Emily Dickinson and the Power of Punctuation

Teach the importance of punctuation in poetry through the song “Dear March, Come In!”

By: Patricia Finn & Dr. Susan Key
Estimated Time: 20 - 25 Minutes
Specific Reccomendation: 7th grade Language Arts

Download Lesson Plan (PDF @ 125KB)

Lesson Details

Goals/Objectives:

  • Explain the importance of punctuation in poetry
  • Re-write the punctuation in the poem “Dear March, Come In!” to create a different emphasis or tone than the author intended

Common Core Standard:

  • RL.7.5 Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning.

Poets & Writers

Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Composers

Copland

Aaron Copland

Songs

Dear March, Come In!

Aaron Copland

Emily Dickinson

Song Collection: Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson

Related Information

Song of America Radio Program 10: Emily Dickinson: Letter to the World

The reclusive poet explored all of life’s emotions, and there are hundreds of compelling settings of her poems, by composers from Ernst Bacon to André Previn to Ned Rorem.

songofamerica.net

Worksheet

"Dear March, Come In!"

songofamerica.net

Timeline

Emily Dickinson Timeline

songofamerica.net

Handout

Basic Musical Elements

songofamerica.net

Artists, Movements, and Ideas

The American Renaissance and Transcendentalism

songofamerica.net

Emily Dickinson Museum

The Posthumous Discovery of Dickinson's Poems

emilydickinsonmuseum.org

Emily Dickinson Museum

Major Editions of Dickinson's Writings

emilydickinsonmuseum.org

Emily Dickinson Museum

Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry

emilydickinsonmuseum.org

Department of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About Dickinson's Use of the Dash

english.illinois.edu

Start your search here: