1a. In "Nothing but Drums," what does the poet say the conga drums are doing?
2a. What are the drummers doing?
3a. How does the poet describe the "battery of drums"?
4a. What does the speaker in "Three/Quarters Time" say he or she and another person are?
5a. What is the title of Giovanni's poem?
1b. Why might the poet be saying this?
2b. What might be meant by this?
3b. How does the unique name given to each drum serve another purpose?
4b. What might the poet mean by this?
5b. How does this title relate to the meaning of the poem?
6a. Identify Hijuelos's actual and suggested descriptions of drums. Identify Giovanni's actual and suggested descriptions of dance.
6b. Based on your analysis above, integrate what Hijuelos and Giovanni are saying in these two poems.
7a. Which of the two poems do you prefer or relate to more? Explain your answer.
7b. Think about the impact of combining drums and dance. What different results can you imagine? How might the combination be a positive one? How might it be negative?
Repetition. For what purpose is repetition being used in each poem?
Rhythm. "Three/Quarters Time." Write the poem on your own paper, marking the stressed syllables.
1. Write an advertisement for the public that promotes the jam session in "Nothing but Drums."
2. Write a poetry review that describes any strengths and any weaknesses in "Three/Quarters Time."
3. Imagine you are one of the drummers in an extremely long jam session. Write a journal entry for yourself about how you feel physically and emotionally.
Connotation and Denotation. A denotation of a word is its dictionary definition. A connotation of a word is all the associations it has in addition to its literal meaning. For example, the words cheap and economical both have denotations meaning "inexpensive," but cheap has a negative connotation ("shoddy" or "inferior") while economical has a positive connotation ("a good value for the money"). For each word pair listed below, write each word's denotation and connotation. Then explain how the words are related to one another.
Example a. loneliness denotation: the quality or state of being alone connotation: negative—bleak, sad, desolate condition
b. solitude denotation: the quality or state of being alone connotation: positive—peaceful, desired, relaxing condition relationship: both words mean similar things but have opposite connotations
1a. confident denotation: connotation:
1b. cocky denotation: connotation: relationship:
2a. adventurous denotation: connotation:
2b. reckless denotation: connotation: relationship:
3a. catch denotation: connotation:
3b. capture denotation: connotation: relationship:
Correlative Conjunctions. Correlative conjunctions travel in pairs that belong together. Some of these pairs are both/and, either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also. Look at the examples below. Then write two sentences of your own for each pair. Indicate the correlative conjunctions.
Example Both her sisters and her brothers had talent. She either takes drafting or art this semester. Neither her mother nor her father had played sports in school. He not only passed French but also aced math.
1. both/and Sentence #1: Sentence #2:
2. either/or Sentence #1: Sentence #2:
3. neither/nor Sentence #1: Sentence #2:
4. not only/but also Sentence #1: Sentence #2:
Studying Poems: Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Internet sources:
Books and other print sources:
Answers to textbook questions:
