William Carlos Williams: Poems Lesson Plan

Students often have the expectation that poetry has to be written in classic rhythms or use rhyme. Make sure to debunk this assumption before beginning the lesson and define poetry as it truly is, especially as it has evolved over time. WCW was part of the Modernist movement of literature, which was integral to pushing poetry behind traditional rhythm and rhyme into free verse, so note his role in the evolution of the canon of poetry. Because students are often intimidated by poetry, assuming it is going to be dense, convoluted, and difficult, it is usually beneficial to reinforce the fact that poetry, by nature, is largely open to interpretation. The goal of poetry is to create impact...