English

Activity 1: Poetry in performance

In this activity, you will:

• examine and discuss the meaning of the poem 'Aku' by Chairil Anwar
• investigate three different versions of 'Aku' performed by young people.

Key inquiry questions

• How can one appreciate poetry from another country such as Indonesia?
• How do elements such as sound, rhythm and repetition contribute to poetry?

Task 1

1. Watch the first video, Chairil Anwar 'Aku', and complete the following Thinking Routine: See • Think • Wonder routine:
   • Note all the things in the video that you see and hear.
   • What do you think about it? Why was the video made?
   • Wonder, or raise questions, about things you may not understand or want to learn more about.
2. Read the poem below and use See • Think • Wonder to reflect on the poem:
   • Note all the things in the text that you notice.
   • Are there any repetitions?
   • Why do you think this is?
   • Does the language look familiar? If so, do you know any of the words? If not, do you have a reason to think it is from a certain country or region?
   • Wonder, or raise questions, about things you may not understand or want to learn more about.

Task 2

1. Watch the second video of 'Aku' being read by Chairil Anwar.
2. Use See • Think • Wonder and make notes on your reflections:
   • Note all the things in the video that you see and hear. What feelings do you get from this video? What images or sounds or camera angles give those feelings?
   • Why do you think this is? Why was it made? How does it change or add to your thinking from the first video?
   • This poem is very popular in Indonesia and many people present it. What do you want to learn more about?

Task 3

1. View the other three different video versions of 'Aku' performed by young people.
2. Divide into groups to reflect and discuss one of the videos using See • Think • Wonder:
   • What do you see or hear that adds to your evolving understanding about what this poem means?
   • If all these people are presenting the same thing, what do you think about the poem? Why might it be so important?
   • Do you have any clearer idea about what you think the culture of Indonesia is about?
   • How has your thinking changed after this last video?
   • What do you really wonder now and want to learn more about?

Activity 2: Understanding the poem 'Aku'

In this activity, you will:

• examine layers of meaning in the poem 'Aku'
• compare the original poem written in Indonesian to three different translations to investigate deeper meaning
• conduct an analysis of other poetry for use of layering techniques, sound and rhythm, and metalanguage.

Key inquiry questions

• How is meaning in a poem layered and what techniques contribute to this layering?
• How does translation from different languages impact on the meaning of a poem?

Task 1

Like music, poetry is often used to express emotions and experiences. From expressions of love to outrage at injustice, cultures around the world have turned to poetry to communicate to their audience. Poems can have 'layers of meaning' – as you get to know a poem you can also see and understand its deeper meanings. This can be difficult when the original poetry is not written in English. Then a translation by someone who knows both languages is needed.

1. Read the English versions of 'Aku' by Chairil Anwar (1922–1949)
2. Make notes, and then answer the following questions:

Indonesian	Wikipedia	IndoNotes Blog	All Poetry
Aku Kalau sampai waktuku Kumau tak seorang 'kan merayu Tidak juga kau Tak perlu sedu sedan itu! Aku ini binatang jalang Dari kumpulannya terbuang Biar peluru menembus kulitku Aku tetap meradang menerjang Luka dan bisa kubawa berlari Berlari Hingga hilang pedih peri Dan aku akan lebih tidak peduli Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi!	Me When my time has come I want none to compliment me Not even you I don't need that snivelling! I'm but a wild animal From an exiled group Even if bullets pierce my skin I will still enrage and attack Wounds and poison I'll take running Running Until the pain leaves And I will care even less I want to live a thousand more years	I When my time comes I don't want anyone coaxing Not even you The crying's not needed I'm a wild animal Thrown from the herd Let the bullets pierce my skin I'll still charge, aflame Wounds and poison I'll take running Running Until the searing pain goes And I'll care even less I want to live a thousand years more	Me When my time comes No one's going to cry for me, And you won't, either The hell with all those tears! I'm a wild beast Driven out of the herd Bullets may pierce my skin But I'll keep coming, Carrying forward my wounds and my pain attacking Attacking Until suffering disappears And I won't give a damn I want to live another thousand years

1. Read each version and highlight where the translators have made different decisions.
2. Do a 'Think • Pair • Share' for the following questions:
   • Why are the English versions different?
   • Why don't they just look up the translation for each word and slot it into the poem?
   • Which version do you prefer?
3. Using the same process of Think • Pair • Share, Post and Review, answer the following questions:
   • What emotions are being expressed?
   • Why was it written?
   • What is the message?
   • Who is it being written for?
   • What was happening in Indonesia when it was written?
   • Why might this poem be so important to the Indonesian people that school children and young adults perform it regularly as poem, song and video?
   • Which of the versions do you prefer and why?
4. Read the brief Wikipedia entry on 'Aku' to see what the general opinion is about it. If reading this changed your thinking on the poem, in what way did it do this?
5. Have a class discussion around these questions and review any of your responses to the earlier See • Think • Wonder experiences from the last section.
3. You have now explored one poem of great importance to the Indonesian people. Independently answer the following inquiry question. Refer to any of the experiences you had in the last activities where you explored a significant poem, but had very little background and limited exposure to the Indonesian language. Answer this question in a reflective paragraph:
   • How can I appreciate poetry from another country like Indonesia?

