Introduction to Poetry
“In a poem the words should be as
pleasing to the ear as the meaning is
to the mind.” -- Marianne Moore
Did you know???
The Human Brain is:
• Divided into 2 parts
• Each half has its own function
Left Brain:
Logic
Reality
Literal
Right Brain:
Creativity
Emotions
Figurative
To clarify . . .
When you
look at
big puffy
clouds . . .
Your right brain
tells you, “Hey!
That one looks
like a bunny.”
While your left brain tells you . . .
It’s a
cloud,
Stupid!
So, which half do you use when
studying poetry?
Here are a few hints:
 Poetry requires creativity
 Poetry requires emotion
 Poetry requires artistic quality
 Poetry requires logic
Everything in a Poem is carefully
chosen.





Form
Structure
Words
Punctuation
Rhyme Scheme

Poetry is not a
random outpouring
of emotion. There
is meaning behind
the poem, there is
structure and there
is purpose.
Poet VS. Speaker


Poet
Writer of the poem


Speaker
Narrator of the poem

AP Likes to attach the
character big ideas to
the
speaker/characters
ins a poem.
Usually not the same person
Traditional VS Organic
 Follows
specific
rules
 Regular pattern
of rhyme, rhythm,
meter
Forms:
Epic, ode, ballad,
sonnet, haiku,
limerick
 No
rules
 No regular
pattern of
rhythm, meter, &
may/may not have
rhyme
Forms
free verse, concrete
poetry
Elements of Poetry
Rhythm
Sound
Imagery
Form
Recognizing devices
in a poem keeps the
left brain busy.
The beat in poetry
o Read out loud to hear it
o “Sing-song” quality (like in nursery rhymes)
o creates mood
o Can match subject of poem
o 7 types
Most Used
•Iambic
•Anapestic
•Trochaic
•Dactylic
Less Common
•Monosyllabic
•Spondaic
•Accentual
Rhythm
 stressed & unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
one syllable is pronounced stronger &one syllable
is softer
Iambic:
Anapestic:
Trochaic:
Dactylic:
te TUM
unstressed
stressed
te te TUM
TUM te
TUM te te
Examples
/
Iamb

U
/
behold, amuse, arise,
awake, return, destroy,
inspire

U
Anapest
U

/
understand, interrupt,
comprehend, contradict,
"get a life"
Trochee
U
happy, hammer,
nugget, double,
injure, roses, beat it,
dental, dinner, chosen,
planet, slacker, doctor

Dactyl
/
U U
strawberry, carefully,
merrily, mannequin,
tenderly, prominent,
bitterly, notable, horrible
 measured in “FEET”
 length of a line in poetry (measured by how many
feet are in it)
 depends on the rhythm used
 1 foot = 1 set of rhythm (set of stressed & unstressed
syllables)
 Example:
Iambic/Trochaic: 1 foot of poetry has 2 syllables
Anapestic/Dactylic: 1 foot of poetry has 3 syllables
Types of Poetic Measurements…
1: Monometer
5: Pentameter
2: Dimeter
6: Hexameter
3: Trimeter
7: Heptameter
4: Tetrameter
8: Octameter
*there is rarely more than 8 feet*
She Walks in Beauty
I.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
˘ ΄ ˘ ΄ ˘ ΄ ˘ ΄
Reading this poem
out loud makes the
rhythm evident.
Which syllables are
more pronounced?
Which are naturally
softer?
II.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Count the syllables in
Had half impaired the nameless grace
each line to
Which waves in every raven tress,
determine the meter.
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
III.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
Examination of this poem
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
reveals that it would be
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
considered iambic tetrameter.
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Sound Devices in Poetry
poems are meant to
be heard
Major Sound Devices
1.
2.
3.
4.
Rhyme
Repetition
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
My Beard
by Shel Silverstein
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
My beard grows to my toes,
I never wears no clothes,
I wraps my hair
o repetition of sounds
Around my bare,
And down the road I goes.
o words end with the same sound
Example: (Hat, cat, bat, splat, chat)
o don’t have to be spelled same way
Example: (Cloud & allowed)
o most common sound device in poetry
oStrengthens form-identify end of line
oDraws attention to words & connects them in
reader’s mind
How to Rhyme…
Different rhyming patterns:
AABB – lines 1 & 2 rhyme and lines 3 & 4 rhyme
 ABAB – lines 1 & 3 rhyme and lines 2 & 4 rhyme
 ABBA – lines 1 & 4 rhyme and lines 2 & 3 rhyme
 ABCB – lines 2 & 4 rhyme and lines 1 & 3 do not
rhyme

