Poetry Homework Document

Transcription

1 1 Poetic Devices Poetry Homework Document Alliteration is a term used in poetry to describe words in a line that begin with the same letter or sound. E. g. One old Oxford Ox opening oysters. Repetition- When a word is written or said again and again. A poet will use repetition to draw the reader s attention to a certain word. Assonance the repetition of vowel sounds Sibilance the repetition of the s sound. Onomatopoeia - Onomatopoeic words are words that make the sound of a particular noise or action. E.g. the snake hissed at its predator. Personification- when a writer gives something that is not human, people like qualities. E.g. the waves danced towards the shore. Simile- a simile is when a writer describes something as being like or as something else. E.g. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds. The night was as black as coal. Metaphor- a metaphor is similar to a simile but it does not use like or as. E.g. it was a coal black night. Oxymoron Two words positioned together that have contrasting ideas Enjambment the continuation of a sentence from one line to the next. Which of the devices are below? When you ve decided, can you write three new versions for each type? Go! Go! Go! Nighty, Night. It felt just like custard dripping off a spoon Your face is the sun Quack! The branched grabbed us Crash! Went the tray. Its as cold as ice The waves danced across the sand Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. The cat was the queen of the armchair

2 2 Pegasus My soul was an horse Offered for sale in fairs I offered him to the Church the buyers Were men who feared his airs. One said: Let him remain unbid In the wind and rain and Of sin and we will get him- With the winkers thrown in for nothing. Then the men of State looked at What I d bought or sale. One minister, wondering if Another - body would fit the tail That he d kept for sentiment The of his own soul - Said, I will graze him in lieu of his labour I lent him for a week or more And he came back a hurdle of bones,,, in despair. I nursed him on the grass To him for fair. Old Starved Horse Shape Relic Another Roadside Little Twenty Overworked Unusual Hunger Make your decisions which are the best choices for each gap? Sometimes it ll make perfect sense, but sometimes two or more choices could work. It s up to you. There are no wrong answers with poetry!

3 3 Fill in your own adjectives what extra flavour can you add to this poem by Simon Armitage about something he did when at school. I am bothered when I think Of the things that I have done in my life. Not least that time in the, lab When I held a pair of scissors by the blades And played the handles In the flame of the Bunsen burner; Then called your name, and handed them over. O the stench of skin As you slipped your thumb and finger in, Then couldn t shake off the two rings. Marked, The doctor said, for eternity. Don t believe me, please, if I say That was just my way at thirteen, Of asking you if you would marry me.

4 4 A Mysterious Event Out of the furnace The great fish rose Its silver tail on fire But with slowness Like something sorry To be rid of the earth. The boiling mountains Of snow white cloud Searched for a space to go into And the ground thundered With a roar That set teacups Rattling in a kitchen Twenty miles away. Across the blue it arched Milk bottle white But shimmering in the haze. And the watchers by the fence Held tinted glass against their eyes And wondered at what a man could do To make so large a thing To fly so far and free. While the unknown Universe awaited; For waiting Was what it had always been good at. Gareth Owen

5 5 A Mysterious Event - 2 Re- read the poem carefully. You have to decide on a title for this poem and explain your choice by referring to parts of the poem What object and event does the poem describe? Look at the noun phrases used to describe the object and what is happening to it. What effect do they create? This poem is made up of five long sentences. What is happening or what has been described in each of these five sentences? In the final sentence of the poem the poet describes the Universe as waiting. Who or what is it waiting for? There are three important metaphors in this poem and you need to decide what they are referring to. The metaphors are: the furnace, the great fish and the blue. Write a PEA to explain your answers to the above questions. Remember: P Make your point E Find some evidence from the text to support your ideas A Analysis how your evidence proves your point. Here is an example: P The poet is describing a volcano erupting. E Boiling mountains of snow white cloud. A When a volcano erupts it creates lots of steam and cloud. The adjective boiling describes not only how hot these clouds are but it also creates a picture of the cloud moving up and bubbling over. By describing the cloud as being a mountain, a link is also made as a volcano is also a mountain.

6 6 Mysterious Event 3 What is a furnace? What do you associate with it? Why is the spaceship fish shaped? What does the poet mean here? Personification of clouds. Why is arched such an effective verb? What does the poet suggest the watchers are thinking? Out of the furnace The great fish rose Its silver tail on fire But with slowness Like something sorry To be rid of the earth. The boiling mountains Of snow white cloud Searched for a space to go into And the ground thundered With a roar That set teacups Rattling in a kitchen Twenty miles away. Across the blue it arched Milk bottle white But shimmering in the haze. And the watchers by the fence Held tinted glass against their eyes And wondered at what a man could do To make so large a thing To fly so far and free. While the unknown Universe awaited; For waiting Was what it had always been good at. Significant contrast of nouns: furnace/ fish Boiling tells us how the clouds look and how they are moving. Tells us about the power of the take off but this also a contrast: ordinary vs extraordinary. Who are the watchers? Personification of Universe why? Gareth Owen

7 7 What types of poetry could you study? The Haiku This is a Japanese form of poetry where the writer tries to capture the mood of something in three short lines. The first and third lines should have five syllables each and the second line should have seven. The Tanka The Tanka has five lines, with 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 syllables respectively. The Limerick The Limerick has five lines and a rhyming scheme aabba. The first, second and fifth lines will rhyme and the third and fourth with rhyme. A Ballad A ballad is a narrative (story) poem usually dealing with love, death or war. An Elegy A sad poem, usually lamenting the dead. An Epic Poem An epic poem is a very long narrative poem, usually about the heroic exploits of some great figure from history. Free Verse Lines of poetry, which do not comply to any poetic principles or patterns. A Lyric A lyric is a short poem showing deep personal feelings and emotions of the writer. A Sonnet A Sonnet is a fourteen-lined poem with a strict rhyming scheme.

8 8 How to Analyse Poems Correctly Analyse your poem carefully and list the techniques used. You must also explain what mood or feeling is created by these techniques. These might include: Repetition to emphasise a point or an idea Alliteration to build up a sound pattern and create a mood Descriptive verbs to create a clear picture in the reader s mind Noun phrases to add detail Unusual combinations of words to grab the reader s attention Rhyme Metaphor, simile or personification Exclamations or imperatives to highlight an important feeling Any other feature of the poem that you feel adds meaning and mood.

9 9 The Raven Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. `'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door - Only this, and nothing more.' Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore - Nameless here for evermore. And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating `'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door - Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; - This it is, and nothing more,' Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, `Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; - Darkness there, and nothing more. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!' This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!' Merely this and nothing more. Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. `Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore - Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; - 'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

10 10 At Sea With nothing to do now he s gone, she dusts the house, sweeps the bleached verandah clear of sand. The broom leaves a trail of grit on the step, a sprinkling under the hook where it hangs. A coat for a pillow, she sleeps downstairs, dreams the loathed ocean is coming for her, climbing in through the door. She wake to the screaming gulls, his shirts on the line and the high tide s breakers chill in her arms. Jennifer Copley The Sands of Dee O MARY, go and call the cattle home, And call the cattle home, And call the cattle home Across the sands of Dee; The western wind was wild and dank with foam, And all alone went she. The western tide crept up along the sand, And o er and o er the sand, And round and round the sand, As far as eye could see. The rolling mist came down and hid the land: And never home came she. Oh! is it weed, or fish, or floating hair, A tress of golden hair, A drownèd maiden s hair Above the nets at sea? Was never salmon yet that shone so fair Among the stakes of Dee. They rowed her in across the rolling foam, The cruel crawling foam, 20 The cruel hungry foam, To her grave beside the sea: But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home Across the sands of Dee.