Power - Peaceful Protest through Poetry and Rhythm

In an age where student voices demand to be heard, understanding the power of rhythm in language becomes essential. Students read and reflect on Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem, Protest, with special attention to how its rhythm can be embodied and the interplay between the poem's rhythm and content.

Written at the peak of the Women's Suffrage movement in 1914, Protest demonstrates how the physical act of speaking (the heartbeat of language) can become an act of resistance. When students place their hands on their chests and tap out the syllables, they're not just analyzing meter; they're experiencing how rhythm creates urgency, how disruption in pattern signals disruption in the social order, and how the body itself becomes an instrument of change.

Students are called to perform different spoken word poems, exploring rhythm, and ultimately to remix Wilcox's work using their own words and contemporary issues while maintaining the poem's distinctive 10-syllable-per-line structure. This embodied approach connects historical protest movements to today's call for justice, showing students that their voices, their rhythm, and their bodies have always been tools for transformation.

LENGTH:  40 min Session

GRADE LEVEL:  9-12

SUBJECT: Theater| Performing Arts | Civics | History | Social Studies

CREATIVE INQUIRIES

• How can we more deeply engage students in telling authentic, personal counter narratives using creative writing and spoken word strategies?

• How can we create moments of critical reflection and analysis of American culture and society, in which students can articulate individual narratives as part of a larger American Story?

• How can students understand and articulate the significance of belonging and cultural “otherness” through personal letter-writing?

EQUIPMENT

• Laptop/Computer & WiFi

• Speakers

  
  

OUTLINE

Session 1: Listen & Explore the Rhythm of Protest Poem

• Set-up: Listen to Protest Poem

• Prompt: Heartbeat Exercise

• Task: Rhythm Analysis & Discussion

• REMIX!: Rephrase the Poem

• Critical Reflection