Hyper-Poems, Introduction to Poetry

Class Assignment

HyperText Poems

Assignment Background

In her book, Hamlet on the Holodeck, Janet Murray explains our experiences on the Internet using a three-step process:

Step One: Immersion

We allow ourselves to be swallowed up into the endless hyperlinks that make up any given Web site.

Step Two: Agency

After we get a feel for the site we are navigating, we create a newfound sense of control over the material we are navigating. Instead of being swallowed up by the hyperlinks, we begin to create our own sense of direction within the Web site.

Step Three: Transformation

This one is the most creative of the three steps. Once we begin to feel that we can control the material we are navigating, then we begin to make meaning from the materials. More important, we create something of our own from the Web site we are navigating—anything from a new connection between ideas to a full-fledged new piece of written, visual, or aural art.

Assignment

Navigate the HyperText Poems on your right. When a hypertext poem is assigned in class, respond to the following question in the Discussion Group.

How does the hypertext version of the assigned poem help you understand this poem as a whole? Make sure that you focus specifically on two or three hyperlinks that especially were helpful for your understanding of the poem you are discussing.

Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Rita Dove, "Parsley"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

W. H. Auden, "Musée des Beaux Arts"

The poem is temporarily off-line because of broken links. See link to student version at the bottom of this page.

Yusef Komunyakaa, "Facing It"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.
Warning: "Facing It" goes off-line periodically, because of the instability of government (.gov) sites linked to it. Email me if you have trouble with the poem's hyperlinks.

Robert Frost, "Design"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Carolyn Forché, "The Colonel"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, "England in 1819"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Walt Whitman, "To a Locomotive in Winter"

A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first).
The poem itself.

Class Assignment	HyperText Poems
Assignment Background In her book, Hamlet on the Holodeck, Janet Murray explains our experiences on the Internet using a three-step process: Step One: Immersion We allow ourselves to be swallowed up into the endless hyperlinks that make up any given Web site. Step Two: Agency After we get a feel for the site we are navigating, we create a newfound sense of control over the material we are navigating. Instead of being swallowed up by the hyperlinks, we begin to create our own sense of direction within the Web site. Step Three: Transformation This one is the most creative of the three steps. Once we begin to feel that we can control the material we are navigating, then we begin to make meaning from the materials. More important, we create something of our own from the Web site we are navigating—anything from a new connection between ideas to a full-fledged new piece of written, visual, or aural art. Assignment Navigate the HyperText Poems on your right. When a hypertext poem is assigned in class, respond to the following question in the Discussion Group. How does the hypertext version of the assigned poem help you understand this poem as a whole? Make sure that you focus specifically on two or three hyperlinks that especially were helpful for your understanding of the poem you are discussing.	Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Rita Dove, "Parsley" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. W. H. Auden, "Musée des Beaux Arts" The poem is temporarily off-line because of broken links. See link to student version at the bottom of this page. Yusef Komunyakaa, "Facing It" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Warning: "Facing It" goes off-line periodically, because of the instability of government (.gov) sites linked to it. Email me if you have trouble with the poem's hyperlinks. Robert Frost, "Design" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Carolyn Forché, "The Colonel" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Percy Bysshe Shelley, "England in 1819" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself. Walt Whitman, "To a Locomotive in Winter" A guide to the HyperPoem (read this first). The poem itself.

Try One On Your Own

You can choose to create your own hypertext poem as part of the longer paper assignment due on the last day of class.

Construct a hypertext version of any published poem that you want. Make sure that you include a "guide to the poem" page, as I have for each poem above. Here are some examples of hypertext poems created by students in my recent classes:

Email Tony Trigilio

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Last modified January 18, 2003