4A1 - The Hill We Climb

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

What are your thoughts and feelings about poetry?

Do you know what the common denominator ('gemene deler') between President Biden's inauguration and Super Bowl LV is?

Amanda Gorman

Why do you think President Biden choose Amanda Gorman to speak at his inauguration?

Poetry is interesting because not everyone is going to become a great poet, but anyone can be, and anyone can enjoy poetry. And it's this openness, this accessibility of poetry that makes it the language of people. Poetry has never been the language of barriers. It's always been the language of bridges.

What stories we tell, when we're telling them, how we're telling them, if we're telling them, why we're telling them says so much about the political beliefs we have about what types of stories matter. (...)

Poets have this phenomenal potential to connect the beliefs of the private individual with the cause of change of the public, the population, the polity, the political movement.

Why is poetry fitting for an occasion like a presidential inauguration?

Occasional poetry

Presidential inauguration present an ideal moment to reflect on "the history that we stand on, and the future that we stand for."

Amanda Gorman's 2021 inaugural poems is called 'The Hill We Climb'. What do you think this means? What do you expect of the poem? 

The Hill We Climb

PART ONE

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The Hill We Climb, part one

> Waar gaat het gedicht over? Wat voor thema's kaart Gorman aan? 

> Wat valt je op aan dit gedeelte van het gedicht? (op het gebied van taalgebruik / betekenis / iets anders)

And yes we are far from polished.

Far from pristine.

But that doesn't mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge a union with purpose,

to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man.

There is something in the language of this passage that strengthens the message that Gorman is trying to convey. 

Read the passage aloud to yourself. Can you hear what it is? 

And yes we are far from polished.

Far from pristine.

But that doesn't mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge a union with purpose,

to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man.

There is something in the language of this passage that strengthens the message that Gorman is trying to convey. 

Read the passage aloud to yourself. Can you hear what it is? 

• Herhaling
• Alliteratie

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace,

and the norms and notions

of what just is

isn't always just-ice.

What historical moments does this passage refer to?

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,

that even as we grieved, we grew,

that even as we hurt, we hoped,

that even as we tired, we tried,

that we'll forever be tied together, victorious. 

What does this passage mean? 

The Hill We Climb

PART TWO

The Hill We Climb, part two

> Welke nieuwe thema's introduceert Gorman in dit gedeelte van het gedicht? Hoe doet ze dat?

> Wat valt je op aan dit gedeelte van het gedicht? (op het gebied van taalgebruik / betekenis / iets anders)

It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,

it's the past we step into

and how we repair it.

We will not march back to what was,

but move to what shall be.

For while we have our eyes on the future,

history has its eyes on us.

This is the era of just redemption

we feared at its inception.

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter.

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

We've seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it.

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

it can never be permanently defeated.

What is Gorman referring to here, specifically?

So while once we asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert,

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

What is interesting (linguistically) about this passage?

The Hill We Climb

Part three

The Hill We Climb, part three

> Welke nieuwe thema's introduceert Gorman in dit gedeelte van het gedicht? Hoe doet ze dat?

> Wat valt je op aan dit gedeelte van het gedicht? (op het gebied van taalgebruik / betekenis / iets anders)

> Wat voor poëtische technieken gebruikt Gorman in dit gedeelte?

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation,

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation.

Our blunders become their burdens.

But one thing is certain,

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy,

and change our children's birthright.

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation,

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation.

Our blunders become their burdens.

But one thing is certain,

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy,

and change our children's birthright.

We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west.

We will rise from the windswept northeast,

where our forefathers first realized revolution.

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.

We will rise from the sunbaked south.

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover.

What are, in your opinion, the two best lines of the poem?