【正文】 et. Between 5th and 6th Avenues) It i s am azi ng that so m any great works of art from the l ate 19th century to the 21st century are housed in the sam e m useum . The col lection of Western art i ncl udes pai nti ngs by such fam ous arti sts as Mo, Van Gogh, Pi casso and Mati sse. A few words of warni ng: the adm i si on pri ce i s not cheap and the m useum i s often very crowded. Whi tney Museum of Am erican Art (945 Madi son Avenue, near 75th Street) The Whi tney hol ds an excel ent col ecti on of contem porary Am eri can pai nti ng and scul pture. There are no perm anent di spl ays i n thi s m useum and exhi bi ti ons change al the tim e. Every two years, the Whi tney hol ds a speci al exhi bi tion of new art by l ivi ng arti sts. The m useum al so shows vi deos and fil ms by contem porary vi deo arti sts. Uni t 2 A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS There are vari ous reasons why peopl e wri te poetry. Som e poem s tel a story or descri be som ethi ng i n a way that wi l gi ve the reader a strong im pression. O thers try to convey certai n em oti ons. Poets use m any different form s of poetry to expres them sel ves. In thi s text, however, we wi l l ook at a few of the sim pl er form s. Som e of the fi rst poetry a young chil d l earns i n Engl i sh is nursery rhym es. These rhym es li ke the one on the right (A) are stil l a m on type of chil dren’s poetry. The l anguage is concrete but im agi nati ve, and they deli ght sm al chil dren because they rhym e, have strong rhythm and a l ot of repeti ti on. The poem s m ay not m ake sense and even seem contradi ctory, but they are easy to l earn and reci te. By pl ayi ng with the words in nursery rhym es, chi l dren l earn about language. H ush, li ttl e baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a m ocki ngbi rd. If that m ocki ngbird won’t si ng, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a di amond ri ng. If that di am ond ri ng turns to brass, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a l ooki nggl ass. If that l oki nggl ass gets broke, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a bil l ygoat. If that bi l ygoat runs away, Papa’s goi ng to buy you another today. O ne of the sim pl est ki nds of poems are those l i ke B and C that li st thi ngs. Li st poem s have a fl exi bl e li ne l ength and repeated phrases whi ch give both a pattern and a rhythm to the poem. Som e rhym e (li ke B) whi l e others do not (l i ke C). I saw a fi shpond al l on fi re I saw a fi shpond al on fi re, I saw a house bow to a squire, I saw a person twel vefeet hi gh, I saw a cottage i n the sky, I saw a bal oon m ade of l ead, I saw a coffi n drop down dead, I saw two sparows run a race, I saw two horses m aki ng l ace, I saw a girl just l i ke a cat, I saw a kitten wear a hat, I saw a man who saw these too, And sai d though strange they al were true. Our fi rst footbal l m atch We woul d have won… i f Jack had scored that goal, i f we’d had just a few m ore mi nutes, i f we had trai ned harder, i f Ben had pased the bal l to Joe, i f we’d had thousands of fans screami ng, i f I hadn’t taken m y eye off the bal , i f we hadn’t stayed up so l ate the ni ght before, i f we hadn’t taken it easy, i f we hadn’t run out of energy. We woul d have won… if we’d been beter! Another si m pl e form of poem that students can easil y wri te i s the ci nquai n, a poem m ade up of fi ve li nes. Wi th these, students can convey a strong pi cture i n just a few words. Look at the exam pl es (D and E) on the top of the next page. (D) Brother (E) Summer Beauti ful , athl eti c Sl eepy, sal ty Teasi ng, shouti ng, l aughi ng Dryi ng, drooping, dreadi ng Fri end and enem y too Week i n, week out Mi ne Endl ess (F) A fal en bl ossom (G) Snow havi ng m el ted Is i ng back to the branch. The whol e vi l age i s brim ful Lok, a butterfl y! O f happy chil dren. (by Mori take) (by Issa) H ai ku i s a Japanese form of poetry that i s m ade up of 17 syl l abl es. It i s not a tradi ti onal form of Engli sh poetry, but i s very popul ar wi th Engli sh wri ters. It i s easy to wri te and, li ke the ci nquai n, can gi ve a cl ear picture and create a special feeli ng usi ng the m i nim um of words. The two hai ku poem s (F and G ) above are translati ons from the Japanese. Di d you know that Engli sh speakers al so enjoy other form s of Asi an poetry – Tang poem s from Chi na i n parti cul ar? A lot of Tang poetry has been transl ated i nto Engl i sh. Thi s Tang poem(H) i s a transl ation from the Chi nese. Wi th so m any different form s of poetry to choose from, students m ay eventual ly want to write poem s of their own. It i s easi er than you m i ght thi nk and certai nly worth a try. Where she awai ts her husband On and on the ri ver fl ows. N ever looki ng back, Transform ed i nto stone. Day by day upon the m ountai n top, wind and rai n revol ve. Shoul d the travel er return, thi s Stone woul d utter spech. (by Wang Ji an) I’VE SAVED TH E SUMMER I’ve saved the summ er And I gi ve i t al l to you To hol d on wi nter m ornings When the snow is new. I’ve saved some sunl ight If you should ever need A pl ace away from darkness Where your mi nd can feed. And for m ysel f I’ve kept your smi le When you were but ni een, Ti l you’re ol der you’l not know What brave young sm il es can mean. I know no answers To help you on your way The answers li e somewhere At the bottom of the but wi thout the Impressi oni sts, many of these pai nti ng styles m ight not exi st. On the one hand, som e modern art i s abstract