Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Heroes and Villains Poetry Prompt: Lord of the Flies

By L.L. Barkat 23 Comments

Foggy Rocks Heroes and Villains Poems
This past weekend, I finished up reading Lord of the Flies to my daughter for her school assignment. I’d forgotten just how rich with symbol it was, set on that island of mountain, fruit, shore, and eventually fire. (I’d remembered mostly the conch and Piggy’s glasses.)

But rich it was. The mountain became a seat for the terrible god, the jungle a place where boys melted back to savages and became one with the creepers, the sea a perennial washing away of the murderous (and eventually the source of rescue). And of course there were the boys themselves. Simon the prophet, Piggy the visionary, Ralph the force of Order, and Jack the fount of brute Chaos.

Poetry Prompt:

Write a poem that features a villainous or heroic symbol from nature. Or, if you recall Lord of the Flies (or wish to go back and research a little), write a poem about one of the heroic or villainous characters in the book, including a bit of the landscape as relates to him.

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s prompt. Here’s one we enjoyed from Monica Sharman:

Hers were scissor hands,
whet stone at the ready,
wicked blades razor sharp.
Slash, cut, slice

on the bias. Piece. Baste
batting to batik.
Quilted.

Photo by PS Lee, Creative Commons, via Flickr.

________________________

Sometimes we feature your poems in Every Day Poems, with your permission of course. Thanks for writing with us!

Browse more Poetry Teaching Resources
Browse more Heroes and Villains poems
Browse more Themed Writing Projects

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
L.L. Barkat
L.L. Barkat
L.L. Barkat is the Managing Editor of Tweetspeak Poetry and the author of six books for grown-ups and four for children, including the popular 'Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing.' She has also served as a writer for The Huffington Post blog and is a freelance writer for Edutopia. Her poetry has appeared on NPR and at VQR and The Best American Poetry.
L.L. Barkat
Latest posts by L.L. Barkat (see all)
  • Where Poetry Lives—Interview with Beekeeper & Poet Sara Eddy - August 16, 2022
  • Tell the Bees: A Little Chat Highlight - August 9, 2022
  • Tell the Bees—Event This Friday, August 5 + Prompt! - July 11, 2022

Filed Under: Blog, Heroes and Villains, Lord of the Flies, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Themed Writing Projects

Get Every Day Poems...

About L.L. Barkat

L.L. Barkat is the Managing Editor of Tweetspeak Poetry and the author of six books for grown-ups and four for children, including the popular 'Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing.' She has also served as a writer for The Huffington Post blog and is a freelance writer for Edutopia. Her poetry has appeared on NPR and at VQR and The Best American Poetry.

Comments

  1. Richard Maxson says

    May 27, 2015 at 10:24 am

    I have to say, I have not had the opportunity to read “Lord of the Flies” for over forty years. I’m sure I could not allude to it very successfully. Here in the Ozarks comes a drought banishing season of rain, but as the song goes, “every silver lining always seems to have a cloud” (Alison Krauss).

    Rain Mixed With Hail

    Across the lake, florets
    of broccoli come to mind,
    so lush are the swollen panniers
    of leaves on the mountain,
    a sanctuary for the deer
    that eat the peonies as we sleep.

    In the lowlands, quaint
    with one-lane bridges
    and narrow roads,
    cars float away and dreams
    are jarred awake in the rattling night.

    Cracks in the pastoral, morning
    windows, strawberries packed
    and bleeding in the rows.

    What to do with all these prayers
    from the mountain tops
    and the dale of shelters—
    the grateful and the dire?

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 27, 2015 at 10:48 am

      I especially like this: “a sanctuary for the deer
      that eat the peonies as we sleep”

      and how the images speak of the tension of beauty and destruction, the tension of what we know and what happens while we don’t know.

      As for Lord of the Flies, it’s actually quite poetic in its own right. I wonder what it might look like for someone to find an excerpt on Amazon or elsewhere and create a found poem from some of its lines 🙂

      Reply
      • Richard Maxson says

        May 27, 2015 at 11:19 am

        Thanks for the comment. We love the deer, we love the rain, but some things come wrapped in old newspaper without a bow.

        Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 27, 2015 at 11:09 am

      Here’s a try, then. Just taking LOTF words and breaking them into lines (not even going so far as to rearrange separate lines into a found poem 🙂

      Ralph climbed

      on to the platform
      carefully.

