Poetry
Grade 7
2013 - 2014
Poetry Terms
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Poetry Terms
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Poetry – the art of expressing thought and feeling in lines or groups of lines. Not all poems have to rhyme. Poems that do not rhyme are called FREE VERSE
poems.
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Stanza – an organized group of lines in a poem. A stanza is like a “paragraph”.
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Rhyme – the repetition of a sound, usually at the end of lines in a poem.
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Literal Meaning (or Literal Language) – exactly what is happening in a poem (words and expressions that are meant exactly as they are written)
It is raining a lot outside.
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Figurative Meaning (or Figurative Language) – the deeper or symbolic meaning of a poem (words or expressions that are not meant as they are written or
said) Example: Life is a rollercoaster.
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Theme – the message that the poet is communicating in the poem or the lesson that we learned from the poem
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Imagery – a mental picture created by using words that appeal to the five senses (seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling)
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Simile– a comparison using “like” or “as”.
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Metaphor – an implied comparison that does not use “like” or “as”. Example: He is a snake.
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(We are implying that he is a sneaky person.)
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Personification – giving human qualities to non-human things. Example: The leaves danced in the breeze.
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Alliteration – the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of a series of at least two words.
Example: Silly Sally sat by the seashore.
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Onomatopoeia – words that sound like a thing or action.
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Example: buzz, clang, hiss, bang, crash, boom
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Symbol – when one thing represents another. Example: a dove stands for peace
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Mood – the feeling that you get when you read a poem. Example: happiness, sadness
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Tone – the author’s feelings or attitude towards his subject. Example: funny, sympathetic, sarcastic
Example: book and look
Example: The walls are as bright as the sun.
Example: The walls are like the sun.
Example:
Recognize the Elements of Poetry
We need to know :What makes a Poem a Poem?
A poem:
 Is the concise expression of the poet’s thoughts or
feelings.
 Is carefully chosen and arranged words that create
meaning.
 Uses/has imagery that appeals to the senses and
create vivid images.
 Connects to our personal thoughts and emotions.
Steps to Reading a Poem
 PREVIEW
What does the title mean? How many Stanzas? What is the
shape?
 SCAN
Look for rhymes and repeated words. Read the first and
last lines. Ask yourself, what do I think the poem is talking
about?
 Read the poem SILENTLY
Pay attention to punctuation. Pause at commas and
periods. If there is no punctuation at the end of a line read it
straight through. ( Look up unknown words in a dictionary)
Steps to Reading a Poem
 Read Poem ALOUD
Note the rhythm, images and emotions present. Explain
the poem in your own words.
 Again read the Poem (Slowly)
Note the meaning, message or theme and important
words. Do you agree with the poet.
 Make Connections
Connect the ideas and your emotions to your personal
experiences. How do you feel? What are your favorite lines?
ACROSTIC POEM
 An acrostic poem – the first letter of each line forms
a word when it is read from top to bottom.
 Many hopes, many dreams.
Able to make awesome oatmeal cookies.
Totally into my dog Jordan and basketball.
The Chicago Bulls fan that's me.
Note: it does not have to be a name. It can be any word.
Shape Poem
 The poem is written in the shape of its subject or the
wording in the poem can enhance the effect of the words
such as :
An angel tumbling
d
o
w
n
To earth ...
CINQUAIN
 Is a simple, five (5) verse that follows a specific pattern. (No
rhyme)
Structure:
Line 1: one or two syllables (usually a noun that names the subject of the poem.
(who or what it is about)
Line 2: four syllables (often two syllable adjectives describing the noun in line 1)
Line 3: six syllables (often three –ing words describing the noun in line 1)
Line 4: eight syllables ( a phrase or sentence about the noun on line 1)
Line 5: two syllables ( a word or two that rename the noun on line 1)
CINQUAIN EXAMPLE
Earthworm
Wiggly, slimy,
Creeping, slinking, searching –
Slithers silently on his way.
Slowpoke.
Example Two
Sneakers –
Threadbare, worn-out,
Fading, shredding, reekingAhh! Finally comfortable!
Old friends.
Haiku (Seasonal Haiku) 5.7.5
 A haiku is a three lined, unrhymed Japanese poem with lines
of five (5), seven (7), and five (5) syllables, respectively.
Poems of this type are usually light and delicate in feeling and
are often written about nature.
Structure:
Line 1: five syllables
Line2: seven syllables
Line 3: five syllables
Haiku Example
 Example : What is it about?
