Poetry is one of the four major genres, or categories, of literature. The four major genres are: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama. Writing poetry is the ultimate exercise in descriptive writing and word choice. Play with language Express feelings Explore ideas Discover the extraordinary in the ordinary things around us. ◦ In the end, poetry should make you feel and think. ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ To be a poet, you must see the world around you differently. You must look beyond the literal and embrace figurative language. The study of poetry improves your command of spoken and written language in FOUR ways: 1. Poetry study is a powerful way of mastering language - improving your command of spoken and written language. Poetry provides powerful images and ideas. 2. Poetry study is a way of training and developing our EMOTIONAL intelligence. Poetry reveals how language communicates feeling through images and associations – figurative language. 3. We realize that HOW something is said is an essential part of what is actually being said. Tone, inflection and rhythm carry real meaning. 4. Poetry study enlarges our humanity and give us the power to express it. Our experience is widened, allowing us to see the world through the eyes of other people and other ages. The study of poetry will help us make those text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections! Poetry will help us with an understanding of important life events like: Love and Desire Earth and Death Loneliness and Loss Literature prepares us imaginatively and spiritually for our journey through life. Helps develop an inner life capable of facing, comprehending, and mastering our external life. Mastering poetry will help you with: Language Perception Communication Compassion As we study our place in the universe through our science connections in our astronomy unit, we must look deep within to really know who we are and where we are going. http://science.howstuffworks.com/enlargeimage.htm?terms=space+station&page=0 Poetry is speech raised to its highest intensity; a way of using words in the most moving and memorable way possible. Poetry is about memory and improvisation – just like a rap star! Shakespeare and Frost and 2Pac? -- yes!! Poetry is about the wonder of our language through written word, speech and songs. Pick a word – any word Write the word in capital letters on the first line. Find three to five synonyms in a thesaurus. Write the synonyms on the second line. On the third line, write a descriptive phrase about the word. The last two lines of the poem should rhyme. LOVE Attachment, warmth, adore Love is pure, down to the core. By K. Brantley, Grade 10 SORRY Regretful, sympathetic, deplorable What I said made me feel horrible. By D. Shortell, Grade 7 MUSIC Melody, tune, song, beat You just can’t help but tap your feet. By S.Doelger, Grade 7 DIAMONTE: a seven-lined, diamondshaped poem that begins with one subject and ends with its opposite. Specific parts of speech are used to create the poem. What are the eight parts of speech and what do they do? ◦ Noun: person, place, thing, or idea ◦ Pronoun: replaces a noun or another pronoun. Examples: “He," "which," "none," and "you" make your phrases less repetitive. ◦ Adjective: describes a noun ◦ Verb: action word ◦ Adverb: describes a verb or another adverb ◦ Conjunction: combines words, phrases ◦ Interjection: word or phrase that shows excitement or emotion – ugh! Oh! ◦ Preposition: indicates position or relationship subject/noun adjective -ing verb noun adjective -ing verb noun -ing verb -ing verb noun -ing verb adjective -ing verb adjective subject/opposite of top subject noun Winter cold, icy freezing, frosting, snowing blizzards, flurries sunshine, sprinklers, melting, sweltering, sweating, warm, heat Summer. CINQUAIN: a five-line poem that follows the pattern of (1,2,3,4,1) words in each line. ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Line Line Line Line Line 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: A subject/noun Two adjectives Three verbs Four-word phrase, statement, or feeling Repeated subject or synonym Hatred Deadly, destructive Stirs, simmers, scalds More fatal than flames Rancor Ocean Salty, immense Sprays, churns, moves Darker than any black Water By D. Mitchell, Grade 7 HAIKU: an ancient Japanese poetic form that contains 17 syllables in three lines of (5, 7, 5) syllables each. Nature’s wonder is often the haiku’s theme. ◦ Line 1: 5 syllables ◦ Line 2: 7 syllables ◦ Line 3: 5 syllables One man and one fly buzzing alone together in a sunny room… By K. Issa Student, West Hartford Get out of my road and allow me to plant these bamboos, Mr. Toad. By M. Chora It comes out after all the rain has fallen down. Rainbow is its name. By C. Brooks, Grade 7 Walking on the beach, the sand creeps between my feet. Ouch! A crab bit me. By J. Moss, Grade 7 Literary Devices or Figurative Language Candles cry wax tears. Cats tango in the streets I called out to the ocean, and she waved back to me. ◦ Can these objects actually do these things? ◦ Which literary device (figurative language) type is used here? PERSONIFICATION: a literary device used to give human traits to places, objects, animals, or ideas. I know what I see The blue spruce outside my window Is kneeling for morning prayers. Meanwhile, the oak across the street Scratches the back of the tired sky And a small bush next door Embraces the innocent sparrow. --From “I Think I Shall Never See…” By Jim Heynen The The The The morns are meeker than they were nuts are getting brown – berry’s cheeks are plumper – Rose is out of town. The Maple wears a grayer scarf – The field a scarlet gown – Lest I should be old fashioned I’ll put a trinket on. --#12 by Emily Dickinson The short, thin body of the tree With its long, tangled hair Stands all alone Against the forlorn, pale sky. --“A Tangled Mess” By M. Visgilio, Grade 7 An ocean is as deep as our memories. The teacher’s voice is like sandpaper. The night is like a blanket. ◦ What two things are being compared in each of these sentences? ◦ Which literary device is used here? SIMILE: A literary device used by writers to show that two unrelated things may have something in common. A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as” to make the comparison. