What is Poetry?
Class Definition of Poetry
Sons of Poetry
• Link for Sons of Poetry
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmICU1g
MAAw
Appreciating Poetry
What makes a song unforgettable? Perhaps
it is the rhythm of the music or the catchy lyrics.
A song might also speak to you because it
reminds you of something in your own life. Like
a song, a poem can capture your imagination
with what it says and how it sounds.
Song or Poem …
Could it Be Both?
Listen to Adele’s song: “Set Fire to the Rain”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlsBObg-1BQ
Class Discussion: How is this song poetic? What
poetic elements are included? How does this
song speak to you? Can you relate in any way?
Poetic Form
• How does a poem speak to you from the
page? Aside from its unique sound, a poem
also conveys meaning through its form and its
speaker.
• FORM is the way a poem’s words and lines are
laid out on the page. Lines may or may not be
complete sentences and can vary in length.
Poetic Form:
• I let it fall, my heart,
And as it fell you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me
My hands, they're strong
But my knees were far too weak,
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet
But there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew.
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true,
And the games you play
You would always win, always win.
•
Class Discussion: Using the definition below, discuss the form of the poem. Are all of the lines
complete sentences? Discuss the use of white space left from the shorter sentences. What is the
purpose?
•
FORM is the way a poem’s words and lines are laid out on the page. Lines may or may not be
complete sentences and can vary in length.
•
Poetic Form: Speaker
A poem’s personality depends on its
speaker as well as its form. The speaker in a
poem is the voice that talks to the reader. The
speaker may be the poet, or it may be a
character created by the poet .
Who is the speaker in Adele’s song? Is it
Adele or a character she created?
Poetic Form:Lines/Stanza
• In some poems, the lines are arranged into groups, called
stanzas. Each stanza helps to convey a poem’s overall
message. The end of a stanza signifies the end of one
thought.
• For example:
But there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew.
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true,
And the games you play
You would always win, always win.
How is a stanza like a paragraph in an essay? Why is it important
that all of these lines read together? What is the main idea or
overall message of this stanza?
Poetic Form: Traditional Vs.
Free Verse
Some poems have traditional, or
structured forms. Traditional poems follow
fixed rules; for instance, they might have a
certain number of lines or a repeating pattern
of rhythm or rhyme. Poems that do not follow
set rules are called free verse.
Poetic Form: Free Verse
The following poem “Street Corner Flight” by
Norma Flores is written in free verse. Because it
has no regular pattern of rhythm or rhyme, the
poem sounds like everyday speech.
From this side …
of their concrete barrio
two small boys hold
fat white pigeons
trapped in their trembling hands.
Then gently,
not disturbing
their powers of flight,
release them
Into the air.
Types of Poems
• There are many different types of poems, but for this unit
we will be studying the following:
• -Narrative (concentrating on historical context)
• -Lyric
• -Diamante
• -Cinquain
• -Haiku (traditional Japanese)
• -Sonnet
• -Limerick
• -Ballad
• -Epic
• -Ode
Types of Poetry: Narrative
1. Narrative poem – a poem that tells a story.
Example: “Little Orphan Annie” by James Whitcomb Riley
Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay.
To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.
To shoo the chickens from the porch/dust the hearth and sweep,
And make the fire/bake the bread to earn her board and keep.
While all us other children, when the supper things is done,
We sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,
A listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about
And the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!
Types of Poetry: Lyric Poetry
2. Lyric – a short poem in which a single speaker
expresses personal thoughts and feelings.
Lyric poems cover many subjects, from love
and death to everyday experiences.
For example:
I thought the earth
remembered me, she
took me back so tenderly, arranging
her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
Types of Poetry: Diamante
3. Diamante - A diamante is a seven line poem,
shaped like a diamond that describes opposites.
square
symmetrical, conventional
shaping, measuring, balancing
boxes, rooms, clocks, halos
circling, turning, orbiting
round, continuous
circle
Diamante Format
• Line 1: one word
(subject/noun that is contrasting to line 7)
• Line 2: two words
(adjectives) that describe line 1
• Line 3: three words
(action verbs) that relate to line 1
• Line 4: four words (nouns)
first 2 words relate to line 1; last 2 words relate to line 7
• Line 5: three words
(action verbs) that relate to line 7
• Line 6: two words
(adjectives) that describe line 7
• Line 7: one word
( subject/noun that is contrasting to line 1)
Types of Poetry: Cinquain
5. Cinquain - A five line poem which consists of 1
noun, 2 adjectives, 3 “ing” words, 4 feeling words,
and a synonym for the noun.
The first line is just one word, which is often the
title of the poem. The second line has two words
which describe the first line. The third line has
three words, and is mostly the action part of the
poem. The fourth line is four words describing the
feelings. And the fifth line, again, has just one word
which is the title of the poem.
Cinquain Pattern
•
•
•
•
•
Line1: A noun
Line2: Two adjectives
Line 3: Three -ing words
Line 4: A phrase
Line 5: Another word for the noun
Cinquain Example
Knights
Armour ,shields
Fighting, charging, slaughtering
Worried, delighted, brave, fearsome
Crusaders
Types of Poetry: Haiku
4. Haiku – a form of poetry that originated hundreds
of years ago in Japan. In a haiku, poets seek to
create a clear picture with few words. A haiku
centers on a symbol that instantly reminds its
reader of a season. You must use symbols and
imagery and pay attention to syllables and line
count.
