Poetry UnitA poem is never finished, only abandoned. 

~Paul Valéry

Overview Of The Lesson

You will be taught the use of and special features of poetry. You will be provided with many examples.You will then be tested to see how well you can read and identify these different kinds of poetry.

What is Poetry?

Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define.

What is Poetry?

One of the most definable characteristics of the poetic form is economy of language. Poets are miserly and unrelentingly critical in the way they dole out words to a page. Carefully selecting words for conciseness and clarity is standard, even for writers of prose, but poets go well beyond this, considering a word's emotive qualities, its musical value, its spacing, and yes, even its spacial relationship to the page. The poet, through innovation in both word choice and form, seemingly rends significance from thin air.

What is Poetry?

Poetry is evocative. It typically evokes in the reader an intense emotion: joy, sorrow, anger, catharsis, love... Alternatively, poetry has the ability to surprise the reader with an Ah Ha! Experience -- revelation, insight, further understanding of elemental truth and beauty.

POETRY—Traditional Definition

A type of literature that expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story in a specific form (usually using lines and stanzas)

POINT OF VIEW IN POETRY

POET

The poet is the author of the poem.

SPEAKER

The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem.

POETRY FORM

FORM - the appearance of the words on the pageLINE - a group of words together on one line of the poemSTANZA - a group of lines arranged together

A word is deadWhen it is said,

Some say.

I say it justBegins to live

That day.

Excerpt from “The Raven”by Edgar Allen PoeThen, me thought, the air grew denser, perfumed

from an unseen censerSwung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent theeRespite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`

Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

REFRAIN

A sound, word, phrase or line repeated regularly in a poem.

“Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’”

KINDS OF STANZAS

Couplet = a two line stanzaTriplet (Tercet) = a three line stanzaQuatrain = a four line stanzaQuintet = a five line stanzaSestet (Sextet) = a six line stanzaSeptet = a seven line stanzaOctave = an eight line stanza

SOUND EFFECTS

RHYTHM

The beat created by the sounds of the words in a poem

Rhythm can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration and refrain.

What is Rhythm?

Any poem has the chance of having rhythm. A poem has rhythm if the reader of the poem

gives the poem rhythm. For a poem to have rhythm, it has to be read

following a pattern with its syllables. For example:da, da, dadada da da, da, da, dadada da da,da, da, dadada da da, da, da, dadada da da.

Example of Rhythm

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

and of all the king’s horses and all of the

King’s men

couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together

again.

Practice Your Rhythm

Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank!Ankylosaurus was built like a tank,Its hide was a fortress as sturdy as steel,It tended to be an inedible meal.

It was armored in front, it was armored behind,There wasn’t a thing on its minuscule mind,It waddled about on its four stubby legs,Nibbling on plants with a mouthful of pegs.

Ankylosaurus was best left alone, Its tail was a cudgel of gristle and bone,Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank!Ankylosaurus was built like a tank.

By: Jack Prelutsky

More Rhythm Practice

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,Whatever made you fade,You’ve traveled on, Iguanodon,We wish you could have stayed.

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,We’ve sought you everywhere, Both here and yon, Iguanodon,But failed to find you there.

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,You were a gentle kind,But now you’re gone, Iguanodon,And left your bones behind. By: Jack Prelutsky

METER

A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Meter occurs when the stressed and unstressed

syllables of the words in a poem are arranged in a repeating pattern.

When poets write in meter, they count out the number of stressed (strong) syllables and unstressed (weak) syllables for each line. They repeat the pattern throughout the poem.

This is especially important in Rhyming Poems and Limericks

METER cont.

FOOT - unit of meter. A foot can have two or

three syllables. Usually consists of

one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables.

TYPES OF FEET

The types of feet are determined by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables.

(cont.)

METER cont.

TYPES OF FEET (cont.)

