The Rose That Grew From Concrete

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

10th Grade Poetry Lesson

Learning Objectives:

-Analyzing a work of poetry

-Creating an argument on what the poem means to them

-Searching for themes, imagery, metaphors, etc.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete is the title of Tupac’s published book of poetry that he wrote at 19 years old. The book’s most famous poem shares the same name as the title. While the poem is short in length, its words speak volume about the world he was living in as a teenager in California.

The poem as it was, handwritten by Tupac himself

The Rose That grew From Concrete

Autobiographical

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack

in the concrete

Proving nature’s laws wrong it learned 2 walk

without having feet

Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams

it learned 2 breathe fresh air

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else even cared!

Discussion questions

What did you think of the poem?

What message do you think he was trying to convey?

Does the rose symbolize anything? If so, what?

Did you see any metaphors or uses of imagery in the poem?

Why do you think he writes “Autobiographical”?

After watching the interview, has your idea or meaning of the poem changed at all?

What parts of the interview stuck out to you the most?

Does it help you to better understand the poem after hearing from the author himself?