An Introduction
Poetry Pieces

 Line:
 basic structural component of a poem
 Does not have to be a complete sentence
 Stanza:
 one or more lines that make up the basic units of the
poem
 Separated from each other by space
Poetic Rhythm
Poetic foot:
 Basic unit in a meter

Meter:
 Gives rhythm and regularity to poetry
 The regular pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables
 Most common in English is the iambic
Rhythm:
 Movement with uniformed reoccurrence of a beat or accent
 A pattern of stresses
Literary Terms often found in
Poetry
 Alliteration

 The repetition of initial sound
 Ex. Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore
 Allusion
 A reference to another literary work or well known
character/person
 Imagery
 Writing that appeals to the senses
Literary Terms often found in
Poetry

 Metaphor:
 a comparison between two unlike objects WITHOUT
using like or as
 Ex. My love is a rose
 Onomatopoeia
 Sound words
 Ex. splat
Literary Terms often found in
Poetry

 Personification:
 Giving human qualities to inanimate objects
 Ex. The diamonds begged her to take them home.
 Simile:
 A comparison between two unlike objects using like or
as
 Ex. The warm air wrapped around her like a blanket
Literary Terms often
found in Poetry

 Symbol: something which represents something else
 Understatement: when the intensity of what is said
does not match the intensity of the event
 Mood/tone: the author or poet’s attitude towards
his subject
Reasons for Poetry

1.
2.
3.
4.
Communication
Perspective
Expression
Enjoyment
Music and Poetry

“The Rose that Grew from Concrete”
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong, it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
Tupac Shakur

Reason #1 Communication
Poetry in Music
Is music a form of poetry?

 Many songs contain the same elements that a poem
does
 Theme, rhythm, beat
 Who are some musical artists that you consider to be
poets?
 Is rap/hip-hop a form of poetry?
Empire State of Mind
 Yea I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in Tribeca
right next to Deniro, but I'll be hood forever
I'm the new Sinatra, and... since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yea, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicano's
right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald's
Took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.
catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them Pastry's
Cruisin' down 8th St., off white Lexus
drivin' so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say what's up to Ty-Ty, still sippin' mai tai's
sittin' courtside, Knicks & Nets give me high five
I be Spike'd out, I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from....

 New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York,
New York
Argument for Rap being a
form of Poetry

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXRohNo3Ao&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode
=1&safe=active
Reason #1
Communication

Narrative Poems
What is a narrative poem?

 Has a plot
Includes all the elements of a plot diagram
 May be long or short…sometimes even as long as a
book!
 Story can be simple or complex
A few songs that take a stand

 “Black or White” by Michael Jackson
 Anti-discrimination
 “Stand” by Rascal Flatts
 Not giving up
 “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty
 Not giving up
 “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
 Anti- War
 “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan
 Anti-War
“Ohio”

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the
drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long
ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the
ground
How can you run when you
know?
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long
ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the
ground
How can you run when you
know?
Tin soldiers and Nixon
coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the
drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.
“Born in the USA ”

Born down in a dead man town
The first kick I took was when I hit the
ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat
too much
Till you spend half your life just covering
up
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said son if it was up to me
Went down to see my v.a. man
He said son, don't you understand
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the
u.s.a.
I was born in the u.s.a., born in the
u.s.a.
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Down in the shadow of the
penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to
go
Born in the U.S.A...
Your Task: Song the takes a
Stand Assignment

*Set up your paper in MLA format (you will lose points
otherwise—up to 5!)
1.Find a school appropriate song that takes a stand for or
against something. Copy and paste the lyrics.
2.On a separate sheet, write a paragraph describing what
stance the song takes. (10 points)
3.Find at least 3 literary devices in the song. Explain their
meaning and/or significance. (15 points)
Due by the end of class  Be prepared to share with the class
You may work on this in class after your grammar quiz.