Iambic - unstressed, stressed

Trochaic - stressed, unstressed

Anapestic - unstressed, unstressed, stressed

Dactylic - stressed, unstressed, unstressed

RHYME

Words sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds.

(A word always rhymes with itself.)

LAMP STAMP

Share the short “a” vowel sound

Share the combined “mp” consonant sound

What is a Rhyming Poem?

A rhyming poem is a verse poem that contains rhyming words at the end of certain lines.

Example: Night time by Lee Bennet Hopkins

How do dreams knowwhen to creepinto my headwhen I fall offto Sleep?

The Purpose of Rhyming Poems

Rhyming poems are used mainly for humor. These poems are fun to read.

Lets see some more poems with rhymes.

Types of Rhyming Poems

There are many types of rhyming poems. Here are names of some of them:The CoupletThe LimerickThe Ballad Stanza (including the short and long)

Octaves

A Rhyming Poem

Marty Smarty went to a party

In her jumbo jet.

After tea she jumped in the sea

And got her pants all wet.

John Foster

END RHYME

A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line

Hector the Collector Collected bits of string.

Collected dolls with broken heads And rusty bells that would not ring.

INTERNAL RHYME

A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary.

From “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

NEAR RHYME

a.k.a imperfect rhyme, close rhyme

The words share EITHER the same vowel or consonant sound BUT NOT BOTH

ROSE LOSE

Different vowel sounds (long “o” and

“oo” sound) Share the same

consonant sound

RHYME SCHEME

A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhyme (usually end rhyme, but not always).

Use the letters of the alphabet to represent sounds to be able to visually “see” the pattern. (See next slide for an example.)

SAMPLE RHYME SCHEME

The Germ by Ogden Nash

A mighty creature is the germ, Though smaller than the pachyderm.

His customary dwelling place Is deep within the human race.

His childish pride he often pleases By giving people strange diseases. Do you, my poppet, feel infirm? You probably contain a germ.

aabbccaa

ONOMATOPOEIA

Words that imitate the sound they are naming BUZZ OR sounds that imitate another sound

“The silken, sad, uncertain, rustling of each purple curtain . . .”

What is Alliteration?

A poem with alliteration repeats the initial consonant sounds closely together.

Example: Sheila Shorter sought a suitor;

Shelia sought a suitor short.

Sheila’s suitor sure to suit her;

Short’s the suitor Sheila sought!

by Michael Rosen

ALLITERATION

Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

The Purpose of Alliteration Poems Alliteration poems tend to be tongue

twisters. They are written for the fun they bring when they are read.

Lets see more poems with alliteration.

An Alliteration Poem

Down the slippery slide they slid

Sitting slightly sideways;

Slipping swiftly see them skid

On holidays and Fridays.

CONSONANCE

Similar to alliteration EXCEPT . . .

The repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words

“silken, sad, uncertain, rustling . . “

ASSONANCE

Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or lines of poetry.

(Often creates near rhyme.)

Lake Fate Base Fade (All share the long “a” sound.)

ASSONANCE cont.

Examples of ASSONANCE:

“Slow the low gradual moan came in the snowing.”

- John Masefield

“Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep.”

- William Shakespeare

FREE VERSE POETRY

Unlike metered poetry, free verse poetry does NOT have any repeating patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Does NOT have rhyme.

Free verse poetry is very conversational - sounds like someone talking with you.

A more modern type of poetry.

BLANK VERSE POETRY

Written in lines of iambic pentameter, but does NOT use end rhyme.

from Julius Ceasar

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

SOME TYPES OF POETRYWE WILL BE STUDYING

LYRIC

A short poemUsually written in first person point of viewExpresses an emotion or an idea or describes a sceneDo not tell a story and are often musical(Many of the poems we read will be lyrics.)

HAIKU

A Japanese poem written in three lines

Five SyllablesSeven SyllablesFive Syllables

An old silent pond . . .A frog jumps into the

pond.Splash! Silence again.