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore – And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over – like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? “ A Dream Deferred” By Langston Hughes The light shade of purple slowly fades into yellow. The end of many petals looks like 100 hands reaching for you. The glowing petals feel as soft as a silk blanket. The petals look as graceful as a ballerina spinning in a tutu. The smell is as sweet and thick as a jar of honey. This is my beautiful flower. “My Flower” By S. Doelger, Grade 7 What sound does a duck make? How about a dog? A cat? Lunchtime? Bedtime? ◦ There is a literary term for words like quack, woof, meow, munch, and snore. What is it? ONOMATOPOEIA: a literary device that appeals to sound. It is the imitation of natural sounds. The word itself sounds like the actual sound. Was there really a man’s squeaky voice? Or was it Thomas just making a noise? The dancers dancing: tap, tap, tap! Someone trying to come in: rap, rap, rap! The flashing lights, The dressed-up boys, Lots of commotion, And much noise. “Party” By M. Li, Grade 7 Cats swing dance In the middle of the alley, As the trumpet screams At the top of its lungs, Until it is red in the face. Beep-beep-boo-bop-bop the music goes. When it will stop, Nobody knows. “Swing Music” By K. Smyth, Grade 7 The ocean is a memory. The teacher’s voice is sandpaper. The night is a blanket. ◦ What two things are being compared here? ◦ How is the comparison different than the other day? ◦ What literary device is used here? METAPHOR: a literary device used by writers. A metaphor is used to compare two unlike objects thought to be the same. A metaphor does not use “like” or “as” to compare the objects. The sky is the ocean, an endless boundless sea, A stormy sea of white-capped waves. The front is an endless line sweeping across the sky. A low-flying plane is a seagull struggling against the wind. The waves froth back and forth, rocking the boat that is me. The thunder is the song of whales calling in the distance. The lightning is a lighthouse calling me back. The classroom is a harbor where I am safe from the waves. The storm comes. “The Sky is an Ocean” By A. Schoell, Grade 8 Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words. Sometime poets use alliteration as a substitute for rhyme. And sings a solitary song That whistles in the wind. (Wordsworth) Edwin Markham's "Lincoln, the Man of the People" is in unrhymed blank verse, but there are many lines of alliteration: She left the Heaven of Heroes and came down To make a man to meet the mortal need A man to match the mountains and the sea The friendly welcome of the wayside well Robert Frost's "The Death of the Hired Man" begins: Mary sat musing on the lamp-flame at the table Waiting for Warren. When she heard his step. . . . The eye immediately sees the alliteration in the "m's" in "Mary sat musing" and the "w's" in "Waiting for Warren. When. . . .” Rhyme is very simply the similarity between syllable sounds at the end of two or more lines. Some kinds of rhyme include: Couplet: a pair of lines rhyming consecutively. Eye rhyme: words whose spellings would lead one to think that they rhymed (slough, tough, cough, bough, though, hiccough. Or: love, move, prove. Or: daughter, laughter.) Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. “Fire and Ice” By Robert Frost The tears start rolling Down his dirty cheeks, Like a rainstorm sprouting In the stark parched desert. His famished body weak and tired, He stands there, desperate for a better life. He is all alone, living in a country overcome by poverty, Without the necessities for a complete life. “A Tear Drop” By M. Visgilio, Grade 7 As she looks at me, With guilt in her eyes, There is no frown, no smile, Only a smirk highlights the pale skin That the sun could not embrace. Looks as if she thinks of herself as a disgrace. “Looking at Me” By A. Ross, Grade 7 The water is frigid Like an early winter’s day My limbs have lost all feeling As if they were never there The rapids rush past Someone tries to help Life passes in and out of me I cannot tell if I am alive Or watching from above Fear strikes me like lightning And then it is gone I am in a bed Waking from a dream, maybe. Or was it reality? --“Drowning Life” By S. Conley, Grade 7 They are there, In our moments of dark, But, They are bright. In their uniforms they leave glorious, Always doing their jobs. The intense heat, Not all of them make it Some left behind. They always save us in time. They are there, In our moments of need, To make a difference. “They are There” By K. Galarza, Grade 8 SONNET: a 14-line poem that begins with three quatrains and ends with a couplet. The couplet usually contains a surprise ending or “turn.” Shakespeare is one of the most famous sonnet writers in history. Quatrain – four line stanzas which may or may not rhyme; (abab is popular) Couplet – a pair of lines which rhyme. 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 dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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. W. Shakespeare Special thanks to: Ms. Cindy Rodriguez at King Philip Middle School in West Hartford and some fabulous student work samples. Developed: Poetry PowerPoint: 2008 – Lynne Landry