Poem suggestion please!!!

Somnus

Hey

I've got a big public speaking exam in school on tuesday and for part of it I need to pick out a poem (or extract from one) and read it. I have to read for at least 1 minute 20 seconds.

So i was wondering can anyone suggest a good poem to do? And a reason for why I should choose it. I've been looking but cant find one...

Any suggestions welcome

Thanks

tSubh Dearg

How about something by Roger McGough? I've always enjoyed his poems.
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=6667&poem=31105 this one is on a school theme.

Or this one: http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=6667&poem=32190 is one of my favourites by him.

dudara

Subh, you beat me to it! I was also going to suggest mcGough. His poems would lend themselves very well to being read out loud.

panda100

Am getting the impression your a bloke so I would reccomend some of the poems I like but since Im a girl there all soppy love ones.:)

I did lots of speech and drama when I lived in London so will try and give you a few hints for the public speaking of poetry.
1 and a half minutes isnt very long so dont pick a hugely long poem so you can take your time reading it and feel comfortable in the timeframe you have.

Punctuation in poetry is really important.Your not reciting a story from a book its like singing a song.You have to work with the commas and make it almost songful and rythmic so you dont sound like your just reading fro the sunday papers or something.

Use expression in your voice.Often,you can hear when someone is smiling or happy,so if the poem is a happy one then,smile!If its more of a melancholy feel try and work this into your voice by being wistful at commas or extending the sounds of some letters like 's'.

And the golden rule of public/poetry speaking if you are reciting it from a sheet-LOOK UP!!Engage your audience with eye contact at least every now and again!

Anywho,its a bit difficult to show this over the internet but tell us what poem you choose and if you need any advice you know where to find us!!

BossArky

The Listeners - Walter de la Mare (?)

tSubh Dearg

BossArky wrote:

The Listeners - Walter de la Mare (?)

Ooh that is an excellent suggestion. It has such an atmosphere to it, if you read it right

turbot

As a possibility, you could take the lyrics to one of your favourite songs and read them out as a poem.

Somnus

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's on tomorrow, I ended up choosing Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken.

Thanks again to everyone