CINQUAINA five line poem containing 22

syllables

Two SyllablesFour SyllablesSix Syllables

Eight Syllables

Two Syllables

How frailAbove the bulk

Of crashing water hangsAutumnal, evanescent,

wanThe moon.

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET

A fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme

scheme.

The poem is written in three quatrains and ends with a couplet.

The rhyme scheme isabab cdcd efef gg

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.Rough winds do shake the darling buds of

May,And summer’s lease hath all too short a

date.Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven

shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,By chance or nature’s changing course

untrimmed.But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his

shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow’stSo long as men can breathe or eyes can

see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

NARRATIVE POEMS

A poem that tells a story.Generally longer than the lyric styles of poetry b/c the poet needs to establish characters and a plot.

Examples of Narrative Poems

“The Raven”“The Highwayman”“Casey at the Bat”“The Walrus and the Carpenter”

CONCRETE or SHAPE POEMS

In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

PoetryIs like

Flames,Which are

Swift and elusiveDodging realization

Sparks, like words on thePaper, leap and dance in theFlickering firelight. The fiery

Tongues, formless and shiftingShapes, tease the imiagination.

Yet for those who see,Through their mind’s

Eye, they burnUp the page.

An Example of a Limerick

What is a limerick, Mother?

It's a form of verse, said brother In which lines one and two

Rhyme with five when it's through

And three and four rhyme with each other.

author unknown

Rhyming Poems

Spaghetti! SpaghettiSpaghetti! Spaghetti!You’re wonderful stuff,I love you, spaghetti,I can’t get enough.You’re covered with sauceAnd you’re sprinkled with cheese,Spaghetti! Spaghetti!Oh, give me some please.

Jack Prelutsky

Alliteration Poem

A fly and a flea flew up in a flue.Said the fly to the flea, “What shall we do?”“Let’s fly,” said the flea.“Let’s flee,” said the fly.So they fluttered and flew up a flaw in the flue.

More Tongue Twisters—

Alliteration

“Night, night, Knight”, said one Knightto the other knight the other night.“Night, night, Knight.”

Super Tongue Twister!

Esau Wood sawed wood. Esau Wood would saw wood. Oh, the wood that Wood would saw! One day Esau Wood saw a saw saw wood as no other woodsaw Wood ever saw would saw wood. Of all the woodsaws Wood ever saw saw wood, Wood never saw a woodsaw that would saw wood like the woodsaw Wood saw would saw wood. Now Esau Wood saws with that saw he saw saw wood.

FIGURATIVELANGUAGE

Figurative language Grammatical usage that departs from everyday factual, plain,

or literal language and is considered poetic, imaginative, or ornamental. Figurative language, especially in literature, uses devices, such as irony, and figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, and hyperbole. The figurative meaning of a word or phrase contrasts with its literal meaning, which is closer to its standard, dictionary definition.

Figurative language seeks to clarify and accentuate meaning by referencing a word or phrase in terms of something familiar to the audience, usually to achieve special meaning or effect; the use of irony, metaphor, simile, and hyperbole falls into this category. Using the simile ‘She ran like the wind’, for example, suggests qualities of natural speed, lightness, and unrestrained energy. Using a word's literal meaning relies on the reader's clear understanding and knowledge of its definition.

SIMILE

A comparison of two things using “like, as than,” or “resembles.”

“She is as beautiful as a sunrise.”

METAPHOR

A direct comparison of two unlike things

“All the world’s a stage, and we are merely players.”

- William Shakespeare

EXTENDED METAPHOR

A metaphor that goes several lines or possibly the entire length of a work.

IMPLIED METAPHOR

The comparison is hinted at but not clearly stated.

“The poison sacs of the town began to manufacture venom, and the town swelled and puffed with the pressure of it.”

- from The Pearl- by John Steinbeck

Hyperbole

Exaggeration often used for emphasis.

I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.

My mother is going to kill me.

