An Introduction to
Poetry
English 11
Ms. Verge
Sarah Kay’s- Point B
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Read over Sarah Kay’s poem individually and
complete the following:
 Underline any words that create vivid imagery
 Circle any lines or words that you find
POWERFUL
 Write a 2-3 sentence summary at the bottom
of the page what you think this poem is about.
Watch Sarah’s TED Talk
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Record three things that you found interesting
or learned from her talk.
Sarah’s TED Talk
What 3 things does Sarah “Know to be True”
keep a list!
What are 10 things YOU know
to be true?
Write a list of “10 Things YOU Know To Be True”
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10.
These are the most exciting times in which we could ever hope
to be alive which have already occurred.
Too often, we allow inertia to control our actions.
Everyone should travel.
'Because that's the way things are' is not a valid reason.
Whenever you say 'I had no choice', you're lying.
It is possible to have an honest and even pleasant relationship
with someone you do not like.
Loving someone or something heart and soul does not
necessarily make it good for you, or them, or it.
There are ideas and inventions yet to come which will make into
reality what we consider to be fantasy today.
Everyone has at least one story worth hearing.
My truth is not final.
Compare With Neighbour
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Share your lists with classmates and find 4
things from other students’ lists that fall
under the following categories:
1 thing that is exactly the same
1 thing that is completely opposite
1 thing you’ve never heard of before
1 thing you know well, but that is looked at
in a new way
Poetry Writing
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Choose one of the items from your narrowed
list of 4 to write about…
Poetry / Figurative Language
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DEFINITION: Poetry is simply a shared
experience between the poet and the
reader. It is a communication to make the
reader more aware of something the poet
considers to be important or unusual.
TYPES
There are three general types by which to sort
poetry. These are not hardened categories as
they sometimes overlap.
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narrative poetry: tells a story (ballads)
lyric: emphasizes the personal thoughts and feelings of
the poet (songs, sonnets, odes, elegies)
dramatic: the poet adopts the persona (“mask”) of
another person, the focus being on the character of that
speaker (dramatic monologues, soliloquies)
Narrative Poem Example
Edgar Allan Poe- The Raven
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.''
Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door
Only this, and nothing more.'
Lyric Poem Example
Sonnet Number 18, by William Shakespeare
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.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
Dramatic Poem Examples
'Out-Out', by Robert Frost
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart
He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
A Dream, by William Blake
Pitying, I dropped a tear:
But I saw a glow-worm near,
Who replied, "What wailing wight
Calls the watchman of the night?
DENOTATION VS.
CONNOTATION again…
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Denotation is merely the dictionary
meaning of a word while connotation is
what the word suggests. For example,
“childish” and “childlike” by definition both
mean, “having the qualities of a child” while
the first suggests the negative connotation
and the second, the positive connotation.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figures of speech are used to take the reader beyond the LITERAL
level of meaning.
For example, if we say to a friend, “go, girl,” we do not intend for her to
go away but are showing support or admiration for her.
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simile: a comparison between essentially unlike things, using
“like” or “as”.
metaphor: a comparison between essentially unlike things
NOT using “like” or “as”.
symbol: something that stands for something other than what
it already is.
personification: giving human characteristics to non-human
forms.
hyperbole: overstatement to emphasize a point.
understatement , saying less than one means.
paradox: an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless true.
oxymoron: a compressed paradox.
What is Irony again?...
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irony: a discrepancy between literal meaning and
what is said, expected, or seen.
1. verbal irony: saying the opposite of what is meant. Eg.
A student scores 100% on a math quiz and the
teacher jokes that he is the “worst “ in the class.
2. situational irony: when things are the opposite or
inappropriate to what is expected. Eg. The worst
speller in one’s English class is the teacher!
3. dramatic irony: when the reader or audience knows
something one or more characters do not. Eg. We
know that Juliet only appears to be dead (after taking
the potion), but Romeo does not.
What is Allusion?
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allusion: a specific reference to something else,
usually
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mythological, eg. He is as strong as Atlas (holding up the
world)
biblical, eg. He is as patient as Job (never complaining
when God constantly tests his faith)
historical, eg. He is like Hitler in the classroom (dictatorial,
threatening)
literary, eg. Their love was like Romeo and Juliet’s
(passionate, rash, deadly)
contemporary, eg. She’s as honest as Alanis Morisette
(brutally direct)
IMAGERY:
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Imagery is the representation of sense
experience; images may appeal to one or a
combination of our five senses of sight,
hearing, smell, taste, or touch. Images often
make the writing more memorable for the
reader. Eg., “...a mile of sea-scented beach”
appeals to our sense of smell; “...waves
crashing on the rocks,” to hearing; or “...white
caps foaming over the waves,” to sight.
SOUND DEVICES:
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Word patterns create tone and rhythm.
refrain: repetition of lines or verses
rhyme: repetition of sounds, often at the end of lines
meter: rhythm of lines made by accented and unaccented
syllables of words
alliteration: repetition of first consonants (“sleeping silently”)
assonance: repetition of vowel sounds (“free and easy”)
onomatopoeia: words that suggest their meanings (“splat,”
“buzz,” “hum,” “greasy”)
stanza or verse: structural division, any separation to divide the
poem
QUESTIONS TO ASK
When discussing any poem include:
 What is the LITERAL meaning, what is the poem basically about?
 What is the significance of the title?
 Who is the speaker? What is his tone? What is his purpose? To whom
and of what does he speak?
 Does the poet use a specific type (narrative, lyric, dramatic) or form of
poetry (see sub-categories)?
 Does the poem have VERISIMILITUDE, is it “true to life”? Is it
memorable?
 Is the imagery effective?
 What figures of speech emphasize the poet’s meaning? sound
devices?
 Is the setting or time of the poem important?
 Does your interpretation of the poem and its theme fit the facts or “jump
to conclusions”?
The Rose That Grew From Concrete
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
"Love is a temporary madness,
it erupts like an earthquake and then subsides.
And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined
together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement,
it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion,
That is just being "in love" which any of us can conceive ourselves we
are.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,
and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Your mother and I had it,
we had roots that grew towards each other underground,
and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches
We found that we are one tree and not two."
Tupac Amaru Shakur also known by
his stage names 2Pac and briefly as
Makaveli, was an American rapper
and actor.Shakur has sold over 75
million albums worldwide as of 2010,
making him one of the best-selling
music artists in the world.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was an
early Christian theologian whose
writings were very influential in the
development of Western Christianity
and Western philosophy.