The entire poem consists of just 17 syllables
arranged in three lines. The first and third lines
each contain five syllables, and the second line has
7 syllables.
Haiku Example
On sweet plum blossoms
The sun rises suddenly.
Look, a mountain path!
Types of Poetry: Sonnet
6. Sonnet- This type of poem contains
fourteen lines, each line containing ten
syllables, and follows the traditional rhyme
scheme.
Read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 while listening
to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Osse7w9fs&list=RDhrFyvB6N
mpcle
Sonnet 18
• 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 dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Sonnet 18 Paraphrase
SONNET 18 PARAPHRASE
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: You are more lovely and more constant:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: And summer is far too short:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, At times the sun is too hot,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; Or often goes behind the clouds;
And every fair from fair sometime declines, And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; By misfortune or by nature's planned out course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade But your youth shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, Nor will death claim you for his own,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; Because in my eternal verse you will live forever.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long as there are people on this earth,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee. So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.
Types of Poetry: Limerick
7. Limerick - The standard form is a stanza
of five lines, with the first, second and
fifth usually rhyming with one another.
The first line traditionally introduces a
person and a place, with the place
appearing at the end of the first line and
establishing the rhyme scheme for the
second and fifth lines.
Limerick Example
There was a young person of Smyrna (Smurna)
Whose grandmother threatened to burn her;
But she seized on the cat,
and said, “Granny, burn that!
You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!”
Listen to the Limerick Song:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Limerick+song&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=04
A2F3A4FE196D8E605E04A2F3A4FE196D8E605E
Types of Poetry: Ballad
8. Ballad - a narrative folk song or poem.
Its distinctive style began in Europe in the late Middle
Ages as part of the oral tradition, and it has been
preserved as a musical and literary form. The folk
ballad typically tells a compact tale with deliberate
starkness, using devices such as repetition to heighten
effects.
Turn to page 638 in lit. book and read “Boots of Spanish
Leather.”
Listen to Bob Dylan singing the folk song:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+Boots+of+Spanish+Leather+Son
g&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=BE4005676A94CCAFA740BE4005676A94C
CAFA740
Did listening to the song help you to understand the poem any better? Does it
give density to the poem?
Types of Poetry: Epic
• A very long narrative poem about a hero with
superhuman abilities who goes through trials to
overcome some obstacle.
• Example: “The Song of Hiawatha” p. 640 Lit.
• Listen to song:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Song+Of+Hiawatha+1997&Form=VQFRVP#view
=detail&mid=5E390FF55E6680A595615E390FF55E6680A59561
•
•
Pay attention to the rhythm and meter. Hint: Drum it out on your desk.
In what way does the rhythm Longfellow uses relate to the musical culture of
Native Americans?
Types of Poetry: Ode
• A lengthy lyrical poem, usually rhymed, praising
an object, person, or quality. Greek odes were
originally poetic pieces accompanied by
symphonic orchestras.
• Form groups of two – four and read the poem
paraphrasing each stanza. Pay attention to word
choice and discuss in relation to the theme. How
can you identify this poem as an ode? (handout)
• “Ode on Solitude” by Alexander Pope on p. 622 in literature
book. ‘O Captain, My Captain is also an example of an Ode.
Poetic Devices
• There are a multitude of poetic devices, but
for this unit we will concentrate on the three
categories below:
• Sound Devices
• Figurative Language
• Word Choice / Imagery
Poetic Devices: Sound
Alliteration/Assonance
1. Alliteration – repetition of beginning
consonant sounds.
Example: fabulous feast, big bad bear, lazy
lizard.
2. Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds
Example: “e” sound in “can ever dissever
Poetic Devices: Sound Onomatopoeia
3. Onomatopoeia – words whose sounds
resemble that which is being described.
Example: “hiss,” “tinkle,” “boom.”
Poetic Devices: Sound –
Rhythm and Rhyme
4. Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in
each line.
• Example: p. 578 – “Afternoon on a Hill”
5. Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words.
• Example: p. 578 - sun and one.
6. Rhyme Scheme is the pattern that the end rhyming words
follow. To identify rhyme scheme, assign a letter to each new
sound.
For example, the stanza "The cat spilled milk/all over my
shirt/which happened to be silk/my feelings are hurt" would be
labeled ABAB.
Poetic Device: Sound Repetition
7. Repetition – the use of a word, phrase, line, or
sound more than once.
• Example:
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
Poetic Devices: Figurative
Language - Metaphor
1. Metaphor – compares two unlike things
without using the word like or as.
Example: The stars were torches in the night.
The stars are being compared to torches
because of the way they light up the night.
Poetic Devices: Figurative
Language - Simile
2. Simile – compares two unlike things using the
word like or as.
Example:
The stars flamed like torches.
The stars are compared to torches using “like.”
Poetic Device: Figurative
Language: Personification
3. Personification – gives human qualities to an
animal, an object, or an idea.
Example: Whispering trees, or angrily
marching ants
Poetic Device: Symbol
4. Symbol- the use of something to stand for or
represent something else
• Examples: flag— symbol of freedom; wedding
ring— symbol of marriage
Poetic Device: Imagery
9. Imagery – consists of words and phrases that
appeal to your senses of sight, hearing, smell,
taste, and touch.
Poets use imagery not only to vividly describe
things, but also to communicate feelings and
ideas.
Imagery Example
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, un-helped by any breeze.
The images “palm of the night” and “soft rain”
appeal to your senses of sight and touch.
These phrases also suggest a sense of troubled
thoughtfulness and perhaps a feeling of
change.