Poetry Defined
Poetry is literature in verse form, a
controlled arrangement of lines and
stanzas. Poems use concise,
musical, and emotionally charged
language to express multiple layers
of meaning.
The word poetry is derived from the
Greek poiesis, meaning a “making”
or “creating.” It is a form of art in
which language is used.
Speaker vs. Poet
The voice that “talks” to the reader, is
similar to the narrator in fiction.
The speaker is not necessarily the poet.
To understand a poem, you must learn
who the speaker is and how he/she feels.
The poet can be a 51 year old man, yet the
speaker of the poem can be an 11-year old
Holocaust victim.
Example:
Lie back, daughter, let your
head / be tipped back in the
cup of my hand.
From “First Lesson” by Philip Booth
Who is the speaker? How do you know?
Lines and Stanzas
A line is a horizontal row of words, which
may or may not form a complete sentence.
(Think of this as a sentence.)
A stanza is a group of lines forming a unit.
The stanzas in a poem are separated by a
line of space. (Think of this as a paragraph.)
A refrain is a group of words repeated at key
intervals in poetry. (Think of this as a
chorus.)
Example:
Line 1
Drum on your drums,
batter on your banjoes,
Sob on the long cool
winding saxophones.
Go to it, O jazzmen.
Stanza 1
From “Jazz Fantasia” by Carl Sandburg
Prosody
1. The systematic study of meter in
poetry
2. A technical term used to describe
patterns, rhythms, or meters of
language
3. Use of pitch, loudness, tempo,
rhythm and speech
3. a poem’s “sound meaning,” or it’s
particular “flow” conveyed by the
tempo of the words
Prosody
Prosody can refer to the rules for the
pronunciation of a language as well as its
versification. Correct pronunciation of
words includes:
(1) enunciation
(2) proper accenting and
(3) making sure each syllable has its
required length.
Rhythm the pattern created by stressed and unstressed
syllables of words in sequence. A pattern of rhythm is
called meter.
Meter is a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables that sets the overall rhythm of certain poems.
The basic unit in measuring rhythm is the foot, which
usually contains one stressed syllable marked with (‘) and
one or more unstressed syllables marked with (U).
Rhyme is the repetition of identical sounds in the last
syllables of words.
Internal rhyme occurs within lines of poetry
(e.g., Poe’s The Raven: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while
I pondered, weak and weary.”
End rhyme occurs at the end of lines.
Rhyme Scheme/Pattern
The pattern of rhyme formed by the end
rhyme, may be designated by assigning a
different letter of the alphabet to each
new rhyme.
Example of end rhyme and rhyme scheme:
The glory of the day was in her face, (a)
The beauty of the night was in her eyes.(b)
And over all her loveliness, the grace (a)
Of Morning blushing in the early skies. (b)
From “The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face” by James Weldon Johnson
Slant rhyme is an imperfect rhyme that usually
has the same end consonant sound but not the
same vowel sound; also called half rhyme.
Example:
found/kind, grime/game
ill/shell, dropped/wept
Eye rhyme is two words with similar spelling but
different sounds (often used to maintain a rhyme
scheme in poetry).
Example:
“love/remove” from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet: The fearful
passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their
parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could
remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage.
Other Sound Devices
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant
sounds at the beginnings of words.
Example: a drum in the desert,
harder and harder to hear
From “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye
Other Sound Devices
Consonance is the repetition of consonant
sounds; more specifically, the repetition of the
final consonant sounds of accented syllables or
important words.
"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he
sees the ghosts."
Assonance is the repetition of identical or
similar vowel sounds in neighboring words, as
in the repetition of the short i sound in this
couplet from the late rapper Big Pun:
Dead in the middle of little Italy little did we know
That we riddled a middle man who didn't do diddly.
--"Twinz (Deep Cover '98)," Capital Punishment, 1998
Other Sound Devices
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word or phrase,
such as swoosh or clank, that imitates or
suggests the sound of what it describes.
Example:
The snow “flitter-twitters” around in the girl’s mind,
before it “whitely whirs away.”
Repetition is a repeating cadence/meter that
enriches or emphasizes words, phrases, lines,
and even whole verses of poems. It encourages
the reader to join in orally, to experiment with
language, and to move with it. Alliteration is a
type of repetition.
Figurative Language
Language that is used
imaginatively, rather than
literally, to express ideas
or feelings in new ways
Figures of Speech
Simile: uses the word “like” or “as” to compare
two seemingly unlike things.
Example: Her beauty is like a rose.
Metaphor: an implied comparison made
between two unlike things.
Example: The moon is a banana.
Personification: giving human characteristics
to non-human objects.
Example: The trees danced in the wind.
Hyperbole: an extreme exaggerated figure of
speech for emphasis or effect.
Example: This book weighs a ton.
Extended Metaphor: a metaphor in
which the comparison is carried
through several lines or even the entire
literary work. Example: showing how Mama is a
sunrise throughout a poem.