      The coarse grass
      was still

      worn away where the assembly
      used to sit; the fragile

      white conch still gleamed
      by the polished seat.

      Reply
      • Richard Maxson says

        May 27, 2015 at 11:20 am

        Nice. This could be a fun exercise.

        Reply
  2. Richard Maxson says

    May 27, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Found poem from LOTF

    The Arrow of the Sun

    He went on among the creepers
    until he reached the great mat
    that was woven by the open space
    and crawled inside.

    Beyond the screen of leaves
    the sunlight pelted down
    and the butterflies

    danced in the middle
    their unending dance.

    He knelt down
    and the arrow of the sun
    fell on him.

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 27, 2015 at 12:06 pm

      Love.

      And somehow this reminds me of a kind of “Chosen One” scene, where the sun is almost like a god but the arrow is an image of both aim and kill (to sacrifice). The author seems to have quite an interest in the functioning of so-called “primitive cultures” and of course by sealing the images to these supposedly cultured British boys, he does away with that distinction.

      Reply
      • Richard Maxson says

        May 27, 2015 at 3:54 pm

        Yes. And we have this dichotomy present in the series on Loki. The problem has always been with us., the heroic vs. the sacrificial.

        It is present in our modern extensions of archetypal myths (if sometimes oversimplified), The Batman, Superman, Captain America, The Hulk, Loki etc.

        Reply
        • L. L. Barkat says

          May 27, 2015 at 4:41 pm

          It’s interesting to me that Ralph is also pictured at the heart of darkness in some of the final scenes. I don’t recall the scene where the sun bathes him in that piercing light. So true that the dark-light is in all of those you mention. My girls would have much to say about those characters and their dichotomies, I’m sure 🙂

          Reply
  3. Richard Maxson says

    May 29, 2015 at 7:24 am

    It is sad now to think I was blind to this book’s poetry at whatever young age I was when I last read it. I am grateful to be reminded of it again.

    More found poetry in LOTF:

    The Ferny Coverts

    If you could shut your ears
    to the slow suck down
    of the sea and boil
    of the return, if you could

    forget how dun and unvisited
    were the ferny coverts
    on either side,

    then there was a chance
    that you might
    put the beast out of mind
    and dream for a while.

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 29, 2015 at 10:27 am

      Love this (and the two others).

      I think if this was the way one studied Lord of the Flies in high school (by making little poems with the lines), it would be cool. It has a way of attuning you to the language and the situations.

      Well, who says it can only be read as a teen? I’m glad you’re coming to it now—and with a whole lot of experience that probably makes certain things resonate far more.

      So happy to have you doing these, Rick. I like to see your picks.

      Reply
  4. Richard Maxson says

    May 29, 2015 at 8:06 am

    Found poem LOTF:

    This is foretelling of the book’s end, the fire and the dark smoke.

    Dark Ships

    Tall trunks bore
    unexpected pale flowers
    all the way up to the dark canopy
    where life went on clamorously.

    The air here was dark too,
    and the creepers
    dropped their ropes
    like the rigging of foundered ships.

    Reply
  5. Richard Maxson says

    May 29, 2015 at 8:07 am

    Found Poem LOTF:

    The Candlebuds

    Now the sunlight had lifted
    clear of the open space
    and withdrawn from the sky.

    Darkness poured out,
    submerging the ways
    between the trees
    till they were dim and strange
    as the bottom of the sea.

    The candlebuds opened
    their wide white flowers
    glimmering under the light
    that pricked down from the first stars.
    Their scent spilled out into the air
    and took possession of the island.

    Reply
  6. Richard Maxson says

    May 30, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    Found poetry LOTF:

    At Midday

    Strange things happened
    at midday. The glittering sea rose up,
    moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility;
    the coral reef
    and the few stunted palms
    that clung to the more elevated parts
    would float up into the sky,
    would quiver, be plucked apart,
    run like raindrops on a wire
    or be repeated
    as in an odd succession of mirrors.

    Sometimes land loomed
    where there was no land
    and flicked out
    like a bubble as the children watched.

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm

      Oooo, love this:

      “run like raindrops on a wire
      or be repeated
      as in an odd succession of mirrors”

      Reply
  7. Richard Maxson says

    May 30, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    Found Poetry LOTF:

    The Transparencies

    The great Pacific tide was coming
    in and every few seconds the relatively still water
    of the lagoon heaved forwards an inch.