Tiny seed is droppedTender shoots burst from within.
Green arms reach skyward.
Thirst-quenching rain falls.
Leaves bask in golden sunlight.
First buds pop open.
Glorious blossoms!
Shiny leaves wave; stem stands proud.
Mother nature smiles.
A trace of color,
Lovely flower’s end is near.
Faded blossoms fall.
Limerick
 It is a short, funny poem with five lines. The rhyme
scheme is a-a-b-b-a.
 Example :
There once was a kangaroo
Who hopped down the avenue.
When he stopped to say,
“Have a fine day,”
It caused quite a hullabaloo.
Wish Poem
 A wish poem is a poem that is familiar to the
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cinquain in which the poet wishes to be someone
else, somewhere else, doing something else.
Line 1: I wish I were
Line 2: Tells WHO you would like to be.
Line 3 :Tells WHERE you would like to be.
Line 4: Often begins with an “ing” word and tells WHAT you
would like to be doing.
Line 5: is an ADVERB that tells HOW you would do it.
Example of a Wish Poem
I wish I were
An astronaut
Soaring high above the earth
Blazing new trails
Proudly.
Free Verse Poem
 Free verse poem allows the poet more control over
expression and other poetic devices.
 This can allow for more individualization
 Free Verse poems do not rhyme.
Free Verse Poem
Fog by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Free Verse Example
Messy Room
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or–
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, I knew it looked familiar!
By Shel Silverstein
Metaphor
 Is when you use two nouns and compare or contrast them to
one another.
 Example: I am a rainbow.
 It is comparing two nouns ...a person and a
rainbow.
Metaphor
Poem : I am Las Vegas
I am Las Vegas growing by the infinite
awake morning by night,
or day.
I am Las Vegas
My hand in the sand.
By: Rachael
Metaphor and Simile
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1c6zF9aJxs&safety_
mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Simile
 Comparing two things using like or as.
Example: Hockey
Hockey is like reading
You get into it and then you never
Want to stop
You feel like your in a different world
Hockey is like school
You have to do your work and
You have to practice or you will get an “f ”
Hockey is like math
You get stronger and before you know it
You’re getting an
“A”
Your scoring goals
Now that’s
Hockey!
 WORKSHEETS
 http://bogglesworldesl.com/simile_worksheets.htm
Personification
 A literary device authors use to create vivid (word) pictures.
Writing about inanimate things as if they were a person or
alive.
Examples :
 The rocks slept on the floor.
 The snow was playing in the winter chill.
 The leaves danced a ballet.
 The tree opens its arms to comfort the frightened animals.
Personification
 When you make a thing, idea or an animal do things only
humans can do.
“Wind yells while blowing”
Question: Can the wind really yell?
“Necklace is a friend
Question: Can a necklace really be a friend.
Onomatopoeia
 Are words that sound like a thing or an action.
 Examples are : buzz, clang, hiss, bang, crash and
boom.
ALLITERATION
 When two or more words begin with the same letter or
sound.
 EXAMPLE:
 Dressy Daffodils ‘Dressy daffodils’ is an example of
alliteration because both words begin with the letter ”D.”
alliteration is like rhyming, but with alliteration the rhyme
comes at the front of the word instead of the end.
 Rabbits Running Over Roses – all the words begin with the
same letter
ALLITERATION EXAMPLE
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Caring Cats
Caring cats cascade off
Laughing lamas
Lounging
Underneath yelling yaks
Yelling at roaming
Rats.
Out, 0ut by Robert Frost
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Out, Out--by Robert Frost
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap—
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart—
He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off—
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
Out, Out - by Robert Frost
Questions
 What is the poem about? Write a summary of what happens
in the poem.
 What is the theme of the poem? Use proper answer format.
 Find an example of onomatopoeia in this poem.
 Find an example of personification. Explain what it
means.
Little Boy Blue
What do you think this poem is about?
Little Boy Blue
The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair,
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.
"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So toddling off to his trundle-bed
He dreamed of the pretty toys.
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue,-Oh, the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.
Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place,
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder, as waiting these long years through,
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue
Since he kissed them and put them there.
Eugene Field
Questions
 What is the setting of the poem? PAF
 What is the mood of the poem?
 What line tells us what time has done to the toys?
 What has happened to the toys?
 The toys ‘wonder’ what had happened to ‘Little Boy Blue’,
what do you think has happened to him? Support your
answer with lines from the poem.
 What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?
