Poetry
Ajarn Steve
Poetry
Poetry is difficult to define.
Poems use words to paint a
picture in your head.
A good poem brings out strong
emotions in people.
Poetry
Traditional Poetry:
A piece of literature written in
meter; verse.
Source: American Heritage
Dictionary
(A traditional poem rhymes.)
Poetry
Meter: poetic measure; arrangement
of words in regularly measured,
patterned, or rhythmic lines or
verses. (Source: Dictionary.com)
Verse: A single metrical line in a
poetic composition; one line of
poetry. (Source: American Heritage
Dictionary)
William Shakespeare
Langston Hughes
Edgar Allan Poe
Robert Frost
Emily Dickinson
Simple, Four Line Rhyme
Rhyming a,b, c, b:
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
Simple, four line rhyme
Rhyming a,a,b,b:
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
Simple, four line rhyme
Rhyming a, b, a, b:
The rain was like a little mouse,
Quiet, small and gray.
It pattered all around the house
And then it went away.
Simple, four line rhyme
Rhyming a, a, a, a:
Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Little children want to play
So rain, rain, go away.
Cinquain
A short poem consisting of five,
usually unrhymed lines
containing respectively two,
four, six, eight and two
syllables.
Cinquain
Example:
Popcorn
Jumpy, bouncy
White, yellow and bumpy
Jumbly, rumbly, hot and mushy
Popcorn.
Haiku
Japanese poem of 17 syllables
arranged in three lines of 5, 7 and 5
syllables.
Syllable: a unit of spoken language
that consists of one or more vowel
sounds alone. “Sun” is one syllable
and “sunshine” is two syllables.
Haiku
Example:
The pond I used to
Swim in has hardened now, but
It is mine year round.
Andrea Baccigalupi (age 9)
Free Verse Poetry
Free verse: is a type of poetry
that is written without using
strict meter, rhythm or rhyme,
but is still recognized as poetry.
Source: Wikipedia
Free Verse Poetry
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
Langston Hughes
Free Verse Poetry
Free Verse Poetry has had a
huge influence on hip hop and
rap music.
Sonnet
A poem of 14 lines, usually in
iambic pentameter (stress is on
the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th
syllables of each line),
restricted to a definite rhyme
scheme.
Shakespeare wrote sonnets.
Ballad
Ballad: A ballad is a narrative poem,
usually set to music; thus, it often is
a story told in a song. Any story
form may be told as a ballad, such
as historical accounts or fairy tales
in verse form.
Source: Wikipedia
Ballad
The Ballad of the Landlord,
which was written by Langston
Hughes is an excellent
example of a ballad.
Haiku Poetry
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Haiku Poetry
Clouds float slowly by
Fluffy, lumpy, cotton balls
Silver, gray, and white
Haiku Poetry
Bursting in bright hues
Splashing colors all about
Autumn leaves must fall
Haiku Poetry
Forest finery
Of purest green, fern boast their
Delicate beauty
Haiku Poetry
In Haiku Poetry, the author’s
purpose is to transform a
seemingly common naturerelated topics into something
special or extraordinary using
words.
Haiku Poetry
Haiku Poetry stresses the use of
interesting and descriptive
words in the elaboration of its
subject.
Nouns: clouds, cotton balls,
hues, colors, autumn, leaves,
forest, finery, ferns, beauty.)
Haiku Poetry
Verbs: float, bursting, splashing,
fall, boast.
Adjectives: fluffy, lumpy, silver,
gray, white, bright, green,
delicate.
Haiku Poetry: Sample Topics
Types of weather:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tornado
Hurricane
Spring rain
Thunder storm
Snow storm
Cinquain
Cinquain is a highly structured form of
poetry.
Must pay attention to word choice,
word meaning, syllabication, and
parts of speech, while at the same
time expressing a meaningful
message.
True Cinquain
1 word title (noun) 2 syllables
2 descriptive words (adjectives)4
syllables
3 words that express action 6 syllables
4 words that express feeling 8
syllables
1 word (synonyms or reference to title
in line 1) 2 syllables
True Cinquain Example
Friend/ship
Pre/cious, awe/some
Bright/ens gloom/y mo/ments
Rain/bow’s treas/ure trove
dis/cov/ered
Al/ways
Poetry Webites
http://www.poetry.com
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com
http://www.poetseers.org
Poetry Websites
http://www.poets.org
http://www.poetry-portal.com
http://www.poetrysociety.org
Author’s Note
I did not write any of the poems
in this presentation.
When it was possible, I correctly
cited the author of each
poem.