Litotes

Understatement - basically the opposite of hyperbole. Often it is ironic.

Ex. Calling a slow moving person “Speedy”

Idiom

An expression where the literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the expression. It means something other than what it actually says.

Ex. It’s raining cats and dogs.

PERSONIFICATION

An animal given human-like qualities or an object given life-like qualities.

from “Ninki”by Shirley Jackson

“Ninki was by this time irritated beyond belief by the general air of incompetence exhibited in the kitchen, and she went into the living room and got Shax, who is extraordinarily lazy and never catches his own chipmunks, but who is, at least, a cat, and preferable, Ninki saw clearly, to a man with a gun.

OTHERPOETIC DEVICES

SYMBOLISM

When a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself also represents, or stands for, something else.

= Innocence

= America

= Peace

Allusion• Allusion comes from the

verb “allude” which means “to refer to”

• An allusion is a reference to something famous (ie: Book, Movie, Show, Event in History, etc.)

A tunnel walled and overlaidWith dazzling crystal: we had read Of rare Aladdin’s wondrous cave,And to our own his name we

gave.

From “Snowbound”John Greenleaf Whittier

ALLUSION•A casual reference in literature to a person, place, event, or another passage of literature, often without explicit identification. Allusions can originate in mythology, biblical references, historical events, or legends. Authors often use allusion to establish a tone, create an implied association, contrast two objects or people through an unusual set-up of references, or bring the reader into a world of experience outside the limitations of the story itself. Authors assume that the readers will recognize the original sources and relate their meaning to the new context. For instance, if a teacher were to refer to his class as a horde of Mongols, the students will have no idea if they are being praised or villified unless they know what the Mongol horde was and what activities it participated in historically. This historical allusion assumes a certain level of education or awareness in the audience, so it should be taken as a compliment rather than an attempt at obscurity.

IMAGERY

• Language that appeals to the senses.• Most images are visual, but they can also

appeal to the senses of sound, touch, taste, or smell.

then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather . . .

from “Those Winter Sundays”

PUNSA pun twists the meaning of words. It is a play on words suggesting, with humorous intent, the different meanings of one word or the use of two or more words similar in sound but different in meaning, as in

Mark A. Neville's: Eve was nigh AdamAdam was naive.

OXYMORON (ALSO CALLED PARADOX)

Using contradiction in a manner that oddly makes sense, or putting opposites next to each other. Common oxymorons include ‘jumbo’ shrimp, and any other opposites you can think of. The best oxymorons seem to reveal a deeper truth through their contradictions. For instance, "without laws, we can have no freedom." Shakespeare's Julius Caesar also makes use of a famous oxymoron: "Cowards die many times before their deaths" (2.2.32).

CONNOTATION

The suggestion of a meaning by a word beyond what it literally describes. The word home, for example, means the place where one lives, but by connotation, it suggests security, family, love and comfort.

DENOTATION

Sometimes one of the connotations of a word gains enough widespread acceptance to become a denotation, or a literal dictionary meaning of a word. Many words have more than one denotation, or meaning, such as the multiple meanings of fair or spring. Poets or authors can use these words to suggest more than one idea with the same word. Remember, denotation totally disregards any historical or emotional connotation, and is always literal.

Time For Review!1. What is a rhyme? Give me an example.

2. What is rhythm? Give me an example.

3. What is alliteration? Give me an example.

4. What is personification?

5. Compare and Contrast Imagery and Metaphors.

6. What is the difference between Mood and Tone?

7. What is an Oxymoron?

8. How is a Rhyme Scheme different from a Rhyme?

More Review…

More Review…9. What is a foot, line, stanza, and verse?

10.What is a Limerick, Haiku, Tanka, Ballad, and Sonnet?

11.What is an Acrostic poem, Concrete poem, Narrative poem and Alliteration poem?

12.What is a Couplet, Triolet, Quatrain, and Cinquain Poem?