Unit Goal: Students will be able to understand and evaluate poetry through the use of poetic devices

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

POET SPEAKER
 The poet is the author of the poem.
 The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem.

 FORM - the appearance of the words on the page
 LINE - a group of words together on one line of the poem
 STANZA - a group of lines arranged together
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

 The beat created by the sounds of the words in a poem
 Rhythm can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration and refrain.

 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

 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 .

 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

 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

 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.)

The Germ by Ogden Nash
A mighty creature is the g erm ,
Though smaller than the pachyd erm .
His customary dwelling pl ace
Is deep within the human r ace .
His childish pride he often pl eases
By giving people strange dis eases .
Do you, my poppet, feel inf irm ?
You probably contain a g erm .
c a b c a a a b

 Words that imitate the sound they are naming
BUZZ
 OR sounds that imitate another sound
“The s ilken, s ad, un c ertain, ru s tling of each purple curtain . . .”

 Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words
If P eter P iper p icked a p eck of p ickled p eppers, how many p ickled p eppers did
P eter P iper p ick?

 Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or lines of poetry.
(Often creates near rhyme.)
Lake Fate Base Fade
(All share the long “a” sound.)

Examples of ASSONANCE:
“Slow the low gradual moan came in the snowing.”
John Masefield
“Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep.”
- William Shakespeare

 A sound, word, phrase or line repeated regularly in a poem.
“Quoth the raven,
‘Nevermore.’”

 Repeating sounds, words, phrases, or lines
 Repetition helps to unify poetry
 Repetition reinforces the rhythm of a poem
 Repetition adds emphasis from “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.

 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”

 In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.
Poetry
Is like
Flames,
Which are
Swift and elusive
Dodging realization
Sparks, like words on the
Paper, leap and dance in the
Flickering firelight. The fiery
Tongues, formless and shifting
Shapes, tease the imagination.
Yet for those who see,
Through their mind’s
Eye, they burn
Up the page.

 An epic poem is a long poem narrating the heroic exploits of an individual in a way central to the beliefs and culture of a society.
 Typical elements include fabulous adventures, superhuman deeds, elevated language, and a mythical setting.
 Example: The Odyssey

 A comparison of two things using “like, as than,” or “resembles.”
 “She is as beautiful as a sunrise.”

 A direct comparison of two unlike things
 “All the world’s a stage, and we are merely players.”
- William Shakespeare

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

 Exaggeration often used for emphasis.

 Understatement - basically the opposite of hyperbole. Often it is ironic.
 Ex. Calling a slow moving person “Speedy”

 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.

 An animal given humanlike 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.

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

 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”

 A speaker’s tone gives the reader an idea about how the speaker feels about a certain subject.
Amused
Tone Words irritated
Appreciative mocking cold bitter
Calm
Complimentary accusing scornful outraged
Consoling insulting
Energetic comical
Hopeful
Joyful confused serious snooty aggravated nervous concerned
Peaceful
Playful
Relaxed
Accusing melancholy upset patriotic dramatic sentimental admiring baffled factual

 Mood is the atmosphere that a poet creates to play on the reader’s imagination and emotion through the use of descriptive adverbs and adjectives.
 What is the mood of the example poem?
from The Fire Soul by George Charles Selden
I sat by my fire in the night, in the night,
The darkness grew deeper around me,
The last faint gleams of the flickering light
Faded out of my sight, into night, into night,
And the spell of revery bound me.
When sudden I saw in the vanishing light
A phantom hovering o’er me;
It wavered an instant in its flight;-
Then faded from sight, into night, into night,
And left but the darkness before me.

T
Strategy for Poetry Analysis
Title
O Own Words
A Analyze poetic devices
Consider the title and what it could mean for the poem. What do you think the poem is about based on the title?
In your own words, paraphrase the poem is about. Consider who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and whether there is an occasion for the poem.
Note poetic devices like imagery, figures of speech like similes, metaphors, personification, and symbols. Also note sound devices like alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, and rhyme
S Shifts
T Tone
Identify shifts (changes) in perspective by looking for key words
(but, yet, however, although), stanza divisions, and changes in line or stanza length
LIDDS – language, images, details, diction, sentence structure (helps to assess the author’s attitude, as well as the mood created by the reader)
T Title (again) Consider the title again. What does it now reveal about the poem?
T Theme What is the human experience or condition put forth by the poem? Consider what is taking place.

My Papa’s Waltz
T - Title
My Papa’s Waltz
My thoughts on the title…
 The title implies that the narrator will reflect on a dance, waltz, that either his or her father or grandfather does. Perhaps this dance is special because it is a fond childhood memory.

O
My Papa’s Waltz
Stanza 1
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
 Regardless of the whiskey smell of papa’s breath, the speaker hung on and danced along.

O
My Papa’s Waltz
Stanza 2
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The dance was rowdy and playful, so much so that they rattled the pans.
The mother, however, was unhappy about the scene in her kitchen.

O
My Papa’s Waltz
Stanza 3
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
 As the father and child danced hand in hand, the child noticed that the father’s hand was worn (probably by hard work or living); when the father stumbled, the child’s ear hit the father’s belt buckle.

O
My Papa’s Waltz
Stanza 4
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
 As they danced, the father, who had not cleaned up after work
(or going out to a bar), kept a beat by tapping the child’s head; they danced, regardless of physical difficulty, all the way to the child’s bedroom.

A
 Sensory images are used throughout the poem to bring reality to the scene and to reveal the loving relationship between father and child.
 Smell – “whiskey on your breath”
 Sight – “unfrown,”
“hand…battered on one knuckle,” “palm caked by dirt”
 Touch – “hung on like death,” “hand held wrist,”
“right ear scraped buckle,”
“beat time on head,”
“clinging to your shirt.”

A
 Rhyme Scheme – This poem has an ABAB rhyme scheme; stanza
1 – breath, dizzy, death, easy.
 Simile – “hung on like death”
Dizzy and easy are examples of slant or near rhyme.
This simile shows the tight grip the child had so that he and his father could dance. The emphasis is on the importance of the ritual and relationship.

S
 While there is no distinct shift in attitude in the poem, there is a change in the child’s attitude about his mother and father. He excuses his father’s tipsy state while he disapproves of his mother’s frown.
 He “hung on like death” until they
“waltzed off to bed” which shows a bond, while he views his mother more harshly by stating “mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself.”

S
 There are four stanzas in this “My Papa’s
Waltz” each containing four lines.

T
 Language and images show a sense of tenderness and love between father and child; however, the images for some might be troubling since the father is clumsy due to drinking, which in reality could have been painful.
 “hung on,” “clinging to,” “we romped”
 “whiskey on breath”,”
“every step you missed,” “ear scraped buckle”

T
 The speaker’s attitude is one of love for his father. It is obvious that he enjoys this playful ritual.
 Sentence Structure and rhythm – there is a playful, steady rhythm that makes this poem enjoyable.
 “beat time on my head,” “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”

T
 The word “My” in My Papa’s Waltz stands out after reading the poem. The child is proud of his dad and the bond that they have.
 My initial thoughts on the title were relatively accurate in that I predicted that this would be about a special dance between father and child.

T
 The universal theme of this poem could be that parent and child bonds are important and create lasting memories.