Here are some examples of presentations. They offer suggestions as to what could be included in your presentation. The important thing is you show and tell your audience poems/songs which you enjoy and find interesting.
Presentation A
This presentation consists of four haiku the student has written about places around Hong Kong. Some background is given. The presentation shows the student has learnt how to write haiku and has deeper feeling for language as a result of the module.
I want to share with you some haiku I have written. I have chosen four places in Hong Kong and tried to express my feelings about them. Here is the first one [display illustrated copy of the haiku on a PowerPoint slide].
I hope you can imagine my experience. I took the bus to Stanley Market on a windy April day. I walked along to Stanley Beach. Suddenly I could see the sea and it was covered with surfers enjoying the breezes. I have tried to use b’s and s’s in my poem to give it a special sound.
Bright breezy spring day
Strong gusts blow in Stanley Bay – Windsurfers at sea.
S 75 Please look at this picture now [slide].
These beautiful flowers are found on a blooming flame-of-the-forest tree. I was walking last autumn from Deep Water Bay to Repulse Bay and as I came round the corner I suddenly saw all these bright red flowers. Here is my haiku.
Passing the headland on Deep Water Bay coastal path:
Flames-of-the-Forest!
The third is here [slide]:
M.T.R. exit
Causeway Bay, Friday evening – Black heads everywhere.
Seeing all the people passing, I remembered the Chinese phrase about the black-haired people and used it here.
S 76
My last haiku is from a trip to Tsing Yi Island when I saw the contrast between the very crowded island with all its buildings and the view of the harbour [slide].
Tsing Yi Island
Skyscraping apartment blocks Boats hurry by.
Writing haiku has made me more aware of what I am seeing and feeling. I hope you enjoyed my poems. Thank you.
S 77 Presentation B
The presenter gives the historical background of a poem and recites a verse from it in a way which demonstrates understanding of the poetic methods used and the tone created. The presentation shows the student has been reading poetry and knows how to appreciate it.
On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was killed, shot while he was at the theatre. The terrible American Civil War had only just ended. It was a time which should have been one of happiness for the President, a time for him to enjoy his popularity and start healing his country, but he was murdered. His supporters were filled with anger, pain and disappointment. One of them was Walt Whitman and I want to share with you his poem on Lincoln’s death, “O Captain! O Captain”.
The main image of the poem is a ship’s voyage. The ship of the United States, with its captain Abraham Lincoln, has been sailing through stormy waters. It has just reached the harbour and is safe when the captain dies. Whitman calls out to the President, “O Captain! O Captain!”,hoping it is not really true.
Here is the third and final verse [recited very carefully]:
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse or will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores! And ring, O bells!
But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
The lines grow shorter and we hear a lot of heavy /d/ sounds as we move towards the sad, final word of the poem: dead.
Thank you.
S 78 Presentation C
This presentation is about three songs with a similar theme. The speaker introduces each song by playing a bit of it and giving a summary of its content. S/he then gives her/his comments on the theme, pointing out its negative and positive aspects. The presentation shows the student has listened to a lot of songs and thought about their meanings, and has an awareness of the connection between style and message.
I would like to present three songs to you today. The first is my aunt’s favourite. She sings it from time to time. It is a song from the fifties by the famous film star and beauty queen, Marilyn Monroe.
[play some of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (available at http://www.youtube.com)]
The title of this song has, of course, become a popular saying. The woman in the song says that romantic love (fighting over women and kissing hands) is very nice, but diamonds are better. Love affairs usually end, and if the girl has not got something good in the early days, she will be left with nothing. She will grow old and no one will want her anymore but she won’t care if she has plenty of diamonds.
You may think this is a bad attitude, but when men controlled the money and had the best jobs, it was a sensible one, too.
We can hear the same message in a song from the 1970s by the Swedish pop group, ABBA.
[play some of “Money, Money, Money” (available at http://www.youtube.com)]
The song is about a working woman who dreams of being rich. The only way she can think of is to marry a wealthy man. However, she realises this is not likely to happen as she does not know where to find one and, even if she did, he might not like her. She then starts thinking about the possibilities of gambling. The way the word “money”is repeated in the lyrics shows how important it is.
My final song is a very famous one from the nineteen eighties, by the superstar Madonna.
[play some of “Material Girl” (available at http://www.youtube.com)]
Madonna gives the message even more clearly, “the boy with cold hard cash is always mister right”. It’s a “material world” and a girl must think of her material needs.
Well, I am not saying that to love someone only for their money is a good idea, but I think the three songs show that not all women are naïve about love. Listen to the style of all three. The songs are sung with passion. They are loud and aggressive. They are partly joking, but they also show how independent modern girls really want to be.
If you are interested in learning more about the songs, you may visit these websites [display websites on a PowerPoint slide]:
http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Marilyn/diamonds-lyrics.htm http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/abba/moneymoneymoney.html http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madonna/materialgirl.html
Thank you.