Poetry

What is Poetry?• It’s a kind of language that says more and says it

more intensely than ordinary language. (Laurence Perrine)

• A literary composition written with an intensity or beauty of language.

• It conveys experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way.

• It uses language chosen for its sound and suggestive power.

Functions

• to imitate• to engage attention• to feed imagination• to form one’s cultural identity• to enjoy the sound • to learn metaphors

What is poetry?

• What it is, exactly, is less important than how it makes us feel.

Poetry by Eleanor Farjeon (1966)

What is Poetry? Who Knows?Not a rose but the scent of the rose;Not the sky but the light in the sky;Not the fly but the gleam of the fly;Not the sea but the sound of the sea;Not myself but what makes meSee, hear, and feel something that prose Cannot, what it is, who knows?

Poetry… by Carl Sandburg

• is the opening and closingof a door,leaving thosewho look throughto guess aboutwhat was seenduring a moment

Elements of Poetry

• Rhythm• Rhyme and sound• Imagery• Figurative language:

– Comparison and Contrast• Shape• Emotional force, mood• Diction

Diction• Latinate and Germanic Diction

– Poetry is often associated with fancy or elaborate vocabulary.

– Is French a more poetic language than German?– This need not be the case. Hesse uses simple, clear,

unpretentious language– Much more Germanic or Anglo-Saxon than Latinate

GERMANIC LATINATE GERMANIC LATINATE

anger, wrath rage, ire flood inundateask inquire friendly amicable

begin commence give providebelief creed go departbodily corporal god deity

brotherly fraternal help assistchild infant hen poultry

come arrive hill mountdeadly mortal motherly maternal

earth soil new novel, modernfatherly paternal shut close

first primary teach educate

Poetry for children• Like poetry for adults but

may comment in a different way

• Poetry that is cute, coy, nostalgic, or sarcastic might be about children, but it is not for them. (Charlotte Huck)

• Didactic or preachy poems are usually not insightful or particularly enjoyable.

Poems can be funny

Eletelephony Laura E. Richards

Once there was an elephant,Who tried to use the telephant—No! no! I mean an elephoneWho tried to use the telephone—

(Dear me! I am not certain quiteThat even now I've got it right.)Howe'er it was, he got his trunkEntangled in the telephunk;

The more he tried to get it free,The louder buzzed the telephee—I fear I'd better drop the songOf elephop and telephong!)

The Burp by Anonymous• Pardon me for being rude.

It was not me, it was my food.It got so lonely down below,it just popped up to say hello.

Poems can be fun

Betty Botter

Betty Botterbought some butter."But," she said,"the butter's bitter.If I put itin my batter,it will makemy batter bitter.But a bitof better butter--that would makemy batter better."

So she boughta bit of butter,better thanher bitter butter.And she put itin her batter,and the batterwas not bitter.So 'twas betterBetty Botterbought a bitof better butter!

How good a tongue twister are you?40 seconds and over:Too slow. Your grandparents could say the poem faster.30 to 40 seconds:Not bad. You're probably a faster talker than the President.20 to 30 seconds:Pretty good. You've been gifted with a fast pair of lips.15 to 20 seconds:Excellent. You can out talk anyone around.14 seconds or less:You are a tongue tying champion!

Swimming Ool by Kenn Nesbitt

Swimming in the swimming pool is where I like to "B," wearing underwater goggles so that I can "C." Yesterday, before I swam, I drank a cup of "T." Now the pool's a "swimming ool" because I took a "P."

Poems can be insightful

My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow-- Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.   

My Shadow (cont.)He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see; I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! One morning, very early, before the sun was up, I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

HalfI never finish anything. I leave my work half done.At breakfast I'm served two fried eggs. I always eat just one.At school I'm only half awake. I don't stand half a chance. I like to wear my shorts to school because they're like half pants.I read no more than half a book and finish half my test. In class I'm always teased a lot because I'm just half dressed.This poem is supposed to have exactly fourteen lines.

Poems can express serious feelings

Which Lunch Table ? • Where do I sit?

         All my friends         from last year          have changed;          my world is                 f r a c t u r e d                 l o p s i d e d                r e a r r a n g e d.

          Where do I fit?          Nothing is clear.          Can already tell          this will be           a jigsaw year.

Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poemsby Kristine O'Connell GeorgeClarion Books, 2002

Poems can speak through their shapes

(Concrete poems)

"Breezes," by Court Smith,

THE WINDLESS ORCHARD, 31, p. 12

A concrete poem

A Gentle Breeze

People are always finding new ways to create poetry

Arms by Dan Weber

• http://www.vispo.com/guests/DanWaber/arms.htm

• The poem uses the internet to create poetry in a new form.

Fun Poems children can create

Alphabet (ABC)• Each line begins with the next letter of the alphabet.

• Example:

A young girl was walking in the rain.But her umbrella didn't open.Couldn't run, couldn't hurry,Dressed in new shoes,Entered a house full of dolls.Found all her friends enjoying them.

Acrostic• The first

letter of each line form a word itself…

• which might be the subject of the poem.

• Example

Crisp and colorfulAdorable and crunchyNice and tastyDelicious and temptingYummy and best

Cinquain• Line 1 = 1 noun, title• Line 2 = 2 adjectives. Description• Line 3 = 3 verbs. Actions• Line 4 = A phrase with 5 words• Line 5 = restate the title in other words

PenguinsBlack, whiteSwimming, jumping, fishingThey dive into freezing water.Birds in suits.

“Penguins” ~Kenneth Miller

Diamante• Similar to a

cinquain, but with seven lines with top and bottom lines mirroring each other.

• Example

“Winter and Summer”

WinterFrosty, Bright

Skiing, Snow Ball Fighting, SleddingIcicles, Snowflakes, Vacation, FamilySwimming, Sun Tanning, Sweltering

Hot, Sunny Summer

~ Lyndsey M

Haiku• Japanese origin• based mainly on nature and rarely rhymes• Usually three lines with

– the first line containing 5 syllable, – the second line 7 and – the third line 5.

• Example

‘Night and Day’

The stars are shiningthey will shimmer and they‘ll glowuntil the sun shines

~Mattie M.

Limerick• a poem of 5 lines. • Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another.

Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other.

• Example

There was an Old Man with a flute,A serpent ran into his boot;But he played day and night,Till the serpent took flight,And avoided that man with a flute. ~ Edward Lear

Next WeekPresent your poems in groups similar to the folktale presentations

•You have 5-7 minutes each. •You want to grab your audience's interest and make them care about your poem. • Be as creative and interesting as possible to share your poem. • Involve your group members as much as possible.

– Ask them to read some parts. – Ask questions about the poem. – Have them do some actions. – Do anything you like, but you want them to enjoy this experience and the

poem. • Choose one poem from your group to share with the class.