Poetry Unit 7 th Grade English ~ Naess Name: I. Unit objectives To help you enjoy poetry more, understand poetry better, & appreciate the thought and design required in writing different styles of poetry. II. WHAT IS POETRY? Initially, Poetry might be defined as kind of language that says and says it than does ordinary language. All of human experience is the realm of poetry. Poetry can be contrasted to. Ordinary language is the most common use of language; it is used to communicate. Telling someone the time, giving directions or facts are examples of ordinary language. In contrast to, there is the. The language of literature, as found in short stories, plays, novels, and poems, is not intended primarily to communicate information. Rather, these types of literature exist to bring a sense and perception of life, to widen and sharpen our contacts with existence. These types of writing are concerned with rather than facts. Literature exists to increase the range of our experience and to clarify it. vs. language. The dictionary definition of the word eagle: (Ordinary language) any of certain large diurnal birds of prey of the floan family, esp. the golden eagle, Aquila chryseatos, of the northern hemisphere, and the bald eagle, Haliaeetus Leucocephalus, of North America, noted for their size, strength, powerful flight, and keenness of vision. This is language A poetic description of an eagle: (Literary Language) He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. This is language 1.
The difference between literary and ordinary language is immediately apparent. Literary language tries to create a sense of and ; ordinary language attempts to convey information without breathing a spirit of. III. DEFINITIONS OF POETRY Prose: words in the best order; Poetry: the best words in the best order. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that it is poetry. -Emily Dickinson IV. IMPORTANT MARKS OF A GOOD POEM It contains an. In other words, the poet used his imagination. It contains an. The poet uses their emotions--for example the poem may stress feelings of love, fear, anger, or hate. It emphasizes (stresses). The poem has. (It can apply to a very large group of people.) A GOOD POEM MAY NOT HAVE ALL OF THESE QUALITIES, YET IT MAY STILL BE CONSIDERED A GOOD POEM V. STRATEGIES FOR READING POETRY In order to enjoy a poem to the fullest, one must READ THE POEM CORRECTLY. 1.. Notice the poemʼs form on the page: its shape, length, the length of the lines, and whether or not it has stanzas. 2.. Pause at the end of complete thought, not at the ends of lines. Look for end punctuation to help you find the end of a complete thought. As you read, see if there is rhyme and listen for rhythm as well as the overall sound of the words. 2.
3.. In your mindʼs eye, picture the images and comparisons. Do the images remind you of feelings or experiences you have had? Can you connect with any of the parts of the poem? 4.. Allow yourself to wonder about any phrases or words that seem to stand out. Think about what that choice of words adds to the poem. 5.. Ask yourself, Whatʼs the point of the poem? What message is the poet trying to send or help you create? 6.. When you finish reading, you are left with first impressions of the poem. Over time, you will add to your understanding based on the poem, your discussions in class, and other poetry you read. 7.. Remember that poetry is about feelings. You may connect with a particular poem because it expresses feelings that you yourself have felt. * Read poetry for. Donʼt be frustrated if you donʼt understand the meaning of one certain poem; go on to another one! There are hundreds of poems available to you on every level and subject. VI. UNDERSTANDING POETRY Poetry is the most compact form of literature. A poem packs all kinds of ideas, feelings, and sounds into a few carefully chosen words. The look, sound, and language of poetry all work together to create a total effect. A. - The way a poem looks -- or its arrangement on the page -- is form. Poetry is written in, which may or may not be sentences. Sometimes the lines are separated in to groups called. Remember that poets choose the arrangements of words and lines deliberately. The form of a poem can add to its meaning. Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Prose is words in the. - Poetry is the best words in the. French Poet Paul Valery - Prose is walking and poetry is. Poetry is measured in lines; prose is measured in. 3.
Prose Form: The rose fades and is renewed again by its seed, naturally. But where, save in the poem, shall it go to suffer no diminution of its splendor? -William Carlos Williams (1887-1963) Poetic Form: The rose fades And is renewed again By its seed, naturally But where Save in the poem Shall it go To suffer no diminution Of its splendor? -William Carlos Williams (1887-1963) What makes a poem Special? Prose and poetry are as different as &. There was a definite visual difference between the appearance of the two versions of the poem above, but just because a piece of literature is in poetic form doesnʼt make it poetry. Poems must also have some of the following elements. What is distinctive about poetry? The sheer number of elements: Theme Tone Figurative language Emotion Purpose Dramatic Setting Musical devices (rhythm, rhyme, & meter) All of these work on the reader at once to produce an overall effect far greater than any one of them separately could generate. B. - Poems are meant to be read out loud. Therefore, poets choose and arrange words to create the sounds they want the listener to hear. There are many techniques that poets can use to achieve different sounds. Three are described below. - When words end with the same sounds, the words rhyme. In Western cultures, traditional poems such as The Charge of the Light Brigade often contain rhyming words at the end of the lines. Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. 4.
- The rhythm is sometimes called the of the poem. It is the pattern of stressed ( ) and unstressed ( ) syllables, or those word parts that are read with more and less emphasis, in a line of poetry. In these lines from The Charge of the Light Brigade, listen for a beat that sounds like the pounding of horsesʼ hooves. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Poems that do not have a regular rhythm and sound more like conversation are called.. - Poets often choose to repeat sounds, words, phrases, or whole lines in a poem. Repetition helps the poet emphasize an idea or create a certain feeling. C. - Imagery involves words and phrases that appeal to the. Poets use imagery to create a picture in the readerʼs mind, or to remind the reader of a familiar sensation. They help bring the poem inside of you. D. - Poets use figurative language when they choose words and phrases that help the reader to picture ordinary things in new ways. These special descriptions are called. Three figures of speech are explained below. - A comparison of two unlike things that have some quality in common. Similes make a, using words such as like, as, or resembles. What happens to a dream deferred: Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? - A comparison of two unlike things that have something in common. Metaphors do not use. If she spoke at all, her voice would be a ghost. 5.
- When a poet describes an animal or object as if it were human or had human qualities, they are using personification. Alliteration Assonance Additional poetic terms Allusion a reference to a well-known person, place, or thing, or event. Allusions often refer to a historical event. Hyperbole Onomatopoeia the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning. whirr, buzz, boom, pop, sizzle. Irony discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen Verbal Irony characters say opposite of what they mean. Using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its normal meaning. (Often presents itself like sarcasm. I.E. My favorite pastime is cleaning my room). Irony of circumstance the opposite of what is expected occurs. Dramatic irony character speaks in ignorance of a situation or event known to the audience or the other characters Sensory detail See Hear Smell Touch Taste Show-not-tell Sources An Introduction to Literature William M. Chace Peter Collier Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 391-394 Literature & Language ATE 7 McDougal Littell, Evanston, Illinois. p. 84.