Irony. Irony is a difference between appearance and reality. Many times, irony occurs when a person says something but means something completely different. For example, when someone tells an actor about to go on stage, “Break a leg,” he or she is making an ironic statement. This is called verbal irony. How does this poem use verbal irony?
Free Verse. Free verse is poetry that does not use regular rhyme, rhythm, or division into stanzas. Poets who write free verse often use other unusual techniques—such as unconventional spelling, punctuation, and capitalization—to create certain effects in their poetry. What unusual techniques does Giovanni use in “Legacies”?
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- Social Studies Connection. Many family traditions center around passing down stories, songs, recipes, celebrations, and knowledge from older generations to younger generations. In doing so, people keep alive some of the ideas, ways of life, and culture of their ancestors. In some families, young people shun such family traditions in an effort to be like their peers, to blend in with mainstream America, or to generate their own identi-ties. Although these desires can be valid, the road toward independence can be easier going for young people who build on the knowledge and culture of the older people in their lives.
- A legacy is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. A legacy can be personal, such as a family treasure, or global, such as the discovery and development of electricity.
After you’ve read “Legacies” once, use the poem itself as a graphic organizer to become more familiar with the free-verse style it’s written in. Copy the poem by hand onto a piece of paper; then proofread your copied version against the poem in your textbook. While you were copying the poem, did you find yourself almost instinctively applying any of the conventional rules of capitalization or punctuation that Giovanni deliberately ignores? Go through the poem and circle places where Giovanni deviates from standard rules of capitalization, punctuation, or spelling. Underline or highlight anything else about the form of the poem that catches your attention.
What traditions have you acquired from older people in your life?
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