Poetry
Unit
Introduction
GLOSSARY:
Alliteration:
The repetition of beginning consonant sounds (Peter Piper
picked a peck of pickled peppers).
Allusion:
A reference to a person, event, etc., with which the reader is
presumably familiar.
Blank Verse:
Lines of poetry or prose written in unrhymed iambic
pentameter.
Connotation:
The personal and emotional association called up by a word.
Couplet:
A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a
separate stanza in a poem.
Figurative Language:
A form of language used in which writers and speakers intend
something more than the literal meaning of words.
Free verse:
Poetry without regular pattern of meter or rhyme.
Hyperbole:
A figure of speech involving exaggeration.
Iamb:
An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Iambic Pentameter:
A line made up of five iambs. Most of Shakespeare’s verse is
iambic pentameter.
Imagery:
Visual pictures painted through literal or figurative language.
Internal Rhyme
A rhyme within a line of poetry.
(“If Jim swims and if Jim’s slim”)
A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is
meant or what happens and what is expected to happen.
Irony:
Metaphor:
A comparison between essentially unlike things without using
words such as “like” or “as” to designate the comparison.
Meter:
The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in a poem. Also
rhythm. (Simply, the number of syllables in each line)
Narrative poem:
A poem that tells a story.
Narrator:
The voice and implied speaker of a literary work, to be
distinguished from the actual author.
Onomatopoeia:
The use of words that imitate the sounds they describe (snap,
crackle, pop).
Oxymoron:
A figure of speech consisting of two words that seem to
contradict each other (jumbo shrimp).
Personification:
The endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with
animate or living qualities (the sun stroked my face with
warmth).
Refrain:
Repetition of a word or phrase, especially at the end of a stanza
of a poem or verse of a song.
Rhyme:
The matching of final vowel or consonant sounds in two or
more words.
Sarcasm:
A form of verbal irony delivered in a caustic and bitter manner
to belittle or ridicule its subject.
Setting:
The time and place of a story, poem etc.
Sight Rhyme:
Words that look like they rhyme, but in actuality do not
(tough/dough – meat/great/threat – dose/rose/lose).
Slant Rhyme:
Approximate or imperfect rhyme; also called “near rhyme”
(grown/moon; snare/here; home/poem).
Simile:
A figure of speech involving the comparison of unlike things
using “like” or “as” to designate the comparison.
Sonnet:
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter.
Stanza:
A division or unit of a poem that is repeated in the same form.
Structure:
The design or form of a literary work.
Symbol:
An object or action in a literary work that means more than
itself, that stands for something beyond itself.
Synesthesia:
An attempt to fuse different senses by describing one in terms
of another (“I see a voice!”).
Theme:
The main idea or message of the story expressed as a general
statement about life.
Tone:
The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and
materials of a literary work.
Rule #1 of poetry:
POETRY IS WRITTEN TO BE READ ALOUD.
Rule #2 of poetry:
ALL RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN, EXCEPT RULE #1
Poetry is often described as “the exploration of one thought.” Read even a short
poem, however, and you’ll find that it has many nuances, hidden effects and
meanings, even if it’s silly:
The Frog
What a wonderful bird the frog are –
When he sit, he stand almost;
When he hop, he fly almost.
He ain’t got no sense hardly;
He ain’t got no tail hardly either.
When he sit, he sit on what he ain’t got – almost.
Anonymous
Then, of course, there are haikus, which are strictly structured poems consisting
of 17 syllables in 3 verses written in a meter of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
A mocking bird sings
Moonlight silvers cat whiskers
Dozing, she listens
Anonymous
So don’t be discouraged if you don’t “get it” when reading a poem for the first
time. Many of them are short, so read them again. Remember, you didn’t ride a
bike without practicing – poetry may take some getting used to as well.
Line # Meter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
5
7
9
7
9
6
7
7
1
5
5
6
2
5
4
5
Do You Like Fresh Fish?
by Dr. Seuss
Do you like fresh fish?
