{ Poetry

overview

Poetry is “literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.” (Encyclopedia Brittanica)

Key words: emotion, language, meaning, sound, and rhythm.

What is poetry?

{ { Myth

Poetry should rhyme

Fact

A poet may choose a rhyme scheme, a few rhymes, or no rhyme at all

Myth vs. Fact

{ { Bad Morning (Langston Hughes)

Here I sit With my shoes mis-mated Lawdy-Mercy! I’s frustrated

Fog (Carl Sandburg) The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

{ { Myth

Poetry is weepy and emotional

Fact

Poetry can express the full range of emotions, from sadness or grief to love to anger to delight to humor

Myth vs. Fact

{ { Shel Silverstein

Who wants a pancake, Sweet and piping hot? Good little Grace looks up and says, “I’ll take the one on top.” Who else wants a pancake, Fresh off the griddle? Terrible Theresa smiles and says, “I’ll take the one in the middle.”

Pancake?

{ { Myth

Poetry is easy to write because there are no rules

Fact

While it is true that poetry is the most free-form of literature, it is up to the poet to decide the rules for his or her own composition. You will rarely read poetry by an accomplished writer that truly follows NO rules.

Myth vs. Fact

{ { [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

A poem’s rhyme scheme is determined by lettering the end of the first line A

If the next line rhymes with the first, it’s also A. If not, B.

Continue with this pattern. Any words at the end of a line that rhyme should have the same letter (even if they are in different stanzas)

A few key ideas…

Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; In my own way, and with my full consent. Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely Went to their deaths more proud than this one went. Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping I will confess; but that’s permitted me; Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free. If I had loved you less or played you slyly I might have held you for a summer more, But at the cost of words I value highly, And no such summer as the one before. Should I outlive this anguish—and men do— I shall have only good to say of you.

Try it! (“Well, I have lost you” by Edna St. Vincent Millay)

Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; A In my own way, and with my full consent. B Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely A Went to their deaths more proud than this one went. B Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping C I will confess; but that’s permitted me; D Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping C Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free. D If I had loved you less or played you slyly E I might have held you for a summer more, F But at the cost of words I value highly, E And no such summer as the one before. F Should I outlive this anguish—and men do— G I shall have only good to say of you. G

Did you get it? Note: Fairly, me, slyly almost rhyme. That’s called slant rhyme.

The breaks between chunks in poems denote where the stanzas begin and end. Stanzas in poems are sort of like paragraphs in writing; they will usually have their own focus/idea that contributes to the poem’s meaning overall

A few key ideas…

Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; In my own way, and with my full consent. Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely Went to their deaths more proud than this one went. Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping I will confess; but that’s permitted me; Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free. If I had loved you less or played you slyly I might have held you for a summer more, But at the cost of words I value highly, And no such summer as the one before. Should I outlive this anguish—and men do— I shall have only good to say of you.

Ok, this relationship is over, which I accept

I mean, yeah, I have been sad about it, but I didn’t want to try to force you to stay

I could have made this last a little lover, but it wouldn’t be worth it

I will probably get over it, and don’t worry, I won’t say anything bad about you

Since poets are usually going for a single, strong idea, they use figurative language, sensory details, and sound devices to make an impact with their readers

Different poems use different devices for different reasons. However, you will always want to figure out WHY the device is used.

A few key ideas…

Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; In my own way, and with my full consent. Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely Went to their deaths more proud than this one went. Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping I will confess; but that’s permitted me; Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free.

Repetition emphasizes that the speaker knows the subject is lost and “owns” the truth

Sensory detail emphasizes powerful emotion

Compares death of relationship to death of king– relationship was important!

Personification emphasizes that speaker is going through the motions– she didn’t overcome her own feelings

Metaphor compares lost love/relationship to a bird in a cage that wants to be free. Makes the speaker sound noble for letting relationship go.

Some of the most popular poems throughout American history have actually been songs. As we move through this unit, you will see both poems and song lyrics presented as poems.

As far back as Homer (The Odyssey), poems have been set to music to aid memory. In America, singing in groups has been and is still a way to show unity (Alma Mater!)

A few key ideas…