If you were coming in the fall

In this activity, students model Dickinson’s poem by exploring a realistic turn on a commonly used idea.

Dickinson’s poem initially suggests that love conquers all, including time; in the last stanza, however, the speaker admits that time is difficult to conquer and that waiting is very hard. The trope of “love conquers all” is a commonly represented idea in stories. When an idea is very commonly used, it might also be considered trite or clichéd.

• Pick a clichéd trope seen in media and society. For example, you might choose:

- The hero always wins.

- What goes around comes around.

- Everything works out in the end.

• Write a poem that explores your chosen cliché and then attempts to undermine it. Set up the expected cliché and use metaphors to dramatize your devotion to that idea in the initial stanzas. At the end of the poem, insert some reality to undermine the cliché.
• Spend time revising and editing your poem. Share poetry aloud with the class as time allows.

Teaching Suggestion: This assignment can be varied according to a desired focus. For example, students could write with a specific rhyme scheme, in ballad format, or using a specific number of tangible images or metaphors and similes.