Allusion: an allusion is the casual
reference to a figure or event in history
or literature that creates a mental
image in the mind of the reader.
Example: “Look at Romeo and Juliet in the hallway
over there.”
Symbolism: the use of one object (a
symbol) to represent or suggest
something else.
Example: A black rose may symbolize death.
Graphic Elements
Poets use graphic elements to help
readers to understand the poem
and to strengthen the sound or
visual appeal of the poem.
Punctuation marks, such as
commas, show the reader where to
slow down or pause.
Line length can help determine
whether a poem has a flowing
sound or a short, choppy sound.
Word position can show
relationships between words and
ideas.
Capital letters Capitalizing the
first word in a line is one of the
traditional tools of poetry writing,
and using or not using it is a
decision that a poet should make
after some consideration. But
whatever the decision, the practice
today is clearly personal.
Types and Forms of Poetry
Poems can also be categorized by
structure, or form. Poetic structures
are defined by patterns of line and
stanza length, rhythm, and rhyme.
Please refer to your handout.
Narrative Poetry is defined as poetry that tells a story.
Sharing the same elements as a story, a narrative poem
has characters, setting, plot, and point of view. Ballads,
epics, and shorter poems fit into this category of poetry.
Types of Narrative Poetry
• Epic poetry - A long narrative poem, usually
chronicling the deeds of a folk hero
and
written using both dramatic and narrative literary
techniques (e.g., Homer's Iliad or John Milton’s
Paradise Lost).
• Ballad- A narrative poem written in four-line
stanzas, often of folk origin and intended to be
sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually
having a refrain.
Dramatic
Poetry
is
defined as poetry that
demonstrates the elements
of drama. Characters can
speak to each other, to
themselves, or to the reader.
Some type of intense
conflict
or
emotional
situation is usually depicted
in dramatic poetry.
Lyric Poetry is poetry that expresses a speaker’s personal
thoughts and feelings. These poems are usually short
and musical. Free verse and rhymed poetry can also
exhibit these characteristics.
Lyric Poetry
•
Ode- A specific form of a lyric poem.
The ode often praises and exalts people or
things, the arts of music and poetry,
natural scenes, or abstract concepts.
A sonnet is defined as lyric poem composed of fourteen
lines, usually written in iambic pentameter organized in
strict patterns of stanza division and rhyme.
Lyric Poetry
• Villanelle- A nineteen-line lyric poem that
relies heavily on repetition. The first and
third lines alternate throughout the poem,
which is structured in six stanzas—five
tercets and a concluding quatrain.
Free Verse poetry Poetry composed of rhymed or unrhymed
lines that have no set patterns. Free verse
has a casual irregular rhythm similar to
that of everyday speech.
Graphic Poetry
• Poetry where the words of the poem form
a shape–or even a kind of picture–
showing what the poem is about. It can
also be as easy as illustrating a poem you
write or making your words have a visual
expression. The arrangement of the words
is important because it can visually convey
the meaning/mood of the poem.
Cinquain- A cinquain has five lines: Line 1 is one word (the title); Line 2 is two words that describe the title; Line 3 is three words that tell t
Cinquain
• A cinquain has five lines: Line 1 is one
word (the title); Line 2 is two words that
describe the title; Line 3 is three words
that tell the action; Line 4 is four words
that express the feeling; Line 5 is one
word that recalls the title
Diamante
• A diamante has seven lines: Line 1 is a one
word subject that is opposite of Line 7; Line 2 is
two adjectives which describe the subject in Line
1; Line 3 is three verbs relating to the subject in
Line 1; Line 4 is two nouns related to the subject
of Line 1, followed by two nouns related to the
subject in Line 7; Line 5 is three verbs related to
the subject in Line 7; Line 6 is two adjectives
which describe the subject in line seven; Line 7
is a one word subject that is opposite of Line 1
Epitaph
• written to praise or to reflect on the life of a
deceased person
Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry that is written
in three lines and seventeen syllables. The first and third lines
of this poetry are usually composed of five syllables while the
middle line has seven syllables. This form of poetry is written
to express a moment of personal insight and reflection during
an observation of nature.
A limerick is defined as a poem written in five lines with an
AABBA rhyme pattern. The first, second and fifth lines
consist of three metrical feet while the third and fourth lines
possess of two metrical feet. A limerick is usually
humorous and ribald in nature.
Analyzing Poetry
Analysis means literally picking a
poem apart - looking at elements such
as imagery,symbolism, allusion,
metaphor, poetic language, rhyme
scheme, and so on - in order to see
how they all work together to produce
the poem's meaning. Annotating is a
great way to begin analyzing a poem.
Annotating a Poem
Annotation is the act of adding notes.
STEP UP:
S: Subject Matter – What is the poem about? Look at
the title.
T: Theme – What is the message of the poem?
E: Emotions – Tone? Mood?
P: Poetic Devices – Look for figurative language and
sound devices.
U: Your response – What do you think?
P: Positioning – look at the graphic elements in the
poem