The City Is So Big
The City Is So Big
The city is so big
Its bridges quake with fear
I know, I have seen at night
The lights sliding from house to house
And trains pass with windows shining
Like a smile full of teeth
I have seen machines eating houses
And stairways walk all by themselves
And elevator doors opening and closing
And people disappear.
by Richard Garcia
Questions : The City Is So Big
 Discuss an example of imagery from the first stanza and
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explain why it is effective.
Quote a simile from this poem and fully explain the
comparison that is being made and why it is effective. Use
Proper Answer Format
Explain the literal and figurative meaning of all three images
in stanza three.
What feeling do you get as you read the poem? (MOOD)
What point is the author trying to make?
Dragons Lament
A Dragon’s Lament by Jack Prelutsky
I’m tired of being a dragon,
Ferocious and brimming with flame,
The cause of unspeakable terror
When anyone mentions my name.
I’m bored with my bad reputation
For being a miserable brute,
And being routinely expected
To brazenly pillage and loot.
I wish I weren’t repulsive,
Despicable, ruthless, and fierce,
With talons designed to dismember
And fangs finely fashioned to pierce.
I’ve lost my desire for doing
The deeds any dragon should do,
But since I can’t alter my nature,
I guess I’ll just terrify you.
Questions
 Define the word Lament.
 What is the overall message of the poem?
 What does the poet hope to achieve with this poem? Is it
effective? Why or why not?
 List the images in the poem that stand out to you.
A Mosquito in the Cabin by Myra Stilborn
by Myra Stilborn (b. 1916)
Although you bash her,
swat her, smash her,
and go to bed victorious,
happy and glorious
she will come winging,
zooming and zinging,
wickedly singing
over your bed.
You slap the air
but she’s in your hair
cackling with laughter.
You smack your head,
but she isn’t dead –
she’s on the rafter.
She’s out for blood –
yours, my friend,
and she will get it, in the end.
She brings it first to boiling point,
then lets it steam.
With a fee, fi, fo and contented fum
she sips it
while you dream.
A Mosquito in the Cabin
 Questions:
 In “A Mosquito in the Cabin” there is an example of
personification. Explain what it means using proper
answer format.
 Find an example of alliteration.
 Find an example of onomatopoeia.
 Quote a metaphor and fully explain
the comparison being made and why it is
effective …use PAF
A Mosquito in the Cabin
 Answer:
 There is personification in the poem “A Mosquito in the
Cabin” by Myra Stillborn. Personification is giving human
qualities to non-human things. A personification example is
“She is in your hair cackling with laughter.” this is an
example of personification because the mosquito is being
compared to a witch. The mosquito is like a witch because it
is evil and bothering the person in the cabin who is trying to
get to sleep. A witch usually cackles when she laughs and the
mosquito also makes annoying noises, it is like the mosquito
is laughing at us. This is an example of personification in the
poem.
Daffodils by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line,
Along the margin of a bay;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company;
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought,
What wealth the show to me had brought.
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye,
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
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Questions
 What is the rhyming scheme in this poem?
 What is the rhyme scheme in this poem?
 Define mood and explain what the mood is in the poem.
Make sure you support your answer.
 What images make the poem more vivid to the reader?
 Discuss personification using PAF.
“City” by Langston Hughes
In the morning the city
Spreads its wings
Making a song
In stone that sings.
In the evening the city
Goes to bed
Hanging lights
About its head.
Questions: City
 What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza?
 What two senses does this poem appeal to? Give examples.
 What is the literal meaning of the first stanza?
 The second stanza is an example of personification.
Explain what it means. (use PAF)
JETLINER
now he takes his mark
at the very farthest end of the runway
looking straight ahead, eager, intense
with his sharp eyes shining
he takes a deep, deep breath
with his powerful lungs
expanding his massive chest
his burning heart beating like thunders
then ...after a few ... tense moments ... of pondering
he roars at his utmost
and slowly begins to jog
kicking the dark earth hard
and now he begins to run
kicking the hard dark earth
then he dashes, dashes like mad, like mad
howling, shouting, screaming, and roaring
then with the most violent kick
he shakes off the earth’s pull
softly lifting himself into the air
soaring higher and higher and higher still
piercing the sea of clouds
Questions : Jetliner
 “Jetliner” by Naoshi Koriyama page 43 in Imagine
Poetry Magazine
 What is the literal meaning of the poem? In a
paragraph of about five sentences, explain what the
poet is actually talking about.
 Choose one simile in the poem and explain the
comparison using proper answer format.