First Snow
Snow makes whiteness where it falls.
The bushes look like popcorn balls.
And places where I always play,
Look like somewhere else today.
By Marie Louise Allen
Oodles of Noodles
I love noodles. Give me oodles.
Make a mound up to the sun.
Noodles are my favorite foodles.
I eat noodles by the ton.
By Lucia and James L. Hymes, Jr.
Rhyme
The Alligator
The alligator chased his tail
Which hit him in the snout;
He nibbled, gobbled, swallowed it,
And turned right inside-out.
by Mary Macdonald
From “Bliss”
Let me fetch sticks,
Let me fetch stones,
Throw me your bones,
Teach me your tricks.
By Eleanor Farjeon
Words, phrases, or
lines
o Creates a pattern
o Increases rhythm
o Strengthens feelings, ideas,
and mood
o
Valued Treasue
Time to spend; by Chris R. Carey
Time will eventually
time to mend.
show us the truth.
Time to hate;
Time is a mystery;
time to wait.
time is a measure.
Time is the essence;
Time for us is
time is the key.
valued treasure.
Time will tell us
Time to spend;
what we will be.
time to mend.
Time is the enemy;
Time to cry . . .
time is the proof.
Time to die.
So, which is the repeated key word or phrase?
Valued Treasue
by Chris R. Carey
Time to spend;
Time will eventually
time to mend.
show us the truth.
Time to hate;
Time is a mystery;
time to wait.
time is a measure.
Time is the essence;
Time for us is
time is the key.
valued treasure.
Time will tell us
Time to spend;
what we will be.
time to mend.
Time is the enemy;
Time to cry . . .
time is the proof.
Time to die.
The repetition of one or more
phrases or lines at the end of a
stanza.
• entire stanza is repeated
throughout a poem
• like a chorus of a song
Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my
secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a
fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Remember this
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Look familiar?
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have
wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
...
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman, That is refrain.
That’s me.
The repetition of the initial
• also called “tongue-twisters”
letter
or sound in two or
st
• repetition ofmore
1 words
consonant
sound
in a line.
in words
Ex. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
This Tooth
I jiggled it
jaggled it
jerked it.
I pushed
and pulled
and poked it.
But –
As soon as I stopped,
And left it alone
This tooth came out
On its very own!
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
The snake slithered silently
along the sunny sidewalk.
Let’s see what
this looks like
in a poem we
She Walks in Beauty
I.
are familiar
She walks in beauty, like the night
with.
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
Alliteration
Notice, these examples use the
beginning sounds of words only twice
in a line, but by definition, that’s all you
need.
Alliteration
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
Words that spell out sounds;
words
that sound
like what
o Words that sound
like what
they actually
stand for
they
mean.
o Creates auditory
imagery
oDogs go “ruff,” cats go “purr,” thunder “booms,”
rain “drips,” and clocks go “tick-tock”
More examples: growl, hiss, pop, boom, crack, ptthhhbbb.
Let’s see what
this looks like in
a poem we are
not so familiar
with yet.
Onomatopoeia
Noise Day
by Shel Silverstein
Let’s have one day for girls and boyses
When you can make the grandest noises.
Screech, scream, holler, and yell –
Buzz a buzzer, clang a bell,
Sneeze – hiccup – whistle – shout,
Laugh until your lungs wear out,
Toot a whistle, kick a can,
Several other
words not
highlighted could
also be considered
as onomatopoeia.
Can you find any?
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 . . ..
More Sound Devices
Assonance
–
Consonance –
repetition of
repetition of
vowels in words consonants at the
end of words
that don’t end
Ex. (sharp, trap)
with same
Cacophony – harsh
consonant
mixture
of
sounds
Ex. (deep, deer)
Ex. (alarm bells, traffic)




Words/descriptions that create pictures/images
in reader’s mind
appeals to 5 senses: smell, sight, hearing, taste
& touch
details about smells, sounds, colors, taste,
textures create strong (vivid) images
figures of speech also create vivid images
Five Senses
Example:
The warm, buttery biscuit
melted on my tongue.
Figurative Language
 creates
images,
“paints pictures,”
in your mind
Similes
Metaphors
Hyperbole
Personification
 compares 2 things using
 creates vivid images
“like” or “as”
Examples:
Joe is as hungry as a bear.
In the morning, Rae is like an angry lion.
Ask:
1. What two things are being compared?
2. How are they similar?
The runner streaked like a cheetah.
Let’s see what
this looks like in
a poem.
Flint
An emerald is as green as grass, Simile
A ruby red as blood;
Simile
A sapphire shines as blue as Simile
heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.
A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world’s desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds fire.
By Christina Rosetti





compares 2 things without “like” or “as”
the thing being compared “is” the thing it is
being compared to
gives qualities of one thing to something
completely different
an entire poem can be a metaphor for something
little metaphors can be found throughout a poem
Examples:
Lenny is a snake.
Ginny is a mouse when it comes to
standing up for herself.
The winter wind is a
wolf howling at the door.
Ask:
1. What two things are being compared?
2. How are they similar?
The Night is a Big Black Cat
The Night is a big black cat Metaphor
The moon is her topaz eye, Metaphor
The stars are the mice she hunts at night,
In the field of the sultry sky.
By G. Orr Clark
An exaggeration for emphasis
Examples:
I may sweat to death.
The blood bank needs a river of blood.
gives human qualities & feelings to inanimate
objects (like animals, ideas, objects)
Example:
I could not find the book; it walked away.
The clock stared at me in the darkness.
From “Mister Sun”
Mister Sun
Wakes up at dawn,
Puts his golden
Slippers on,
Climbs the summer
Sky at noon,
Trading places
With the moon.
by J. Patrick Lewis
The moon smiled down at me.
Word, image, or color representing
something other than what is literally
shown
Examples:
Dark/black images often symbolize death.
Light/white images often symbolize life.
 refers to another piece of literature, history,
famous person, song, movie, character, etc.
 3 most common types refer to:
mythology, Shakespeare’s writings, the Bible
Example: “She hath Dian’s wit” (from Romeo and Juliet).
This is an allusion to Roman mythology & the goddess Diana.
 specific,
detailed, descriptive
words/phrases a poet chooses to use
 High/formal: technical words/SAT
Always consider connotation
words
(the feelings/associations) a word
 Low/informal: slang has
Positive , Negative , Neutral =
Example:
1. Rock formation: stone, boulder, outcropping,
pile of rocks, cairn, mound, "anomalous
geological feature“
2. Skinny: fit, slender, boney
many forms of poetry including the:







