Advancing in Poetry Advancing in Poetry    

Lesson 23: Venus Transiens

by Amy Lowell

Performer: Librivox - Alexander Fox

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

• Read or listen to the poem.
• Review the synopsis.
• Read about the poet.
• Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

In Amy Lowell's 'Venus Transiens,' the narrator compares the beauty of someone she loves to the goddess Venus in Sandro Botticelli's painting, 'Birth of Venus,' and finds Venus lacking.

Concepts

1. Amy Lowell was born in 1874 in Brookline, Massachusetts.

2. Zoom in and find Lowell's state of birth, Massachusetts (MA), on the map of the United States.

3. Lowell was part of an accomplished family. One of her brothers was an astronomer and the other was the president of Harvard University.
4. Growing up, Lowell had a difficult time in school and was a social misfit.
5. Lowell's family didn't believe women should attend college, so she was not college educated.
6. Lowell's poems won her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry after her death.
7. Lowell died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Brookline, Massachusetts at the age of 51.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

• The poem picture features the face of Venus from Sandro Botticelli's painting, 'Birth of Venus.'
• Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem.

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Complete Book Activities   

• Click the crayon above, and complete pages 145-150 of 'Elementary Poetry 4: Advancing in Poetry.'

References

'Amy Lowell.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.