What is poetry?

From Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes

Poetry is…• One of the three major types of literature (the

others being prose and drama)• “Literature that makes use of highly concise,

musical, and emotionally charged language.”• May “make use of imagery, figurative language,

and special devices of sound such as rhyme.”• Often divided up into lines and stanzas with

regular rhythms or meters.

But really, what is poetry?

Poetry is a picture, painted with words. The poet is an artist and language is his color palette. At first glance, the picture may appear to be random brushstrokes, but when the eye looks more deeply, it sees the whole picture as it was meant to be seen.

Poetry Vocabulary List 1

1. Beguiling- tricking; charming2. Desolate-deserted; abandoned3. Languid- drooping; weak4. Bafflement- puzzlement; bewilderment5. Chortled- made a jolly, chuckling sound6. Diverged- branched out in different

directions

List One Continued

7. Pallid- pale8. Depravity- crookedness; corruption9. Respite- rest; relief10.Quaint- strange; unusual (in an old-

fashioned way)

Page 352 of your textbook

“Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves

did gyre and gimble in the wabe;All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that

catch!Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:Long time the manxome foe he

sought—So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and throughThe vorpal blade went snicker-

snack!He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

“And has thou slain the Jabberwock?Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig and the slithy tovesdid gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe.

Literary Term Interlude• What is a stanza?

(Hint: Refer to handout)

• How many stanzas make up “Jabberwocky”?

Discussion Questions

• Can you tell what the general idea of the poem is?

• What clues do you get from the poem as to the meaning?

• Even though many of these words are not familiar to you, why can you still get a general idea? Hint: Think structure.

Important Fact:

• This poem uses portmanteau words.• A portmanteau word is an invented word;

some are formed by blending two words into one.

• What two words form chortled?

• “O frabjous day!”• What two words might be blended to form

the word “frabjous”?

Grammar Mini-Lesson

• You can determine parts of speech for many of these portmanteau words by looking at their function and position in the sentence.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

Parts of speech:Slithy:Toves:Gyre:Gimble:Wabe:

Grammar Continued‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

Parts of speech:Slithy: Adjective (modifies toves)Toves: Noun (probably an animal)Gyre: Verb (action done by the toves)Gimble: Verb (action done by the toves)Wabe: Noun (probably a place)

FUN ACTIVITY• Get together in a group of three or

four• Choose one person to write. • Wherever the poet uses a

portmanteau word, replace it with a word that you know.

• Try to make the poem make sense.• Pick a person to read your new

version out loud.

Now that you know a bit more…

• Did everyone have similar “translation” versions?

• Whose version did you like the best?• Which parts of the poem are serious?• Funny?

Some types of poetry

• Lyric–Sonnet–Ode

• Narrative–Ballad–Epic

• Haiku• Limerick• Elegy (see handout)

• Epigram (see handout)

What is a narrative poem?

• A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story, such as Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

Two Types of Narrative PoetryBallads

A ballad is a poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend. Ballads often have repeated refrains

EpicsAn epic is a long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure. A famous example of an epic poem is Homer’s Odyssey. Stay tuned for more on work.

Narrative Poem: “The Raven”

• Poet: Edgar Allan Poe

• Narrative poetry tells a story.

• Line by line, summarize the story told in “The Raven.” Page 832

Stanzas 1-4

• What is the narrator doing at the beginning of the story?

• What does he hear?• What is the time of year?• Why is the narrator sorrowful?• Who is Lenore?

• How does the narrator feel in stanza 3?• What does he tell himself in order to calm

down?• What does he do in stanza 4?

Stanzas 5-10

• What word does the narrator hear upon opening the door?

• What does he tell himself that he is hearing?

• What does he see when he flings the shutter open?

• What literary device is used in line 41?• What words does Poe use to create a

suspenseful mood in stanza 8?• What word does the raven continue to

repeat?

Stanzas 11-18• How does the speaker rationalize the raven’s

behavior?• In lines 79-84, what does the speaker determine is

the raven’s purpose?• What sudden change occurs in Line 85?• What question is the speaker asking the bird?

• What is the raven’s answer to this question?• What does the speaker want the raven to do in next

to last stanza?• How does the raven respond?• How does the poem end?

Symbolism• Write at least two

paragraphs about what the raven might symbolize and why Poe chose the raven instead of another bird. Be sure to give details that support your answer.

Journal Topic

Write about a time when you have been truly scared. How did it make you feel? Were you alone or with someone else? What were the circumstances? Be as detailed as possible.

What is a lyric poem?

• A lyric poem is highly emotional in nature.• It expresses the thoughts and feelings of

the poet• Lyric poetry has a musical feel to it and

may resemble a song

Examples from your book:

“The Eagle,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson(page 796)

Two Types of Lyric Poetry Ode-Serious and thoughtful with a precise,

formal structure.

Sonnet- 14 lines long, divided into two groups; English and Italian. (see handout for terms)– English- also called Shakespearean, composed

of three quatrains and a final couplet– Italian- also called Petrarchan, divided into two

quatrains and a six-line sestet.

“The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference

Questions to Ponder

• This poem is symbolic of a larger topic than simply walking down the road? What is that larger topic?

• What is the author’s tone?– Remember…tone is the author’s attitude

toward his subject• What has made all the difference?• What is the rhyme scheme?

Assignment• Choose a song that you like and either

copy it down by hand or print out the lyrics Make sure your poem adheres to the following guidelines:

• No obscenities or obscene references (songs with obscene references will result in a failing grade for this assignment)

• You should be able to find at least one example of figurative language such as metaphor, simile, symbolism, or imagery.

• Write 1 paragraph that details the meaning of the song and 1 that addresses the literary devices used. (Bonus points for extra literary devices)

Example:

• “Elephant Love Medley” from Moulin Rouge

• Personification• Metaphor

Haiku• A haiku is a Japanese

poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.

• Haiku often focus on nature.

• See page 844 of your textbook for examples

Limericks• A limerick is a light,

humorous poem of five lines with a rhyme scheme of aabba.

• Limericks usually have a specific rhythmic pattern

There once was a lady from Niger

Who smiled as she rode on a tiger

They returned from the ride

With the lady insideAnd the smile on the

face of the tiger

Other Examples of Limericks

It’s a classical poetry formIn which rhythm and rhyme must conform

but it gets no respectwhich you’d clearly expect

Unless it decides to reform.

Your Turn

Literary Devices

• “Dream Deferred” (pg 798)

• “Dreams” (pg 799)

• “Summer” (pg 815)

• “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud”

• Simile, imagery

• Metaphor

• Onomatopoeia

• Personification

Poetry Project

Choose one poem that we have covered, or another in the book, and make a collage that embodies the topics and themes of

the poem. Use a piece of posterboard and cover it with pictures either from

magazines or other sources. Leave no white space.