Task 2

People are often asked what a poem means. Before offering an interpretation of a poem, you need to be aware of what is actually going on because of the way language is compressed to create layers of meaning in many poems. Knowing more about such poetic techniques will help you author an Indonesian poem in translation. How is meaning in a poem layered?

1. View Layered Meanings from Dragon's Cave to find out what techniques contribute to layering.
2. Working alone or in pairs, choose at least three poems from the links below. These poems are short and listed roughly chronologically with the older poems at the top. For each poem, you'll find links to the text and to a short biography of the poet.
3. As you read, focus on one of the three aspects of poetry identified in the inquiry questions: meaning, sound and metalanguage.
4. Use online collaborative software such as PrimaryPad or a Google Doc to record your learning.
5. Use the online space to jot down notes, details and the answers you want to remember.
6. Following the links to the poems, you will find the three main story features (character, setting and theme) and some related questions with two links.
7. Decide in your pair who will focus on which story feature and which one you will share. Your teacher will help you skim the links' content for what is suitable for Year 7 to use and apply to the poems you read.
8. In groups of three, perform each of the translated versions.
9. Poems:
   • Because Of You, by Amir Hamzah
   • Willingness, by Chairil Anwar
   • The Lost Child, by Sitor Situmorang
   • Two Women, by Toeti Heraty – listen to audio of the poet reading this poem
10. Analysing poetic features: Use one or two of the poems as an example of how meaning is layered.
11. Identify and highlight key words, phrases or lines that build meaning in the poem. Pay special attention to any repetitions of exact words or kinds of images so you can see if the poet is trying to build layers of meaning.
12. Sounds: How does sound and rhythm contribute to poetry?
13. Use one or two of the poems as an example of how the poetic device of 'sounds' are used. Identify use of sounds and how they repeat, build or give a feeling in the poem.
14. Copy specific words, phrases or lines from the poem and identify what the poet is doing by naming the strategy or poetic device. Your work will overlap with the 'layers and sounds'. You will also help other students give words to the things they notice.
15. As a class, share your learning by finding out what others have written in their PrimaryPad or Google Doc to increase understanding about 'layers,' 'sounds' and 'metalanguage' and how they work in the sample poems. Understanding metalanguage will help you to learn the most useful metalanguage in order to have a stronger vocabulary to describe how a poem works.

Task 3

1. In small groups, choose one of the poems to focus on for layers, sounds and metalanguage, either one that you have already studied or a fresh one from the list above.
2. Answer the following three inquiry questions as fully as possible, making sure to justify your opinions with evidence:
   • How is meaning in a poem layered and what techniques contribute to this layering?
   • How does sound and rhythm contribute to poetry?
   • What metalanguage describes how the layers of meaning are created in a poem?
3. Use the Poetry Analysis Sheet from ReadWriteThink.org, which asks specific questions about how you read and understand a poem. By answering the questions, you are guided to an understanding of the theme.
4. Print out one of the poems and highlight where you identify as many of the features as you can.
5. Conclude with a solid paragraph explaining what you think the poet was trying to achieve with these poetic devices. Include answers to these three inquiry questions.

Activity 3: Understanding Rendra

In this activity, you will:

• translate and analyse the poetry of W.S. Rendra, nicknamed 'The Peacock'
• conduct a webquest of Rendra's poetry.

Key inquiry question

• How can learning poetry from another culture help develop your empathy and self-awareness?

Task 1

1. The webquest's over-arching questions are:
   • How can you translate and interpret a poem from a different language?
   • How can you do the translation in a way that shows your empathy with the original poem and its culture, and also communicates something meaningful to you?
2. Individually, in pairs or group begin by learning about Rendra, 1935–2009, who is influential in today's Indonesia:
   • learn more about Rendra's life
   • read a series of short poems with illustrating photographs
   • watch a short interview profile on Rendra. The video is in Indonesian and you aren't expected to understand what is said, but seeing Rendra in virtual reality will reveal his personality and style.
3. Conduct research using the following links and use online collaborative software like PrimaryPad to record notes, details and answers:

About Rendra

• Willibrordus S. Rendra – Wikipedia

Rendra and his poetry

• Poems and Pictures – On this charred earth by Rendra, with pictures by Hardi
• Rendra: Si Burung Merak – The Peacock video interview and profile in Indonesian.

Activity 4: Reflection

In this activity, you will reflect on what you have learned about poets and their poetry from Indonesia, and issues involved in translating from one culture to another.

• Complete the following rubric
• Join the questions and your answers into full sentences
• Keep your reflections in your personal blog

Circle Yes/No and/or write comments in this rubric: