The Wonderful World of Poetry…

What isWhat is

Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response.

Poetry is the chiseled marble of language; it's a paint-spattered canvas - but the poet uses words instead of paint, and the canvas is you.

Poetry is the chiseled marble of language; it's a paint-spattered canvas - but the poet uses words instead of paint, and the canvas is you.

Elements of

Poetry

Elements of

Poetry

Elements of poetry can be defined as a set of instruments used to create a poem. Many of these were created thousands of years ago and have been linked to ancient story tellings. They help bring imagery and emotion to poetry, stories, and dramas.

Stanza•A unit of lines grouped together

•Similar to a paragraph in prose

A Stanza consists of two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme and are used like paragraphs in a story. Some different types of stanzas are as follows:

Couplets - Couplets are stanzas of only two lines which usually rhyme

Tercets - Tercets are stanzas of three lines. The three lines may or may not have the same end rhyme. If all three lines rhyme, this type of tercet is called a triplet.

Quatrains - Quatrains are stanzas of four lines which can be written in any rhyme scheme.

Tercets - Tercets are stanzas of three lines. The three lines may or may not have the same end rhyme. If all three lines rhyme, this type of tercet is called a triplet.

Quatrains - Quatrains are stanzas of four lines which can be written in any rhyme scheme.

From Second SatireSir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)

My mother’s maids, when they did sew and spin,

They sang sometimes a song of the field mouse,

That for because their livelihood was but so thin

Would needs go seek her townish sister’s house.

She thought herself endured to much pain:The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse...

From Second SatireSir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)

My mother’s maids, when they did sew and spin,

They sang sometimes a song of the field mouse,

That for because their livelihood was but so thin

Would needs go seek her townish sister’s house.

She thought herself endured to much pain:The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse...

Couplet

•A stanza consisting of two lines that rhyme

Whether or not we find what we are seekingis idle, biologically speaking.— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the end of a sonnet)

Whether or not we find what we are seekingis idle, biologically speaking.— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the end of a sonnet)

Quatrain

•A stanza consisting of four lines

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of SpringYour Winter garment of Repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little wayTo flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of SpringYour Winter garment of Repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little wayTo flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.

Alternating Quatrain- a four line stanza rhyming "abab." From W.H. Auden's "Leap

Before You Look"

The sense of danger must not disappear: aThe way is certainly both short and steep,  bHowever gradual it looks from here; aLook if you like, but you will have to leap. b

Alternating Quatrain- a four line stanza rhyming "abab." From W.H. Auden's "Leap

Before You Look"

The sense of danger must not disappear: aThe way is certainly both short and steep,  bHowever gradual it looks from here; aLook if you like, but you will have to leap. b

Envelope Stanza- a quatrain with the rhyme scheme "abba", such that lines 2 and 3 are enclosed between the rhymes of lines 1 and 4. Two of these stanzas make up the Italian Octave used in the Italian sonnet. This is from Auden's "Look Before You Leap"

The worried efforts of the busy heap, aThe dirt, the imprecision, and the beer b

Produce a few smart wisecracks every year;  bLaugh if you can, but you will have to leap. a

Envelope Stanza- a quatrain with the rhyme scheme "abba", such that lines 2 and 3 are enclosed between the rhymes of lines 1 and 4. Two of these stanzas make up the Italian Octave used in the Italian sonnet. This is from Auden's "Look Before You Leap"

The worried efforts of the busy heap, aThe dirt, the imprecision, and the beer b

Produce a few smart wisecracks every year;  bLaugh if you can, but you will have to leap. a

Tone/Mood

The attitude a poet takes toward his/her subject*refers to the writer's attitude towards the subject of a literary work as indicated in the work itself. One way to think about tone in poetry is to consider the speaker's literal "tone of voice": just as with tone of voice, a poem's tone may indicate an attitude of joy, sadness, solemnity, silliness, frustration, anger, puzzlement, etc.

Imagery

•Representation of the five senses: sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell

•Creates mental images about a poem’s subject

Visual imagery: visual descriptions so vivid they seem to come to life in the reader's mind's when they are read, as in the description of a very old fish in Elizabeth Bishop's poem titled "The Fish":

Here and therehis brown skin hung in strips

like ancient wall-paper,and its pattern of darker

brownwas like wall-paper:

shapes like full-blown roses strained and lost through

age

Here and therehis brown skin hung in strips

like ancient wall-paper,and its pattern of darker

brownwas like wall-paper:

shapes like full-blown roses strained and lost through

age

Auditory imagery: descriptions of sound so vivid the reader seems almost to hear them while reading the poem. For example, Alexander Pope contrasts the gentle sounds of a whispering wind and a soft-running stream with the harsher sound of waves crashing on the shore in "Sound and Sense":The sound must seem an echo to the

sense:Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently bows,And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flow;But when the loud surges lash the sounding shore,The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar. (365-69)

The sound must seem an echo to the sense:Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently bows,And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flow;But when the loud surges lash the sounding shore,The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar. (365-69)

Images of smell (olfactory imagery): descriptions of smells so vivid they seem almost to stimulate the reader's own sense of smell while reading, as in the poem, "Root Cellar," by Theodore Roethke:

And what a congress of stinks!—

Roots ripe as old bait,Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,Leaf-mold, manure, lime,

piled against slippery planks.

Nothing would give up life:Even the dirt kept breathing

a small breath. (5-11)

And what a congress of stinks!—

Roots ripe as old bait,Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,Leaf-mold, manure, lime,

piled against slippery planks.

Nothing would give up life:Even the dirt kept breathing

a small breath. (5-11)

Tactile or "physical" imagery: descriptions conveying a strong, vivid sense of touch or physical sensation that the reader can almost feel himself or herself while reading, as in Robert Frost's description of standing on a ladder in "After Apple Picking": "My instep arch not only keeps the ache, / It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round. / I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend" (21-23). Or in the sensation of touch (and possibly taste) in the fourth stanza of Helen Chasin's poem, "The Word Plum":

The word plum is delicious

pout and push, luxury ofself-love, and savoring

murmur

full in the mouth and fallinglike fruit

taut skinpierced, bitten, provoked

into juice, and tart flesh. (1-8).

The word plum is delicious

pout and push, luxury ofself-love, and savoring

murmur

full in the mouth and fallinglike fruit

taut skinpierced, bitten, provoked

into juice, and tart flesh. (1-8).

Refrain•The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at certain intervals, usually at the end of each stanza •Similar to the chorus in a song

*The word 'Refrain'  derives from the Old French word refraindre meaning to repeat.

*Refrain Poetry Term is a phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after each stanza.

*A famous example of a refrain are the words  " Nothing More" and “Nevermore” which are repeated in “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. 

*The word 'Refrain'  derives from the Old French word refraindre meaning to repeat.

*Refrain Poetry Term is a phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after each stanza.

*A famous example of a refrain are the words  " Nothing More" and “Nevermore” which are repeated in “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. 

The Ravenby

Edgar Allan Poe

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted nevermore.

Repetition

•A word or phrase repeated within a line or stanza

Example: “gazed and gazed”

Sometimes, repetition reinforces or even substitutes for meter (the beat), the other chief controlling factor of poetry.

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the King's horses and all the King's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again

The repetition of a phrase in poetry may have an incantatory effect as in the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's "Ash-Wednesday":

Because I do not hope to turn againBecause I do not hope

Because I do not hope to turn....

The repetition of a phrase in poetry may have an incantatory effect as in the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's "Ash-Wednesday":

Because I do not hope to turn againBecause I do not hope

Because I do not hope to turn....

Sometimes the effect of a repeated phrase in a poem will be to emphasize a development or change by means of the contrast in the words following the identical phrases. For example, the shift from the distant to the near, from the less personal to the more personal is emphasized in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by such a repetition of phrases:

I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away;

I looked upon the rotting deck,And there the dead men lay.

Sometimes the effect of a repeated phrase in a poem will be to emphasize a development or change by means of the contrast in the words following the identical phrases. For example, the shift from the distant to the near, from the less personal to the more personal is emphasized in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by such a repetition of phrases:

I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away;

I looked upon the rotting deck,And there the dead men lay.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern in which end rhyme occurs

Rhymes are types of poems which have the the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words most often at the ends of lines. This technique makes the poem easy to remember and is therefore often used in Nursery Rhymes. There are several derivatives of the term rhyme which include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme, Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and Imperfect rhymes.

Rhymes are types of poems which have the the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words most often at the ends of lines. This technique makes the poem easy to remember and is therefore often used in Nursery Rhymes. There are several derivatives of the term rhyme which include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme, Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and Imperfect rhymes.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the King's horses, And all the King's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again!

Theme

The theme of the poem talks about the central idea, the thought behind what the poet wants to convey. A theme can be anything from a description about a person or thing, a thought or even a story. In short a theme stands for whatever the poem is about.

Symbolism

A poem often conveys feelings, thoughts and ideas using symbols, this technique is known as symbolism. A symbol in poetry can stand for anything and makes the reader take a systematic approach which helps him/her look at things in a different light. A symbol is a poetry style that is usually thought of in the beginning.

*poetry has developed over hundreds of years, certain symbolic meanings have attached themselves to such things as colors, places, times, and animals.

*A list of these common symbols and their meanings follows. The list does not exhaust the possible meanings and associations of a symbol or metaphor in any particular poem. You cannot merely plug these meanings into a poem and expect to understand the poem completely. Your own knowledge, associations, and experience are what will lead you to a deep and personal connection to any poem.

*poetry has developed over hundreds of years, certain symbolic meanings have attached themselves to such things as colors, places, times, and animals.

*A list of these common symbols and their meanings follows. The list does not exhaust the possible meanings and associations of a symbol or metaphor in any particular poem. You cannot merely plug these meanings into a poem and expect to understand the poem completely. Your own knowledge, associations, and experience are what will lead you to a deep and personal connection to any poem.

Sleep is often related to death. Dreams are linked to the future or fate.

Seasons often represent ages: spring--youth, summer--prime of life, autumn--middle age, winter--old age or death.

Water is sometimes linked to the idea of birth or purification.

Colors are often linked to emotions: red--anger, blue--happiness, green--jealousy. They are also used to represent states of being: black--death or evil, white--purity or innocence, green--growth.

Snakes and guns are often phallic; caves and underwater images often womb-like; nature imagery, in general, is often associated with the mother or the female.

The cycle of natural growth--birth, degeneration, death--often suggests the cycle of love. For example, a poem may trace a rose from bud to bloom to withered vine.

Animals have various associations: horse--phallic sexuality; doves, lambs, sleeping animals--peace; felines, birds of prey--dissension, war, danger; snakes, serpents--evil, phallic sexuality, fall from virtue, magic.

Forests are often places of testing or challenge.

Light--as the sun, the moon, stars, candles--often symbolizes good, hope, freedom.

Darkness is associated with evil, magic or the unknown.

The moon has several associations. It is sometimes a feminine symbol, sometimes associated with madness, sometimes with resurrection.

Dramatic Poetry

Dramatizes action though

dialogue or monologue

Narrative

Poetry Poetry-Tells a story

Lyrical Poetry Expresses Personal

thoughts and emotions.

Dramatic Poetry

A poem where the speaker is someone other then the

poet themselves. A Dramatic poem often

includes characters and dialogue. A Dramatic

Monologue is often from a fictional character’s point

of view.

“Meeting At Night”

By Robert Browning

*an emotional piece of literature which includes a story which is recited or sung.

DREAM it was in which I found myself. And you that hail me now, then hailed me king, In a brave palace that was all my own, Within, and all without it, mine; until, Drunk with excess of majesty and pride,

DREAM it was in which I found myself. And you that hail me now, then hailed me king, In a brave palace that was all my own, Within, and all without it, mine; until, Drunk with excess of majesty and pride,

“Be Still my Beating Heart”

- Sting

“Winter”

-Shakespeare

Expresses emotions, appeals

to your senses, and often could be set to music.

*Lyric Poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. *The term lyric is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. *Lyric poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. *The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions. 

Many lyric poems are about love, but they can be about anything which stirs the emotions.  The last of the examples of lyric poetry is a poem by Emily Dickinson named “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain”. It describes a person who is going insane, or thinks they are.

A Poem that tells a story, and has the

elements of a story. Often

Narrative poems have a

rhyme scheme.

“The Raven”

-Edgar Allen Poe

When the Author of a poem writes something, but doesn’t really mean it literally.

Metaphor

Simile

Analogy

Imagery

Personification

A comparison

NOT using like

or as.“”It is

the East, and

Juliet is the sun!”

The world

is a

stage! Romeo, “Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare

Similes

• When you compare something using like or as.

• The river is peaceful, like a new baby sleeping.Assignment:

Find the similes in “Be Still My Beating Heart”

When the author provides visual pictures as you read.

