POETRY IN MOTION
Poetry is found everywhere in our lives. It serves as
the basis for everyday things, such as the lyrics in
the music that we listen to. It is a kind of creative
outlet used to express emotions that we might not be
able to otherwise. Language in poetry is carefully
chosen to evoke specific emotions within the reader,
and make him or her feel a certain way. Most
importantly, poetry allows the author to choose
words, that upon first glance, can appear to have
one meaning, but once reread, can have a meaning
that is much deeper.
Selected Poems
Click on the poem title to read each poem
1. “One Perfect Rose”
2. “ Fifteen”
3. “Confused”
4. “ Noise Day”
5. “Road Not Taken”
6. “Crimson Dawn”
7. “Dreams”
One Perfect Rose
by Dorothy Parker
A single flow’r he sent me since we met
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure with scented dew still wet
One perfect rose.
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words to learn more!
I knew the language of the floweret;
“My fragile leaves,” it said’ “his heart enclose.”
Love long has taken from his amulet
One perfect rose
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it’s always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
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Rhyme
A similarity of sounds of two or more
words, esp. at the ends of lines of poetry
The use of rhyme adds rhythm to the
poem , and it adds to the humor that
is intended.
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Use of sensory images
Of or pertaining to the senses
The use of sensory images in the
poem implies that the speaker
holds the key to his heart.
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Ends on a sarcastic note
The use of keenly ironic or
scornful remarks- dry humor
Sarcasm is used as an end note to show
the speaker’s dissatisfaction with what
she has been given- just one perfect
rose.
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Fifteen
By William Stafford
South of the Bridge on Seventeenth
I found back of the willows one summer
day a motorcycle with engine running
As it lay on its side, ticking over
slowly in the high grass. I was fifteen.
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I admired all the pulsing gleam, the
Shiny flanks, the demure headlights
Fringed where it lay; I led it gently
to the road and stood with that
Companion, ready friendly. I was fifteen.
We could find the end of the road, meet
The sky on out Seventeenth. I thought about
Hills, and patting the handle go back a
Confident opinion. On the bridge we indulges a forward feeling,
a tremble. I was fifteen.
Thinking, back farther in the grass I found the owner, just coming to,
Where he had flipped over th rail. He had blood on his hand, was paleI helped him walk to his machine. He ran his hand
Over it, called me good man, roared away.
I stood there, fifteen
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Repetition
Ideas or elements that recur
throughout the poem.
The narrator uses the phrase “I was fifteen”
to emphasize the point that he was so young,
but was still able to give help to those in
need.
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Ironic Twist
The opposite of what you expect
occurs in the poem
The narrator of “Fifteen” is only fifteen years old,
and perhaps not mature enough to handle the
situation he is in, however, the owner of the
motorcycle calls him “ good man”.
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Personification
Giving human qualities to an
inanimate object.
The narrator describes the motorcycle
with words such as “demure” that could
be used to describe a person.
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Dreams
By Langston Hughes
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words to learn more!
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
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Metaphors
The comparison of two things in
a word or phrase without like or
as
The author uses the comparison of
life without dreams to a brokenwinged bird and a barren field.
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Noise Day
By Shel Silverstein
Let’s have one day for girls and boyes
When you can make the grandiest noises.
Screech, scream, holler, and yellBuzz a buzzer, clang a bell,
Sneeze-hiccup-whistle- shout.
Laugh until your lungs wear out.
Toot a whistle, kick a can.
Bang a spoon against a pan.
Sing, yodel, bellow, hum,
Blow a horn, beat a drum,
Rattle a window, slam a door,
Scrape a rake across the floor,
Use a drill, drive a nail,
Turn the hose on the garage pail,
Shout Yahoo- Hurrah-Hooray,
Turn up the music all the way,
Try and bounce your bowling ball,
Ride a skateboard to the wall,
Chomp your food with a smack and a slurp,
Chew-chomp-hiccup-burp.
One day a year do all these things,
The rest of the days-be quiet please.
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words to learn more!
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Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word by
imitation of the natural sound
associated with the object
involved.
When you hear the word it reminds
you of the sound it’s imitating.
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Rhythm
The flow or movement
characterized by regular
occurrences as a specific beat
It is more appealing to the reader
especially when it seems musical
with the use of rhyming.
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The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the under growth;
Then took the other, just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Thought as for that, the passing there
Has worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In the leaves no step has trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first foe another day!
Yet knowing how way leads onto way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and II took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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words to learn more!
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poem list
Symbolism
The representation of things by use of
symbols- something that stands for
something else.
The roads are representative of his
decisions in life and what will happen
to him when he chooses one to travel.
He wishes he could see what the
outcome would be of both roads
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Has a Theme
A recurring, unifying subject or idea
The poem is comparing our
decisions in life to roads that is
occurring over and over
throughout the poem.
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The Crimson Dawn
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
The point of one white star is quivering still
Deep in the orange light of widening morn
Beyond the purple mountains: thro; a chasm
Of wind-divided mist the darker lake
Reflects it: now it wanes: it gleams again
As the waves fade, and as the burning threads
Of woven cloud unravel in pale air:
‘Tis lost! And thro; yon peaks of cloudlike snow
The roseate sunlight quivers: hear I not
The Aeolian music of her sea-queen plumes
Winnowing the crimson dawn?
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words to learn more!
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poem list
Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives make the poem
more appealing to the reader.
Descriptive adjectives are used in a poem
to give a more exact picture in the
readers mind. In “Crimson Dawn” Shelley
explains mist being ‘divided’ by the wind,
and the ‘woven’ clouds being unraveled.
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Oxymoron
Words with opposite meanings are
combined for example bittersweet.
An oxymoron uses opposite meaning
words to convey something kind of
impossible. In “Crimson Dawn”, Shelley
uses an oxymoron “quivering still”
speaking of the stars.
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Poetry is a way to express how we feel and
even what we wish to accomplish. Poetry is
written all over the world in every different
language about anything the writer may feel or
think about. Poems use many devices such as
sensory images, repetition, and the use of
metaphors. Poetry allows the author to put
into words how they feel and think on any
subject they choose. Poetry is everywhere and
about everything imaginable. Poetry is who we
are and a way to express ourselves.
Confused
My knees start to shake,
When you’re in sight.
My mind is filled with wonder,
My heart with fright.
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When will this feeling stop?
When did it start? How can I listen to my mind,
Without breaking my heart?
I’m so confused.
What should I do?
I can’t think of anything,
Except you.
Should I ignore you,
Or just give it time?
I can’t think straight,
My heart controls my mind.
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Poses a Question
The reader is able to answer the
question for themselves based on
previous experiences.
The author of the poem “confused” asks the
reader a question so that the reader will think in
depth about what they are saying.
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Displays and evokes emotion
Calls forth emotion; the reader is
able to relate to the poem and the
emotions expressed by the author.
The author of “Confused” expressed their
emotions in such a way that helps you to
understand and relate to their feelings.
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