Animal Farm Poem

Rebellion.
The word filled them with pride.
Finally, freedom for all
But still no rules, only fearless leaders
They needed rules, to keep things just.

Snowball, with a brush in his hoof, wrote
Each rule, one by one, until complete.
the rules read:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol
6. No animal shall kill any other animal
7. All animals are equal.


entitled the Seven Commandments, and so they would be forever and ever.

Napoleon and Snowball bickered and clashed, each one knew what was best.
one day Napoleon came with dogs
Fierce, cruel, ruthless.
Snowball gone forever
order at last.
However the pigs were sleep deprived
Too smart for hay bales
And slept in beds without sheets
The rules, after all, stated clearly
No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.

Farmhouse life was good for pigs
Food, comfort, wealth
But they wanted more.
Whiskey. Found in the cellar.
Maybe just a few drops
The rules did say
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.

Then the fateful day arrived.
Into the yard they came.
Each one came, but they could tell
Anyone could sense it.
As Napoleon spoke, fear grew
Snowball a traitor. A spy. A liar.
There were others too.
First came pigs. Some hens were next.
One by one the animals confessed.
And were killed.
Shocking. Unbelievable.
But the rules did say
No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.

Life went on. Not much changed.
The pigs got fatter
The animals got thin, cold, hungry
Working too much to notice
the rules had changed.
One single rule remained
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Poetry Out Loud Performances

I watched several Poetry Out Loud performances from 2009 and the one I liked the best was Stanley Jackson reciting "Sympathy" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. What I really enjoyed about this performance was that he seemed to really grasp the meaning of the poem and he put a lot of emotion into the way he spoke. His performance was very dramatic, but it was a very dramatic poem so his dramatization worked well. Stanley also had excellent voice and articulation throughout his entire performance.

To me, this poem is about never giving up. The poet understands why a caged bird still sings after it has tried time and time again to escape from its cage, and he has sympathy for the caged bird. I think that the message that the poem is trying to portay is that even after you have tried to get a better life many times, you should never lose hope, and continue to "sing". In the poem, the poet shows the caged bird's sadness and grief, but how he still continues to sing and try again. Stanley Jackson showed the extreme sadness of the bird by putting a lot of emotion into his performance. I can definetely see why this performance was chosen to be in the finals.