Comparing two poems side by side fosters deep thinking and rich discussion—even in classes beyond English.
April is National Poetry Month, so why not try pairing two short poems to make a mini-study of a concept, theme, structure, or perspective? In the space of a class period, it’s possible to employ multiple reading strategies your class has studied this year, just by putting two poems side by side and engaging your students’ curiosity. Consider these three pairings, which would fit well into any secondary English class and have cross-curricular possibilities as well. Or come up with your own pairings to suit your subject.
“Because I could not stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson and the lyrics to “Reaper” by Sia
Each of these short poems personifies death, but to different ends. In Dickinson’s poem, Death is not a lurking, hooded presence but a kind and welcoming coachman, while Sia’s lyrics imagine a more traditional Grim Reaper that is perhaps open to some banter and bargaining. But instead of sharing these observations first, put the pieces together and invite your students to compare and contrast. Personification will emerge naturally in the discussion, and Emily Dickinson by way of Sia is so much more approachable.
Other classes for this pairing: music.
Because I could not stop for Death (479) Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886
Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting Sun – Or rather – He passed us – The Dews drew quivering and chill – For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle – We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground – Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity –
Reaper (lyrics) by Sia from the album This Is Acting
Broke down, thought that I would drown Hope that I've been found, 'fore I hit the ground Some days out the corner of my eye, hey Saw you weeping, saw you creeping Saw you sneaking in the shadow's long The fear so strong Saw you out the corner of my eye Don't come for me today I'm feeling good I'mma savor it Don't come for me today I'm feeling good I remember when You came to take me away So close I was to heaven's gates But no baby, no baby, not today Oh, you tried to track me down You followed me like the darkest cloud But no baby, no baby, not today (Reaper) Oh reaper (Reaper) Oh no baby, no baby, not today (Reaper) Oh reaper (Reaper) Oh no baby, no baby, not today So come back when I'm good and old I got drinks to drink, and men to hold I got good things to do with my life, yeah Oh, I wanna dance in the open breeze Feel the wind in my hair, hear the ocean sing I got good things to feel in my life, yeah Don't come for me today I'm feeling good I'mma savor it Don't come for me today I'm feeling good I remember when You came to take me away So close I was to heaven's gates But no baby, no baby, not today Oh, you tried to track me down You followed me like the darkest cloud But no baby, no baby, not today (Reaper) Oh reaper (Reaper) Oh no baby, no baby, not today (Reaper) Oh reaper (Reaper) Oh no baby, no baby, not today
“The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski
“The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski and “The Human Family” by Maya Angelou
Both of these poems have been repurposed in the video links above to promote products or brands. This opens up several intriguing questions to discuss as a class: How do these two companies use the poems to promote their brands? What does the poetry spark in the audience’s mind that the companies want you to associate with their products? How do we feel about using poetry to sell a product? Does it cheapen the poem, or does it expand the audience for the poem?
In my classroom, we conclude our discussion with a “Who wore it better?” challenge. Which company, Levi’s or Apple, repurposes its poem to the best effect?
Other classes for this pairing: business, advertising, or film.
“The Human Family” by Maya Angelou
“21 Thoughts on the Stereotype That All Brown People Are Terrorists” by Anis Mojgani
“21 Thoughts on the Stereotype That All Brown People Are Terrorists” by Anis Mojgani and “In Two Seconds” by Mark Doty
Journalists are not the only writers who examine the controversial topics of our times. These poems can be used to consider how genre changes our perception of an issue. What does a poet bring to the table when writing a piece about racism that journalists or novelists might not access quite as easily? In the book Writing With Mentors, Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O’Dell emphasize the importance of studying the “moves” writers make to achieve an effect in their writing, and this pair of poems is an excellent opportunity for a discussion of this topic. What specific moves do these writers make in the structure of their poems to heighten the impact of their message?
Other classes for this pairing: creative writing or civics.
IN TWO SECONDS by Mark Doty
(Tamir Rice, 2002 – 2014)
the boy’s face climbed back down the twelve-year tunnel of its becoming, a charcoal sunflower swallowing itself. Who has eyes to see, or ears to hear? If you could see what happens fastest, unmaking the human irreplaceable, a star falling into complete gravitational darkness from all points of itself, all this: the held loved body into which entered milk and music, honeying the cells of him: who sang to him, stroked the nap of the scalp, kissed the flesh-knot after the cord completed its work of fueling into him the long history of those whose suffering was made more bearable by the as-yet-unknown of him, playing alone in some unthinkable future city, a Cleveland, whatever that might be. Two seconds. To elapse: the arc of joy in the conception bed, the labor of hands repeated until the hands no longer required attention, so that as the woman folded her hopes for him sank into the fabric of his shirts and underpants. Down they go, swirling down into the maw of a greater dark. Treasure box, comic books, pocket knife, bell from a lost cat’s collar, why even begin to enumerate them when behind every tributary poured into him comes rushing backward all he hasn’t been yet. Everything that boy could have thought or made, sung or theorized, built on the quavering but continuous structure that had preceded him sank into an absence in the shape of a boy playing with a plastic gun in a city park in Ohio, in the middle of the afternoon. When I say two seconds, I don’t mean the time it took him to die. I mean the lapse between the instant the cruiser braked to a halt on the grass, between that moment and the one in which the officer fired his weapon. The two seconds taken to assess the situation. I believe it is part of the work of poetry to try on at least the moment and skin of another, for this hour I respectfully decline. I refuse it. May that officer be visited every night of his life by an enormity collapsing in front of him into an incomprehensible bloom, and the voice that howls out of it. If this is no poem then… But that voice –- erased boy, beloved of time, who did nothing to no one and became nothing because of it –- I know that voice is one of the things we call poetry. It isn’t only to his killer he’s speaking.
I am now in my fourth year of using a poem to start class each day with my ninth-grade English students. Each year, I have a few stories that remind me why poetry matters in the lives of teenagers. There is Mark, who stopped his parents in the middle of an argument by quoting a line from Rumi. There is Nick, who recites the last two lines of “Invictus” before taking a test or quiz that rattles his nerves. There is James, who visited midway through his sophomore year to tell me that he missed our Poem of the Day so much that he subscribed to a daily poetry email so he could continue reading poetry on his own. We live in a demanding world, and nourishing ourselves with rich words helps us meet our daily challenges.
Try a new poetry pairing—and share it with a colleague.