    There were creatures that lived
    in this last fling of the sea,
    tiny transparencies that came questing in
    with the water over the hot, dry sand.

    With impalpable organs of sense
    they examined this new field.

    Perhaps food had appeared
    where at the last incursion there had been none;
    bird droppings, insects perhaps,
    any of the strewn detritus of landward life.

    Like a myriad of tiny teeth in a saw,
    the transparencies came scavenging over the beach.

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      May 30, 2015 at 2:23 pm

      What a marvelous phrase:

      “tiny transparencies that came questing in”

      Reply
  8. Richard Maxson says

    May 30, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Found poem LOTF.

    Whereas many of the found poems have been beautiful or at worse ambiguous, this poem is so very beautiful in its description, but haunting and dreadful for what occurs. I found it one of the most powerful in the book conveying the hopelessness of the boys’ circumstance. It is longer than the others, but has to be.

    From the World of Grown-ups

    A sliver of moon rose over the horizon,
    hardly large enough to make a path of light
    even when it sat right down on the water;
    but there were other lights in the sky,
    that moved fast, winked, or went out…

    A sign came down from the world of grown-ups,
    though at the time there was no child
    awake to read it. There was a sudden bright explosion
    and corkscrew trail across the sky;
    then darkness again and stars.

    There was a speck above the island,
    a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute,
    a figure that hung with dangling limbs.
    The changing winds of various altitudes
    took the figure where they would.

    Then, three miles up, the wind steadied
    and bore it in a descending curve
    round the sky and swept it in a great slant
    across the reef and the lagoon toward the mountain.

    The figure fell and crumpled
    among the blue flowers of the mountain-side,
    but now there was a gentle breeze
    at this height too and the parachute flopped
    and banged and pulled.

    So the figure, with feet that dragged behind it,
    slid up the mountain. Yard by yard, puff by puff,
    the breeze hauled the figure through the blue flowers,
    over the boulders and red stones,
    till it lay huddled among the shattered rocks
    of the mountain-top.

    Here the breeze was fitful
    and allowed the strings
    of the parachute to tangle and festoon;
    and the figure sat,
    its helmeted head between its knees,
    held by a complication of lines.

    When the breeze blew, the lines
    would strain taut and some accident
    of this pull lifted the head and chest upright
    so that the figure seemed to peer
    across the brow of the mountain.

    Then, each time the wind dropped,
    the lines would slacken
    and the figure bow forward again,
    sinking its head between its knees.
    So as the stars moved across the sky,
    the figure sat on the mountain-top
    and bowed and sank and bowed again.

    Reply
    • Richard Maxson says

      May 30, 2015 at 3:09 pm

      A better line break in this stanza :

      The figure fell and crumpled
      among the blue flowers of the mountain-side,
      but now there was a gentle breeze at this height too
      and the parachute flopped
      and banged and pulled.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Order and Disorder in Macbeth - says:
    May 29, 2015 at 8:01 am

    […] Lord of the Flies (Also a Text of Order & Disorder) See Was Hamlet Sane or Insane? Browse more […]

    Reply
  2. Shakespeare & Company: Playlist and Prompt - says:
    June 1, 2015 at 8:01 am

    […] to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a found poem we enjoyed from Richard […]

    Reply
  3. Lord of the Flies: Poem to a Conch | Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    February 25, 2021 at 5:00 am

    […] so I took the challenge upon myself, including themes and a scattering of words and phrases from Lord of the Flies. Enjoy your poetic […]

    Reply
  4. Top 10 Best Lord of the Flies Quotes | Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    March 1, 2021 at 5:01 am

    […] course, then you wouldn’t have read Lord of the Flies, and we have to tell you that it’s quite worth reading. Not to write a paper. Or figure out […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • Bethany on Pandemic Journal: An Entry on Peaceful Writing on the Porch
  • Faith Whetstone on Pandemic Journal: An Entry on Peaceful Writing on the Porch
  • 20 Best Poetry Books About Love to Read Now  | Giannina Braschi on Poets and Poems: Dave Malone’s “O: Love Poems from the Ozarks”
  • Laura on The Honey Field—5: Sugar Water for Honeybees

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT