Reading, Writing and
Learning from Poetry
Poetry Vocabulary – Due 12/6/13
• Alliteration
• Imagery
• Allusion
• Meter
• Assonance
• Octave
• Consonance
• Onomatopoeia
• Couplet
• Refrain
• Elegy
• Rhyme
• Hyperbole
• Rhythm
• Stanza
ALLITERATION
• Use of the same consonant at
the beginning of each word or
each stressed syllable in a line
of verse.
ALLUSION
• Passing or casual reference.
ASSONANCE
• Rhyme in which the same
vowel sounds are used with
different consonants in the
stressed syllables of the
rhyming words.
CONSONANCE
• The repetition of consonant sounds.
• The repetition of the final consonant
sounds of accented syllables or
important words.
• First and last, odds and ends, short
and sweet, a stroke of luck.
COUPLET
• Pair of successive lines of verse,
especially a pair that rhyme and are of
the same length.
• Also known as “rhyming couplets.”
In the morning the sun shone bright
Clearing the thoughts of the dark night.
ELEGY
• Mournful, melancholy, or plaintive
poem.
• A funeral song or a lament for the
dead.
HYPERBOLE
• Obvious and intentional
exaggeration.
• I am so hungry I could eat a
horse!
IMAGERY
• Figurative description or
illustration.
• The writing appeals to the
senses.
METER
• Poetic measure; arrangement
of words in regularly
measured, patterned, or
rhythmic lines or verses.
OCTAVE
• A stanza of eight lines.
• Common in the Italian form of poetry.
ONOMATOPOEIA
• The formation of words whose sound
is imitative of the sound of the noise
or action designated.
• For example, hiss, buzz, and bang
are examples of onomatopoeia.
REFRAIN
• A phrase or verse recurring
at intervals in a song or
poem, especially at the end
of each stanza.
RHYME
• Word that is identical to
another in its terminal
(ending) sound.
RHYTHM
• The arrangement of words
into a more or less regular
sequence of stressed and
unstressed or long and short
syllables.
STANZA
• A fixed number of verse lines
arranged in a definite metrical
pattern, forming a unit of a
poem.
Poetry Notebook – 100 points
1. You will be given a composition book to
use as your Poetry Notebook. Put your
name and class period ON THE FRONT
OF THE NOTEBOOK as soon as you get
it. Do not ask to change cover colors…
2. You will keep ONLY final drafts of poems
in the notebook, not notes. There will be
other worksheets and examples you will
keep in your notebook – I will tell you what
to keep in the book.
Poetry Notebooks - Instructions
• You will be instructed when to enter
poems into your notebook. PLEASE
do not enter poems without
directions from me. While the
poems will be taught in roughly the
same order as this PPT, there are
other considerations before you will
be instructed to enter a final draft of
the poem.
Poetry Notebook - Organization
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Page/Sheet 1: “What is Poetry?” – 20 points
Page/Sheet 2: Acrostic – 10 points
Page/Sheet 3: Diamante – 10 points
Page/Sheet 4: Haiku/Cinquain/Limerick – 10
pts
Page/Sheet 5: Autobiographical – 10 points
Page/Sheet 6: Free Verse – 10 points
Page/Sheet 7: “Ode to a Cutie” – 10 points
Page/Sheet 8: Personal Narrative Poem – 10
pts
Page/Sheet 9: War Poem – 10 points
Poetry Notebook - Instructions
• You will be expected to decorate, color, “jazz
up,” your poetry and notebook. This will make
the notebook individual to YOU. Half of your
Poetry Notebook grade will be determined by
your decorative individualization of the poetry.
• Keep your classroom notes in your regular
notebook.
• KEEP ALL PAPERS YOU GET BACK! Don’t
throw anything away… AT ALL!!!
One Definition of POETRY
• What is POETRY?
• A composition in verse, usually
characterized by concentrated and
heightened language in which words
are chosen for their sound and
suggestive power as well as for their
sense, and using such techniques as
meter, rhyme, and alliteration.
Type of Poetry: Acrostic Poem
• An acrostic is a poem or other form of
writing in which the first letter, syllable
or word of each line, paragraph or other
recurring feature in the text spells out a
word or a message.
