VRPoetry Handout

## Note

This is a basic task can be done using VRPoetry. To learn more about the system and its designs, please refer to this wiki page

## Setup

Please download this .apk file and use Sidequest to install it in your Oculus Quest2. 

## The Task (5 mins)

In this in-class activity, the main objective is for students to comprehend how the poets Li Po and Po Chu-I convey the emotion of "Sadness" in their works. Here are two works from these poets that are not presented in the dataset or VR app, and the participants' task is to correctly identify which poet wrote each piece by the end of the activity.

Please work with your team to read and discuss the poems together.

Groups:

1)Melvin, Ashley, Vincent, Camilo, Lexi

2)Vincent, Dave, Prof. Laidlaw, Jakobi

3)Austin, Liza, Yifei, Brian, Mohammed

Work 1:

Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day

Life in the world is but a big dream;

I will not spoil it by any labor or care.

So saying, I was drunk all day,

Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door.

When I woke up I looked into the garden court;

A single bird was singing amid the flowers.

I asked myself, what season is this?

Restless the oriole chatters in the spring breeze.

Moved by its song I soon began to sigh

And as wine was there, I filled my own cup.

Noisily singing I waited for the moon to rise;

When my song was over, all my senses had gone.

Work 2:

Watching The Reapers (Selected)

...

A poor woman follows at the reapers' side

With an infant child carried close to her breast.

With her right hand she gleans the fallen grain;

On her left arm a broken basket hangs.

And I today, by virtue of what right

Have I never once tended field or tree?

My government-pay is three hundred tons;

At the year's end I have still grain in hand.

Thinking of this, secretly I grew ashamed;

And all day the thought lingered in my head.

## Read Poems on Screen (10 mins)

One way to approach the task of identifying which poet wrote each piece is to closely read the two datasets on a monitor. It is recommended to spend approximately ten minutes doing so. However, it should be noted that it is very common to struggle with this task, as it typically requires years of education in Chinese high schools to become proficient in reading and analyzing these poems.

[Li Po dataset]

[Po Chu-I dataset]

## Read Poems in VR APP (10 mins)

To continue with the task of identifying which poet wrote each piece, please access the VR APP and navigate to the "Sadness" corridor. Once there, you will find the poems of Li Po on your left and the poems of Po Chu-I on your right. Take some time to read a few poems from each poet and attempt to complete the task. Good luck!