Your Ironic Verse

It’s time to put your skills and knowledge to the test! Your final assessment for our irony
unit will consist of poem composed by you and presented in front of the class.
Your poem must consist of exactly sixteen lines with the rhyme scheme ABAB for
every four lines. You should think of your poem as broken down into four sections, each four
lines long and following the rhyme scheme ABAB. Please refer to our notes on rhyming from
the beginning of the unit. I am available to check whether your poem rhymes or not.

Your poem must feature an ironic ending. This is crucial and poems which do not
attempt to construct an ironic ending will not receive a passing grade. If you are having trouble
deciding on an ironic ending, or are unsure whether your ending is ironic, you are always
welcome to ask for my advice. I will not create your ending for you, but I will help you know
whether it is ironic and will offer advice/feedback to guide you in the correct direction.
You may not use the same story used in your short narrative assignment.
Your poem must be read aloud before the entire class. Use a clear voice and emphasize
the rhyming syllables of your poem (read it in such a way that it calls attention to the syllables
that rhyme).
After all the poems are read, they will be posted on our class website. There, all
students will be able to browse each other’s poems and read them freely. You will be required
to write a brief critique for a minimum of two other poems written by your fellow classmates.
You will write these critiques as replies in the discussion forums for the poems you have
chosen. Your critique cannot be as simple as “I liked your poem.” You must describe why their
poem caught your attention, how it made you feel and what was interesting about how they
used irony. Really think about what you learned during this unit when you are looking through
your classmates’ poems and respond to the ones that made an impression on you.

Your poems are due on Wednesday, December 11th, which is when we will be presenting.
The critiques are due no later than 3:00PM on Friday, December 13th.