Couplet
Tercet
Cinquain
Haiku
Lyric
Narrative
Free Verse
Poem/stanza written
 poem/stanza
in 3 lines
written in 2 lines  Usually rhymes
 Lines 1 & 2 rhyme; or
 Usually rhymes
lines 1 & 3 rhyme; or
all 3 lines rhyme.

The Jellyfish
Winter Moon
Who wants my jellyfish?
How thin and sharp is the moon tonight!
I’m not sellyfish!
How thin and sharp and ghostly white
By Ogden Nash
Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight!
By Langston Hughes
 Poem/stanza
with 4
lines
 most common form of
stanza in poetry
 Usually rhymes
 Uses variety of rhyming
patterns
The Lizard
poem with 5 lines
 Don’t rhyme
 five lines with 22
syllables:

Line 1 – 2 syllables
Line 2 – 4 syllables
Line 3 – 6 syllables
Line 4 – 8 syllables
Line 5 – 2 syllables
Oh, cat
The lizard is a timid thing
are you grinning
That cannot dance or fly or sing;
curled in the window seat
He hunts for bugs beneath the floor
as sun warms you this December
And longs to be a dinosaur.
morning?
By John Gardner
By Paul B. Janezco





Japanese poem
3 lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables (17 syllables)
Don’t rhyme
About something in nature/the seasons
Captures moment in time
Little frog among
rain-shaken leaves, are you, too,
splashed with fresh, green paint?
by Gaki





19 line poem
2 repeating rhymes
2 repeating refrains
5 tercets
ends with quartet
1st & 3rd lines of
opening tercet
repeat alternately in
last lines of other
stanzas
 refrain is the two
concluding lines of
last stanza

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That GoodWild men who caught and sang the
sun in flight,
Night”
And learn, too late, they grieved it
Dylan Thomas
on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good Do not go gentle into that good
night,
night.
Old age should burn and rave at
close of day;
Grave men, near death, who see
with blinding sight
Rage, rage against the dying of
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors
the light.
and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the
Though wise men at their end
light.
know dark is right,
Because their words had forked noAnd you, my father, there on the
lightning they
sad height,
Do not go gentle into that good Curse, bless, me now with your
night.
fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good
night.
Good men, the last wave by,
Rage, rage against the dying of the
crying how bright
Short, songlike poems
 express thoughts & feelings  Tell story
 don’t tell a story
 uses poetic
 addresses reader directly
elements
 Sonnets,
 Includes
Odes (celebrate/honor),
character, setting,
Elegies (funeral, loss, death)
conflict, plot
Dramatic monologue


Epics, ballads,
idylls
 Different
types
 Shakespearean
 Easiest rhyme scheme
 3 quatrains alternating rhyme & a
couplet:
abab
cdcd
efef
gg
Sonnet 18 - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
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 owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Where is the
turn in
rhyme?
"The Broken-Legg'd Man" by John Mackey Shaw
I saw the other day when I went shopping in the store
A man I hadn't ever, ever seen in there before,
A man whose leg was broken and who leaned upon a crutchI asked him very kindly if it hurt him very much.
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
I ran around behind him for I thought that I would see
The broken leg all bandaged up and bent back at the knee;
But I didn't see the leg at all, there wasn't any there,
So I asked him very kindly if he had it hid somewhere.
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
"Then where," I asked him, "is it? Did a tiger bite it off?
Or did you get your foot wet when you had a nasty cough?
Did someone jump down on your leg when it was very new?
Or did you simply cut it off because you wanted to?"
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
"What was it then?" I asked him, and this is what he said:
"I crossed a busy crossing when the traffic light was red;
A big black car came whizzing by and knocked me off my feet."
"Of course you looked both ways," I said, "before you crossed the street."
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
"They rushed me to the hospital right quickly, "he went on,
"And when I woke in nice white sheets I saw my leg was gone;
That's why you see me walking now on nothing but a crutch."
"I'm glad," said I, "you told me, and I thank you very much!"
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
No rules
Almost anything goes.
Uses devices
Doesn’t follow traditional conventions:
punctuation, capitalization, rhyme scheme, rhythm and meter
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then, moves on.
No Rhyme
No Rhythm
No Meter
This is
free verse.