Introduction to Poetry

Key Terms

StandardELA8R1g The student Analyzes and evaluates

the effects of sound, form, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in literature:

i. Sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, rhyme scheme, meter)

ii. Figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery).

What is a Poem(1)?

• A poem is a verbal composition created in verse rather than prose

• Prose is ordinary writing that relies on sentences and paragraphs.

• Verse is writing that happens in lines or stanzas. It is not confined to paragraphs.

Line (4)

• A line is a row of words within a poem. • A line might be very long, or it might be as

short as one word, or even one letter. • One complete thought might be split up over

several lines, so a reader shouldn’t necessarily pause at the end each line. It might flow right into the next one with no stop. Pause when you reach punctuation.

1. How many lines?2. Where should the reader pause?

If I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain;If I can ease one life the aching,Or cool one pain,Or help one fainting robinUnto his nest again,I shall not live in vain.

- Emily Dickinson

Stanza (3)

• A stanza is one group of lines within a poem. • A stanza can be made of as many lines as the

poet desires. • Stanzas are usually separated by a horizontal

gap of space on a page. • A poem might have one stanza or many

stanzas. • The form each stanza follows does not have to

match, but it can.

How Many Stanzas

I have eaten This is Just To Saythe plums by: William Carlos Williamsthat were inthe icebox

and whichyou were probablysavingfor breakfast

Forgive methey were deliciousso sweetand so cold

Rhyme (2)

• A rhyme is 2 or more words that end with the same vowel sound.

• Poems can rhyme, but they don’t have to. • Rhyming words can be found in a Rhyming

Dictionary

Rhyme Scheme (5)

• Rhyme Scheme is the pattern in which a poem’s rhymes are arranged.

• Some poems have a very rigid, predictable rhyme scheme pattern

• Some poems have no rhyme scheme at all

Labeling Rhyme Scheme• We label rhyme scheme by calling the first line

“A.” Every line in that stanza that rhymes with “A” is labeled “A.”

• The first line that does NOT rhyme with “A” is labeled “B.” Every line that rhymes with “B” is labeled “B.”

• Continue going through the alphabet until you run out of lines in the stanza.

• We name the rhyme scheme after the pattern

Example: A Hippo is Bounding…A hippo is bounding around on my head.Gorillas are banging on drums.A rhino is charging me full speed ahead while a crocodile's eyeing my thumbs.

A rattlesnake's winding his way up my side.A tiger is sniffing my clothes.A grizzly just grabbed me, his mouth open wide.A tarantula's perched on my nose.

I'm drowning, surrounded by man-eating sharks.An elephant sits on my chest.Yes, that's how it feels when the teacher remarks,"Grab your pencils. It's time for the test."

--Kenn Nesbitt

Free Verse (22)

• Free Verse is when a poem has no set rhyme or pattern.

• The verse does not conform to a specified number of lines or syllables.

• It may have no rhyme whatsoever, though the author may occasionally throw a rhyme in here and there. The rhyme, however, will NOT have a pattern.

Free Verse ExampleSunset by: Lillian Moore

There's dazzle in the western skyColors spill andrunThe pond mouthlies open greedyfor the last dropofmeltingsun

Assignment!

• Write a poem in your interactive notebook (on page 6). You can write about family, friends, or current events (things going on in the world). You can make it have a rhyme scheme or use free verse.

• GO!