Example: Acrostic Poem
• P ossibilities
• O rganized
• E ntertaining
• T eachable
• R elaxing
• Y earn
Type of Poetry: Diamante Poem
A diamante poem is made up of 7 lines using a set
structure. The end result will look like a diamond:
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•
•
Line 1: Beginning subject
Line 2: Two describing words about line 1
Line 3: Three doing words about line 1
Line 4: A short phrase about line 1, a short
phrase about line 7
• Line 5: Three doing words about line 7
• Line 6: Two describing words about line 7
• Line 7: End subject
Example: Diamante Poem
Bike
Shiny, quiet,
Pedaling, spinning, weaving
Whizzing round corners, zooming along roads
Racing, roaring, speeding
Fast, loud,
Car
Types of Poetry: Cinquain
Poem
• A cinquain poem is a verse of
five lines that do not rhyme.
• The five lines follow the same
theme.
Type of Poetry: Cinquain Poem
• Line 1: 2 syllables (subject or noun)
• Line 2: 4 syllables (adjectives) that describe line 1
• Line 3: 6 syllables (action verbs) that relate to line 1
• Line 4: 8 syllables (feelings or a complete sentence)
that relates to line 1
•
• Line 5: 2 syllables (synonym of line 1 or a word that
sums it up)
Example: Cinquain Poem
• Snow
• Lovely, white
• Falling, dancing, drifting
• Covering everything it touches
• Blanket
Types of Poetry: Haiku Poem
Haiku is a Japanese poetry form that has these
focuses:
 A focus on nature.
 A "season word" such as "snow" which
tells the reader what time of year it is.
 Haiku are written in three unrhymed lines,
with a syllable pattern of 5, 7, 5.
Example: Haiku Poem
• The sky is so blue.
5
• The sun is so warm up high.
7
• I love the summer.
5
Type of Poetry: Limerick Poem
• A humorous, frequently bawdy, verse of
three long and two short lines rhyming
aabba, popularized by Edward Lear.
• Lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme
• Lines 3, 4 rhyme
Example: Limerick Poem
• Once a man had a broken down horse,
• And he had a crazy cat, of course.
• The horse would constantly neigh
• And the crazy cat ran away
• And his favorite mythology was Norse.
Type of Poetry: Autobiographical
• An autobiography is an account of
someone’s life written by that
person.
• It can be an entire book or a few
words. One the following slide are
instructions to write a short
autobiography as a poem.
Some elements of a poem
• Theme: The main message.
• Symbolism: Something that represents
something else.
• Tone: the attitude that you feel in the piece of
writing.
• Point of View: An opinion, attitude, or
judgment.
Type of Poetry: Autobiographical
• Line 1: First Name or Nickname
• Line 2: Child of… (name of parent[s]) OR
Sister/Brother of… (name of sibling[s])
• Line 3: Two traits that describe your personality
• Line 4: Who likes… (two things)
• Line 5: Who dislikes... (one thing)
• Line 6: Who needs... (three things)
• Line 7: Who fears... (one thing)
• Line 8: Who dreams of one day... (two things)
• Line 9: Resident of... (your city or neighborhood)
• Line 10: Last Name
Example: Autobiographical Poem
Line 1: Mrs. (Stephanie)
Line 2: Daughter of Nancy and Mike
sister of Mike, Chris, Veronica and Theresa
mother of Daniel, Eric. Laurel and Brooke
wife of Brad
Like 3: Who is funny and outgoing
Line 4: Who likes dancing and children
Line 5: Who dislikes dishonest people
Line 6: Who needs love, laughter, and hugs
Line 7: Who fears dying
Line 8: Who dreams of one day moving to North Carolina
and acquiring a southern accent
Line 9: Resident of Gilbert, Arizona
Line 10: Malm
Type of Poetry: Free Verse
• Free Verse is a form of Poetry composed of
either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no
set fixed metrical pattern.
• The early 20th-century poets were the first to
write what they called "free verse" which
allowed them to break from the formula and
rigidity of traditional poetry.
Examples: Free Verse
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.
Types of Poetry: Free Verse
• How to write Free Verse poetry
• 1. Choose a theme BEFORE YOU START!!
• 2. Be very choosy and careful about the
WORDS you use.
• 3. Keep in mind that Free Verse can be more
difficult to write.
– You don’t have any set rules
– It doesn’t have to rhyme
– There should be some sort of rhythm
– Poem should be THOUGHTFUL!!
Type of Poetry: Couplet
• A Couplet is a Stanza of only two lines
which usually rhyme.
– Shakespearean (also called Elizabethan and
English) sonnets usually end in a couplet.
– Are a pair of lines that are the same length
and usually rhyme and form a complete
thought.
•
Group Type of Poetry: Lyric
• Poetry that expresses feelings and emotions.
• We often see them or hear them through popular
culture (music).
• They do not have to rhyme, and do not have to have
a rhythm or beat.
• They can be like a narrative poem, which tell more
of a story (much like the narratives we write) and
include ballads and epics.
Type of Poetry: Ode
• A lyric poem in the form of an
address to a particular subject, often
elevated in style or manner and
written in varied or irregular meter.
– “Ode" comes from the Greek aeidein,
meaning to sing or chant.
Classwork: Writing an Ode
• Using the information you wrote for your bellwork, you will write an
ode to your orange! (Yipee!) 
• We will go over “Ode to Common Things” as a class. Your ode to
the orange will be similar to the homework poem.
• Your ode needs to have a theme; mood and tone; symbolism; and
imagery. While you should only have one theme and one mood, you
should have at least 3 examples of the other requirements.
– Must have AT LEAST 2 stanzas. Each stanza must have a
minimum of 4 lines. It doesn’t have to rhyme.
• Make this a good effort – it will be entered into your poetry notebook
once it’s been graded.
Types of Poetry: Narrative
• Narrative poetry is a form of poetry which tells
a story
– Often makes use of the voices of a narrator and
characters as well.
– The entire story is usually written in metered
verse.
– The poems that make up this genre may be short
or long, and the story it relates to may be
complex.
Type of Poetry: Narrative
• The Blind Side
• HISTORY – “Charge of the Light Brigade”:
– During Crimea (Ukraine, Russia) War, 1850’s.
– British light brigade (generally mounted army –
no heavy guns) received orders that were
misread or misunderstood
– 600 infantry charged the Russian position.
– Major defeat for the British army
– Very few survivors
– Tennyson wrote the poem based on an article in
a London newspaper.
– The Charge of the Light Brigade poem
Facts about Paul Revere
• Paul Revere also worked as an amateur dentist.
• Paul Revere produced some of the era’s most sophisticated
copper plate engravings – including the engraving for the
Boston Massacre.
• Paul Revere founded the first patriot intelligence network on
record.
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous 1861 poem about
Paul Revere’s ride got many of the facts wrong.
• Paul Revere never shouted the legendary phrase later
attributed to him (“The British are coming!”) as he passed
from town to town. The assignment was supposed to be
silent.
• Paul Revere served as commander of land artillery in the
disastrous Penobscot Expedition of 1779.
• Paul Revere fathered 16 children
Type of Poetry: Sonnet
• A poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of
formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having
ten syllables per line.
• English Sonnet Pattern: consisting of 3 quatrains of
alternating rhyme and a couplet:
–abab
–abab
–cdcd
–efef
–gg
Sound Devices
•
Alliteration - repetition of initial consonant sounds:
Porky Pig ate a platter of pot roast.
•
Rhyme - repetition of final sounds in two or more words:
wild, mild, child
•
Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds within
words: goat, bowl, scold
•
Consonance - the repetition of sounds within or at the
end of words: cutler, antler, battler
•
Onomatopoeia - the use of words that sound like what
they refer to: clop, bang, thud
What is Poetry? 20 points
• The final piece you will add to your Poetry Notebook
is a reflection about what poetry is to you.
• In this piece, you need to demonstrate your
knowledge of the types of poetry and the important
elements found in poetry, using examples.
• You will also need to write what this poetry writing
process has meant to you. I don’t mind if you did not
care for the process – you can tell me so. However,
you must do this in a mature, thoughtful manner.
Tell me WHY this process did not appeal to you –
not just that it was “stupid,” or “a waste of time.”