Bridging the Gap: Hip-Hop and the Second Generation English Romantic Poets

This curriculum unit, intended for a senior English class, focuses on the poetry of the Second Generation English Romantic poets (Byron, Shelley, Keats) and the Hip-Hop Rap poets of the contemporary era. In this unit, students will complete an inquiry-based project by investigating the historical and social background of the authors and ultimately by comparing poetic content. The students will connect the poems of rap artists to the aforementioned Romantic poets of the 19th century using the following prompt: Find the connection between the rebel, nonconformist spirit of the British Secondary Romantic poets and the Contemporary Hip-Hop Poets. The students will make the necessary academic connections and be able to clearly understand the influences that motivated their assigned authors. They will work on an individual basis on their web searches to find relevant resources and information, in order to complete their analysis for their final assessment report-out.