In a poem, you can often see the images the author writes about

The spring flowers, vibrant, electrified with

the newness of spring

• A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO APPARRENTLY DISSIMILAR THINGS MADE TO CLARIFY A CERTAIN POINT ABOUT ONE OF THEM.

EXAMPLES:

Glove is to hand as paint is to wall

Citizens are to president as solar system is to galaxy

Horses are to past societies as computers are to future societies

When human like qualities are given to an animal or object.

Example: An overly gregarious puppy.

A decrepit old car.

Who is the SPEAKER/

VOICE of the Poem?

Is it the poet or a character in

the poem?

What is the tone of the poem?

The Point of view can be the actual poet

him/herself, but may also be an animal, an

inanimate object, or a fictional character.

Connotation:The way a word makes us feel.

Words can give us different feelings when we hear them…some positive, some negative, and everything in between!

Denotation:The actual dictionary definition of the word.

Word Choice/Diction

Find some examples in the poem…

“Meeting at Night,”

Irony When something that wasn’t expected happens. Or when the opposite of what is expected happens.

For example:

In “Incident in a Rose Garden”

The devil wasn’t coming for the gardener, he was coming for the farmer!

• RHYME• RHYTHM• REPETITION• REFRAIN• ALLITERATION• ASSONANCE• ONOMATOPOEIA

• RHYME – REPETITON OF SIMILAR SOUNDS.

• RHYTHM – PATTERN OF STRESSED AND UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES IN EACH LINE. THE POEM HAS A REGULAR BEAT.

• RHYME SCHEME – A PATTERN OF RHYMES IN A POEM.

VS.

Refrain is when a poem repeats entire lines or more several times throughout.

Like the chorus of a song

Repetition is when a word or phrase is repeated just once or in one specific area of the poem.

Musical Devices

• Alliteration

When the same consonant sound is used throughout a piece of writing.

candy covered coconuts.

• Assonance When the same vowel

sound is used in words throughout a piece of writing

That is the way we will pray today, okay?

Onomatopoeia word that expresses sound…

Zip, zoom, bang, boom

Poetic FormS

Some forms include: Acrostic, Cinquain, Concrete,

Haiku, List, Limerick, Diamante

FORM – THE WAY A POEM LOOKS ON A PAGE.

LINES – POEMS ARE WRITTEN IN LINES, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.

STANZA – IN SOME FORMS OF POETRY, LINES ARE GROUPED INTO STANZAS.

STRUCTURED FORM – POEMS WITH A REGULAR, REPEATED PATTERN.

FREE VERSE – POEMS WITHOUT A REGULAR PATTERN.

ACROSTIC POETRYAN ACROSTIC POEM IS

ONE WHERE YOU CHOOSE A WORD OR NAME AND UE EACH LETTER IN THE

NAME AS THE BEGINNING OF A WORD OR LINE THAT

TELLS SOMETHING ABOUT THE PERSON OR

TOPIC!

• There is a classic example of acrostic poem in English written by Edgar Allan Poe is entitled simply "An Acrostic"

• Elizabeth it is in vain you say"Love not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:In vain those words from thee or L.E.L.Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.Endymion, recollect, when Luna triedTo cure his love — was cured of all beside —His follie — pride — and passion — for he died.

HAIKUA poem where

there are

5 syllables in the 1st line;

7 in the second line;

5 in the 3rd line.

I Love you so much,

I long to see your beauty,

Love the way you shine,

“You”

Pg 11

Tanka

A form of Japanese poetry that depends on the number of lines and syllables instead of rhyme. The pattern is: (31 syllables)

Line 1 = 5 syllables Line 2 = 7 syllables Line 3 = 5 syllables Line 4 = 7 syllables Line 5 = 7 syllables

Saying Goodbye

Carefully I walkTrying so hard to be brave

They all see my fearDark glasses cover their eyesAs mine flow over with tears

Saying Goodbye

Carefully I walkTrying so hard to be brave

They all see my fearDark glasses cover their eyesAs mine flow over with tears

Cinquains

Sister

Smart, Outgoing

Loving, playing, Laughing

Always in for some fun

Friend

•A Cinquain is a poem that resembles a diamond.

•It has 5 lines and begins with one word.

•The 2nd line has two adjectives that describe that word.

•The 3rd , three verbs.

