English Language Arts 9

Pause for Thought

Today I Wrote This Poem Today I wrote this poem,

but I'm not sure if it's good.It doesn't have the thingsmy teacher says a poem should.

It doesn't share the feelingsI have deep inside of me.It hasn't any metaphorsand not one simile.

It's missing any narrative.Alliteration too.It isn't an acrostic,diamante, or haiku.

There's nothing that's personified.It doesn't have a plot.I'm pretty sure that rhymingis the only thing it's got.

It sure was fun to write it,and I think it's long enough.It's just too bad it's missingall that great poetic stuff.

I put it on my teacher's deskand, wow, she made a fuss.She handed back my poemwith an A++++!

--Kenn Nesbitt

What is Poetry?

Poetry is a literary genre written in lines and stanzas.

Line: the basic unit of a poem

Stanza: a collection of lines in a poem

Types of Poetry

1. Ballad: a story poem usually meant to be sung. There are two types Traditional: writer often unknown, it tells a

single story, is often passed down from generation to generation. Usually rhymes and has a lot of repetition as it can be easily remembered.

Literary: often written in four line stanzas with the second and fourth lines rhyming. The author’s name is known and it does not have a tune. Also tells simple stories of things or events

Types of poetry continued

2. Free verse: a form of poetry that does not follow a set rhythm

3 Lyrical: a poem that expresses intense personal thoughts moods and emotions.

3. Narrative: a poem that tells a story

Types of poetry continued

4. Haiku:a seventeen syllable poem. It has three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second seven syllables and the third five syllables. Many haikus are about nature.

5. Concrete: a poem whose shape or visual appearance contributes t its meaning.

6. Sonnet: a fourteen line poem written in iambic pentamenter \U

Poetry makes use of figurative language. There are four types:

1. simile: a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as

2. metaphor: a direct comparison of two things not usually thought of as alike without using like or as.

3. personification: the giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects

4. hyperbole: an extreme exaggeration

Sound Devices used in Poetry

alliteration: the repetition of the same consonant sound in a line of poetry

onomatopoeia: when a word sound like its meaning or what it is.

assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound in consecutive words in a line of poetry or prose

repetition: the repeating of a word or words in a line of poetry.

Literal verses Figurative Meaning in Poetry

Literal Meaning: A reader’s take on what the poem is saying literally. When answering a question on literal meaning it is important to take what the words say at face value. Don’t forget to put part of the question in the answer. Create flow in your answer by creating a link between sentences. A suggestion is to summarize the content line by line or stanza by stanza. Avoid run on sentences.

Figurative meaning

Figurative Meaning: Involves looking at a poem’s symbolic meaning. Symbolically the poem has a message for the audience that is implied( hinted at) rather than stated out and out (explicit).

Irony:is when something happens that is the opposite to what

you expect to happen Three types of irony:

Verbal irony: say something mean the opposite

Dramatic irony: when one character or the audience is aware of something other characters are not aware of.

Situational irony: a contrast between what a character says or what he or she means or a contrast between what a character expects to happen and what actually happens.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the five senses

Visual imagery is the most common type of imagery

Some writer’s even manage to create images of the way things smell, taste or feel.

Simile or Metaphor His wife is a shrew. ___________ His face was as red as a

beet.________ She’s as big as a whale.________ He’s a snake.________ The sea is a hungry dog.___________ The fall leaves looked like monarch

butterflies dancing on the lawn._______

Personification or Hyperbole

The whistle blast made me jump ten feet into the air.__________

Blues never climb a hill or sit on a roof in starlight_________

The fire is dancing tonight and the winds are talking.________

The suit was as old as the hills._________

She’s dying to meet her favorite movie star._______

Write a sentence which personifies each object

Time: Pens: Trees: Leaves: Beach:

What type of poem am I?Wind, gently blowing

Up, around, and through the trees.

Plays tag with my bike

I am a HAIKU

My first line has five syllables My second line has seven syllables My third line has five syllables

Wind, gently blowing 5

Up, around, and through the trees. 7

Plays tag with my bike 5

Poetry Quiz

1. __________ is a grouping of lines in a poem.

2. ________ are matching word sounds at the end of lines of poetry.

3. __________ a form of writing in which the poet writes in lines and stanzas.

4. _______ the main idea in a piece of writing.

5. ___________ a direct comparison without using words like or as.

Quiz continued

6.A narrative poem written in a songlike form is a ______________poem.

7.A poem that tells a story is a _______.

8._________is giving objects or animals human qualities.

9.A comparison of two things using the words like or as is a ________.

Quiz continued

10.________ when writing means exactly what it says.

11.The repetition of the same consonant sounds in consecutive words in a line of poetry________.

12._________ is when the sound of a word resembles its meaning.

13.________ is the feeling that is created in a piece of writing.

14.__________ a form of poetry with no set rhyme scheme.

Quiz continued

15.__________ an exaggeration in a piece of writing.

16.The repetition of the same word a number of times in a line of poetry________.

17.The writer’s feelings as expressed in a poem_____.

18. A Japanese poem usually about nature. Written in three lines with 5, 7 5, syllables in each line respectively.__________

Quiz continued

19.The pattern of rhyme in a poem is the ___________.

20.The most basic unit of a poem is __________.