Poetry Café

1. Poetry Café Wendy Kim 2B

2. If <Notes> Wreath : an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration or for laying on a grave. Meed : a deserved share or reward By. Paul Laurence Dunbar If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meedof battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love!

3. Why did I choose this poem? • Strong impression • “To suffer and to love!” • Could actually imagine the world without emotions • Like the way he described his imagination • “A barren, barren world”

4. Life without any emotions? • How would life be if there weren’t any human emotions of suffering and love? • World without emotions mean nothing for living • Things that are very normal  very precious and valuable • Makes pictures of boring, and awful world without emotions

5. If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meed of battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love! -‘I’ is the speaker of the poem -author himself Effect: -the person who is reading out the poem sounds like the author

6. If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meed of battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love! Repetition of words : if, my Love, barren Effect: -emphasis -creates rhythm

7. If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meed of battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love! First Stanza Tone : horror -World without emotions: awful, boring Second Stanza Tone : realization, determination - Emotions are necessary Effect: -helps to picture what the author is trying to say more easily

8. If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meed of battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love! 2 stanzas, 8 lines each, - Effect: -similar structures of stanzas create rhythm

9. If life were but a dream, my Love, And death the waking time; If day had not a beam, my Love, And night had not a rhyme, -- A barren, barren world were this Without one saving gleam; I’d only ask that with a kiss You’d wake me from the dream. If dreaming were the sum of days, And loving were the bane; If battling for a wreath of bays Could soothe a heart in pain, -- I’d scorn the meedof battle’s might, All other aims above I’d choose the human’s higher right, To suffer and to love! A B A B C A C A Rhymes : (dream, beam, gleam) (rhyme, time) (this, kiss) (days, bays) (bane, pain) (might, right) (above, love) Effect: -creates rhythm -makes the whole poem sound like a song DE D E F G F G

10. Paul Laurence Dunbar • late 19th and early 20th century (June 27, 1872 - February 9, 1906) • seminal African-American poet • Parents had escaped from the slavery • He was the only black student at Dayton Central High School • During his life, considerable emphasis was laid on the fact that Dunbar was of pure black descent, with no white ancestors

11. What does it teach us about our own humanity? • Life would be awful if there was no emotions • Emotions are necessary

12. Works Cited.. • http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Paul-Laurence-Dunbar • http://peabloggy.wordpress.com/2008/09/page/2/ • http://th06.deviantart.net/fs18/300W/f/2007/155/e/c/Suffer_in_Silence_by_DepictAddict.png • http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs4/i/2004/255/c/3/Love__s_new_ID_by_love.jpg

13. THANK YOU! 