•The 4th line is a phrase that goes deeper into the topic.

•The 5th line gives either a synonym for the first word, or a word that encompasses the whole poem.

The “Modern”

Cinquain

“Tucson Rain”

The smell

Everyone moves

To the window to look

Work stops and people start talking

Rain came

“Traditional” Cinquain

Pg 10

The list poem is a very old form of poetry.  It

itemizes things or events.  List poems can

be of any length, rhymed, or unrhymed.

• 1) The writer is telling you something--pointing something out--saying, "Look at this," or, "Think about this."2) There's a beginning and end to it, like in a story.3) The list is arranged with stylistic consistency and the words are arranged tocreate a parallel structure.

If I Were a Pirate

If I were a pirateI'd swagger and 

I'd wear a patch andI'd attack treasure

boats.I'd be fearsome!

What Bugs Me

When my teacher tells me to write a poem tonight.

When my mother tells me to clean up my room.

When my sister practices her violin while I'm watching TV.

When my father tells me to turn off the TV and do my homework.

When my brother picks a fight with me and I have to go to bed early.

When my teacher asks me to get up in front of the class and read the poem I

wrote on the school bus this morning.

Poetry in which authors use both

words and physical shape to convey a

message.

Another Concrete Poem

A SHORT, HUMOUROUS POEM COMPOSED OF FIVE LINES. IT

USUALLY HAS THE RHYME SCHEME AABBA, CREATED BY

TWO RHYMING COUPLETS FOLLOWED BY A FIFTH LINE

THAT RHYMES WITH THE FIRST COUPLET. A LIMERICK TYPICALLY

HAS A SING-SONG RHYTHM.

The form of poetry referred to as Limerick poems have received incredibly bad press and dismissed as not having a rightful place amongst what is seen as 'cultivated poetry'. The reason for this is three-fold:

*The content of many limericks is often of a bawdy and humorous nature.

*A Limerick as a poetry form is by nature simple and short - limericks only have five lines.

*And finally the somewhat dubious history of limericks have contributed to the critics attitudes.

• There was an Old Man with a beard,Who said, 'It is just as I feared!

Two Owls and a Hen,Four Larks and a Wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard!'

Diamante is a seven-line, diamond-shaped poem which contrasts two opposites. It is more a visual poem than one to be read aloud

It follows this format:

First Line and seventh line - Name the opposites. Second and sixth lines - Two adjectives describing the opposite nearest it. Third and fifth lines - Three participles (ing words) describing the nearest opposite. Fourth line - two nouns (if possible) for each of the opposites. (This is the transition point where the poem changes from one of the opposites to the other.)

Peaks,Snowcapped, windswept, 

Reaching, waiting, challenging 

mountain ranges, ocean trenches,

Obscuring, waiting, daunting 

Dark, blackDepths.

by Mrs. Sinclair

DogsHappy, Friendly

Running, Jumping, Barking

Paws, Tails, Claws, Teeth

Hiding, Avoiding, Demanding

Snobby, SkittishCats

DogsHappy, Friendly

Running, Jumping, Barking

Paws, Tails, Claws, Teeth

Hiding, Avoiding, Demanding

Snobby, SkittishCats

Ballads are poems that tell a story. They are considered to be a form of narrative poetry. They are often used in songs and have a very musical quality to them.

I'll tell a tale, a thrilling tale of love beyond compareI knew a lad not long ago more gorgeous than any I've seen.And in his eyes I found my self a 'falling in love with the swain.Oh, the glorious fellow I met by the ocean with eyes of deep-sea green!

He was a rugged sailor man with eyes of deep-sea green,And I a maid, a tavern maid! Whose living was serving beer.So with a kiss and with a wave, off on his boat he sailedAnd left me on the dock, the thief! Without my heart, oh dear!

And with a heart that's lost at sea, I go on living still.I still am now still serving beer in that tavern by the sea.And though the pay check's still the same, the money won't go as farFor now I feed not just myself, but my little one and me!

So let that be a lesson, dear, and keep your heart safely hid.I gave mine to a sailing thief with gorgeous eyes of green.

Save yours for a sweeter lad who makes the land his home.Ah me! If only I'd never met that sailor by the sea!

-- Lonnie Adrift

A sonnet is simply a poem written in a certain format. You can identify a sonnet if the poem has the following characteristics:

14 lines. All sonnets have 14 lines which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains.