Poetry Unit
Stephen Burt: The Power of Poetry
Maya Angelou: “Still I Rise”
Structure of Poems
Stanza---the division of lines in a
poem
 Quatrain---set of 4 lines per
stanza
 Couplet---pair of rhyming lines
 Rhyme Scheme---pattern of
rhyming words in a poem
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Senses
Reading poetry, one is meant to feel the
words, experience the words, not just
READ the words
 Poetry uses sensory language and poems
often appeal to a person’s senses
 5 senses
sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
William Wordsworth (pg 897)
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What is the rhyme scheme?
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How many lines are in each stanza?
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What senses does the author appeal
to?
Personification
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Giving human qualities to nonhuman objects.
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Tell some examples of
personification from “I Wandered
Lonely as a Cloud”.
Imagery
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Descriptive language used to help the
reader create pictures in the reader’s mind
Onomatopoeia
Words written that imitate sounds
 Example: whoosh, swoosh, whirl,
etc…

Non-sense words

words that the author uses that have
meaning to him, but usually will not be
found in a dictionary.
“Jabberwocky”
Lewis Carroll (pg 400)

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What images come to mind when you read this
poem?
Was onomatopoeia used in the poem? If so,
what words?
Pick 5 nonsense words from the story
Tell what you think the words means using
context clues.
 What are some words that help establish the
author’s tone?

Simile and Metaphor
Simile compares 2 things using
the words “like” or “as”
 Metaphor compares 2 things
without using “like” or “as”

Langston Hughes
and the Harlem Renaissance
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Renaissance means rebirth
Hughes referred to as the
Poet Laureate of the Negro
Race
Harlem became large
cultural area for African
Americans in early 1900s
By 1950s, when Hughes
wrote Dream Deferred, it had
become poverty stricken
“Dream Deferred” & “Dreams”
Langston Hughes
“Dream Deferred” uses ____________
 What does Hughes compare dreams to in
this poem?

“Dreams” uses _______________
 What does Hughes compare dreams to in
this poem?

I, Too
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Read Poem (online)
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/17702
0
Watch video clip---Discovery Education
How does this poem CONTRAST with
“Dream Deferred”?
Do you think Pres. Obama ever had feelings
like the ones expressed in “I, too, sing
America”?
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant
sounds
 Gives emphasis to words, imitates
sounds, or creates musical effects.

“The Eagle”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (pg 906)
Read this poem on your own.
 Write down the rhyme scheme.
 Tell 2 examples of personification?
 Tell an example of alliteration?
 Tell the simile used.

Types of Poems
Lyric
 Narrative
 Dramatic
 Haiku
 Sonnet

Lyric

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Short poem that expresses the author’s
thoughts and feelings about a single
subject
Usually kind of musical or rhythmical
Repetition
Repeated words or phrases
throughout a poem
Look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-8(p. 929)
Listen to “Turn, Turn, Turn” by
The Byrds
In Class Assignment: “Hotel
California” ws
Narrative
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Poem that tells a story
It has plot, characters, setting and a theme
Has a rhythm or a beat
Does not have to rhyme
Centerfield-John Fogerty
Read “Casey at the Bat” pg. 40
Complete “Casey at the Bat” worksheet
Sonnet
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14 line lyric poem (about a single subject)
Contains 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas) and a
couplet (two lines) at the end.
Rhyme scheme is usually
abab cdcd efef gg
Shakespeare wrote many of these
Dramatic
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Similar to a narrative but the speaker is not the
poet.
Often has dramatic monologue
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Speech given by one character that reveals
thoughts and feelings
Can use dialogue---conversation between 2 or
more characters
Read “The Seven Ages of Man” (p. 945)
In your notebooks, answer: How does this cartoon
compare with Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man”?
How are they similar? How are they different?
Haiku

3 line Japanese verse form that is about a
single emotion using images of nature

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1st and 3rd lines of poem have 5 syllables
2nd line has 7 syllables

See p. 956 for examples
Example of Haiku
1 2 3 4 5
Dragonfly catcher,
1
2 3
4 5 6 7
How far have you gone today
1 2 3 4 5
In your wandering?
Review for Final
Know all of the poetry definitions and
the types of poems.
 Be able to apply these to poems.
 As this is the last unit we finished,
there will be many questions about this
on your final exam.

Review the following poems:
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Dreams
Dream Deferred
The Eagle
Jabberwocky
Casey at the Bat
Haikus
Ecclesiastes3:1-8
The Seven Ages of Man