February 18, 2010

Jessi's recitation: "The New Colossus"

Note:
I have received some feedback that the audio on Kyle's recitation was pretty low. He had a microphone near his mouth. He tends to speak quietly when he is a little nervous. However, when he is upset or playing, he gets REALLY loud. There is no moderation with him. I might try and re-record Kyle, asking him to speak up a bit. As an additional side-note, Kyle has chosen a second poem to memorize which is four lines long and is a mouse lullaby. He is already finished with that one.

For Jessi, I chose "The New Colossus" because it was about the same length as Kyle's poem and really highlights that most of the people who emigrated to America, including the Pilgrims and Jamestown settlers, were considered "losers" (in our vernacular) by their contemporaries. What makes this poem difficult to memorize is that it doesn't have as obvious a rhythm as "Concord Hymn" and some of the sentences end in the middle of a line. (BTW, if you listen carefully, you will hear the boys yelling in the background and me telling them to be quiet. They were actually upstairs and I spoke to them from the bottom of the stairs. I wish I had one of those "red lights" to make my home a silent zone.) I will include the words to "The New Colussus" with the video. Jessi has chosen for her new poem to memorize, all on her own, the poem "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier. That one is much longer


The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

1 comment:

stephy said...

She's amazing!