It’s just fine at Finney’s Diner.
Finney also has some fresher fish
That’s fresher and much finer.
But his best fish is his freshest fish
And Finney says with pride,
“The finest fish at Finney’s
Is my freshest fish, French-fried!”
SO…
Don’t order the fresh
Or the fresher fish.
At Finney’s, if you’re wise,
You’ll say,
“Fetch me the finest
French-fried freshest
Fish that Finney fries!”
Rhyme Scheme
A
B
A
B
A
C
D
C
E
A
F
G
H
H
F
Meter:
When asked about the meter of a poem, usually the reference is only to the first line, 5 in this case,
but if it is inconsistent, the first four lines may be indicated; for example, the meter of this poem is
5, 7, 9, 7.
Rhyme Scheme:
When asked about the rhyme scheme, the first four lines are also usually listed, in this case ABAB.
The prevalent poetic device here is alliteration. Check (√) each line that contains alliteration.
Short quotations of poetry:
When quoting from poems, songs, or plays written in verse, brief quotations (less than 5 lines)
should be part of your paragraph and/or sentence. Use slashes and capitals to indicate where the
lines begin and end in the original piece. The citation for a poem should include the author’s last
name and the line numbers.
Example: Many may argue that “Don’t order the fresh / Or the fresher fish” (Seuss, 10-11) is an
example of slant rhyme, but others will disagree.
Long quotations of poetry:
When quoting 5 or more lines, you should indent 1 inch from the margin, omit quotation marks
and include the author’s last name and the line numbers. Quote exactly, being faithful to the
punctuation and spacing in the original. Use ellipsis (three periods) to indicate words or line
omitted.
Example: The poem’s concluding sentence contains a challenging tongue twister,
At Finney’s, if you’re wise,
You’ll say,
“Fetch me the finest
French-fried freshest
Fish that Finney fries!” (Seuss, 12-17)
This is the type of whimsical, silly stuff that has kept children entertained for decades.
Meter
1
2
3
4
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Rhyme Scheme
A
B
A
B
5
6
7
8
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
C
D
C
D
9
10
11
12
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought -So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
E
F
G
F
13
14
15
16
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
H
I
H
I
17
18
19
20
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
J
K
L
K
21
22
23
24
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
M
N
O
N
25
26
27
28
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
A
B
A
B
1. How many stanzas does Jabberwocky contain?
2. What is the meter of the first stanza?
3. Go through the poem and fill in its rhyme scheme. What is the rhyme scheme
of the first stanza?
4. Circle examples of alliteration.
5. Draw a line connecting 2 words that form an example of sight rhyme.
6. Underline an example of onomatopoeia.
7. How would you describe the tone of this poem?
8. How would you describe the setting?
9. Where does this poem use a refrain?
10. Can you draw any comparisons between the “hero” of Jabberwocky and
Gilgamesh?
She Walks in Beauty Like the Night
a poem by Lord Byron
Rhyme Scheme
1 She walks in beauty, like the night
_____
2 Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
_____
3 And all that's best of dark and bright
_____
4 Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
_____
5 Thus mellowed to that tender light
_____
6 Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
_____
7 One shade the more, one ray the less,
_____
8 Had half impaired the nameless grace
_____
9 Which waves in every raven tress,
_____
10 Or softly lightens o'er her face;
_____
11 Where thoughts serenely sweet express
_____
12 How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
_____
13 And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
_____
14 So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
_____
15 The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
_____
16 But tell of days in goodness spent,
_____
17 A mind at peace with all below,
_____
18 A heart whose love is innocent!
_____
1. How many stanzas is this poem? _______________________________
2. The prevalent poetic device used here is imagery. Underline 4 examples of
imagery and list their line numbers here: ___________________________
3. Underline an example of simile and write its line number here: __________
4. Underline an example of alliteration and write its line number here: ______
5. What is the meter of this poem (beats per line)? ____________________
6. How would you describe the tone of this poem? _____________________
_______________________________________________________
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