this stage (see appendix II).
During the pre-reading stage students will brainstorm about to title of the text. The objective
of this activity is for them to infer the meaning of the title. With this activity, through this activity
they will develop metacognition as they try to confirm their thoughts about the text. According to
Baker (quouted in Karbalaei, 2011)
“Metacognition refers to the knowledge and control that we have over our cognitive
processes. With regard to reading, it is common to talk about metacognitive awareness
(what we know) and metacognitive regulation or control (knowing when, where, and how
to use strategies, that is, what we can do). On a general level, metacognition includes
awareness and control of planning, monitoring, repairing, revising, summarizing, and
evaluating. Essentially, we learn awareness of our comprehension processing. More
specifically, we learn strategies that support our comprehension (our awareness of
strategies) and we learn how to carry out these strategies effectively (our control of
strategies) (Baker, 2002, 2008; Pressley, 2002)”

During the reading stage, students are to analyze the use of the negative form of present
simple. Then in that sense, according to the PPP method, while reading the poem reading they
will perform two activities, one is highlighting the unknown words and then recognize the
negative form of present simple for further activities. Then, during the fill in the gap exercise,
students will be able to determine the rate at which they feel identified with the poem ( see
appendix 3). According to Chacon ( n.d) “Post-reading strategies are those strategies the reader
applies after he has read the text and has a complete picture of it. The teacher can use these
strategies for reinforcement, evaluation, and application.
Finally during the production stage, that is post reading, student will create a poem of their
own, with line beginnings (see appendix III) and share it with their classmates. The purpose of
this activity is for students to be as creative as possible, that is to the structure taught in class as
independent as possible from the text.

In conclusion, poetry is a crucial element for the EFL context as to provide students with
authentic use of the language. Since it is not only made of language components, it is also shaped
by the culture, context, and period in which it was written. As a didactic material, students not
only learn a new language but acknowledge different perspectives; making them more tolerant
and comprehensive of their own culture as well as others.
Literature reflects a society, its culture and language. In doing so, it shows what distinguishes
a group of people from another. In the case of poetry, its arrangement in terms of literary
elements such as imagery, analogy, or repetition is what gives them aesthetic and cultural value.
As it is the author who decides how to best represent his culture in writing. Depending on the
context in which it was written. Through his arrangement, Thomas reinforces positive values
through his poem such as creativity and self-determination and dignity, regardless of all the
negative surrounding. In this way, even though there are accentuated differences in from one
person to another, through the poem there are personal values such as the ones previously
mentioned that are common for the students. In that sense, the role of poetry in an ELT is to
provide students at the same level. In doing so, interaction among them is required to advance in
the target language.
By including poetry in the classroom, teachers are also providing students with authentic use of
language. Students not only see a set of language components assembled together. The culture of
a different person. Therefore in traducing poetry they are confronted with a different perspective
of a subject. They might be moved by the message and gain a better understanding of other
cultures and the events that shaped them. In the case of Dylan Thomas, the fact that creativity
emerged in such dark times in England reinforce the idea of dignity from a different culture.
Therefore for EFL trainees and teachers it is imperative to include poetry in classrooms as a way
to motivate students to acquire a new language.

REFERENCES
Aydinoğlu, N. (2013). Integration of Poetry with Vocabulary Teaching. Mediterranean Journal of
Educational Research [Online article]. Available:https://urlzs.com/bKBDV. [Revised: 2019,
June 20]
Brown, D.(2000). Teaching by principles. California: Longman.
Chacón, X. (2002). The English Reading Comprehension Class: I n - Reading and
Post-Reading Strategies, Costa Rica : Universidad Nacional
Karbalaei, A. (2011). Metacognition and Reading Comprehension Vol. 16, No. 28 p. 6
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986) Techniques and principles in language teaching. New York
Sanders, A. (1994) The short history of English literature. New York: Oxford University Press
Vdovina, E. (2013). Developing Critical Thinking in the English Language classroom:
A Lesson Plan, 1 (01), 54-68
Zohri Hamdani, A. (2018). Presentation – Practice – Production (PPP) Method: An Alternative
Method Used in Enhancing student’s Vocabulary Mastery (Volume 9, No. 1. p3). Bandar:
University of Muhammadiyah Lampung) Bandar

APPENDIX I
In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Nor heed my craft or

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages.

APPENDIX II
 APPENDIX III
In my ____or ___
___ in the still ___
When only the ______
And the ___
With all their griefs in their arms,
I___ by singing light
Not ___
Or _______
On the ____
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Nor ____
Not for ___ apart
From the ___I ___
On ____
Nor ____
With their ____and ____
But for____, ____
Round_____,
Who pay no ____ or____.

At night…/in the morning

I work for…/ I do not work for
I do…/ I do not…
I chose / I do not chose
I believe in/ I do not believe in
I am …/ I am not