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ELA 5: Perspective in Poetry 68 Views
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Description:
Get ready for our perspective on perspective in poetry. Hopefully it'll put things in better perspective for you.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Dino and Coop singing]
- 00:14
Wanna know our perspective on perspective? [Kids in class]
- 00:15
Well, we're tellin' ya anyway!
- 00:17
Perspective is really important, whether you're trying to understand someone else's ideas [Kid falls over]
- 00:20
and feelings…
Full Transcript
- 00:21
…or whether you want to know what's on the other side of a wall.
- 00:24
Luckily, we've got ladders for that! [Girl holding a ladder]
- 00:26
Perspective's also really important when it comes to poetry.
- 00:28
And, luckily for those of you who have a fear of heights, you don't need to climb any tall [Guy looking scared climbing the ladder]
- 00:32
ladders to understand perspective in poetry. [A ball hits the man and he falls off]
- 00:34
Just like in fiction, there are two main perspectives used in poetry: first person and third person.
- 00:39
A first-person poem is written from someone's perspective, whether that's the poet them self… [Dino pointing at a blackboard]
- 00:43
…or a character.
- 00:44
This person is addressing the reader directly, maybe even using words like "I" or "me," telling [Girl walking on a beach]
- 00:49
the reader their thoughts and feelings.
- 00:51
It can get pretty personal, but hey, if you don't like people giving you direct poetic [Girl looks grossed out]
- 00:54
access to their feelings…
- 00:55
…maybe you'd better stick to reading instruction manuals.
- 00:58
Third-person perspective is pretty different. [Guy reading 'How to Install An Inground Pool']
- 01:00
Instead of being written from the perspective of the poet or a character…
- 01:03
…the poem is written by a narrator who doesn't seem to be tied to anyone in particular. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]
- 01:07
Spooooky.
- 01:08
That said, the fact that third-person perspective poems aren't rooted in any particular character [Girl looks scared by a ghost]
- 01:13
doesn't mean they can't be emotional, too.
- 01:15
These kinds of poems will often follow a character…
- 01:17
…so we can read about their emotional reactions, even if we're not reading about things from [Ghost following a girl on a date]
- 01:21
their perspective.
- 01:22
…Hopefully they don't get too freaked out by being followed around by a spooky narrator. [Girl brushing her teeth with the ghost in the background]
- 01:26
These different perspectives give poets lots of control over the details and tones of their poems.
- 01:30
If they want a bit of detachment, they might go with third person…
- 01:33
…but if they want the reader to be really caught up in the moment-to-moment feelings [Guy looking sad]
- 01:36
of a character, first person's definitely the way to go. [Guy starts to cry]
- 01:39
Y'know…as long as the character doesn't mind things getting that up-close and personal.
- 01:43
Maybe we could just read their diary instead… [Guy slams the door as the ghost is following him]
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