Poetry Unit 1
What is Poetry? "Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them." Dennis Gabor "A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep." Salman Rushdie "Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat." Robert Frost 2
Technically, poetry is... a kind of writing that uses not only words, but also forms, patterns of sound, imagery and figurative language to convey its message. 3
Elements of Poetry Foldable Structure & Rhythm Imagery Sound Devices M E NTS E LE O F P O E T R Y Figurative Language 4
Elements of Poetry Foldable Structure Definition Rhythm Sound Devices Metaphors and similes Symbol Personification Hyperbole 5
Elements of Poetry Foldable Lines Stanzas Meter Rhyme end rhyme internal rhyme rhyme scheme Imagery Alliteration Onomatopoeia Figurative Language 6
Structure: a poem's form or appearance. The Lion and the Lamb, author unknown Lion Majestic, proud Roaring, snarling, prowling Mane, muscle... Fleece, fluff Bleating, leaping, grazing Meek, gentle Lamb 7
Poems are divided into lines. A group of lines is a called a stanza. *You can think of them like paragraphs in a story.* Dreams by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. 8
Rhythm is a poem's pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. A regular pattern that creates a predictable rhythm is the poem's meter. "The Raven," by Edgar Allan Poe 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 someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. " 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door; Only this, and nothing more." 9
Rhyme repetition of the same or similar sounds. - Most common at the end of lines (end rhyme) - Internal rhyme occurs within a line - Rhyme scheme is a pattern formed by a poem's end rhyme. Exerpt of "The Raven," by Edgar Allan Poe 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 someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. " 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door; Only this, and nothing more." 10
Sound devices are techniques that create a sense of rhythm or emphasizes particular sounds. Alliteration...you should know this! Onomatopoeia...you should know this, too! Just in case you don't remember... 11
Alliteration the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words Onomatopoeia words or phrases that imitate the sound they describe. Exerpt of "Ankylosaurus" by Jack Perlutsky Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank! Ankylosaurus was built like a tank, its hide was a fortress as sturdy as steel, it tended to be an inedible meal. 12
Figurative language is used by poets for descriptive effect. *It is not used exclusively for poetry. Fiction and non-fiction use figurative language as well. You should know what these are... - Metaphors and similes - Personification - Symbol - Hyperbole...but let's refresh...just in case... 13
- Metaphors and similes: compares two unlike things. (Similes use like or Figurative language is used by poets for as to do this, but metaphors do not. They simply say that something is descriptive effect. *It is not used exclusively for something else.) poetry. Dreams by Fiction Langston Hughes and non-fiction use figurative language Hold fast to dreams as well. For if dreams die Life is a broken winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. Exerpt of "Ankylosaurus" by Jack Perlutsky Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank! Ankylosaurus was built like a tank, its hide was a fortress as sturdy as steel, it tended to be an inedible meal. 14
- Symbol: any object, person, place or experience that - Metaphors and similes: compares two unlike things. (Similes use like or Figurative language is used by poets for means more than what it is. as to do this, but metaphors do not. They simply say that something is descriptive effect. *It is not used exclusively for something else.) poetry. Fiction and non-fiction use figurative - Personification Remember the raven? What did it first symbolize to the - Symbol - Idioms language as well. narrator? What did it come to symbolize by the end? 15
- Personification: giving an animal, object or idea human form - Metaphors and similes: compares two unlike things. (Similes use like or Figurative language is used by poets for or characteristics. as to do this, but metaphors do not. They simply say that something is descriptive effect. *It is not used exclusively for something else.) "Primer Lesson," by Carl Sandburg poetry. Fiction and non-fiction use figurative - Personification - Symbol - Idioms Look out how you use proud words. When language you let as proud well. words go, it is not easy to call them back. They wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud; they can't hear you calling Look out how you use proud words. 16
- Hyperbole: an extreme exaggeration for dramatic or comedic - Metaphors and similes: compares two unlike things. (Similes use like or Figurative language is used by poets for effect or to get a point across as to do this, but metaphors do not. They simply say that something is descriptive effect. *It is not used exclusively for something else.) Examples: I could sleep for a year. This box weighs a ton. poetry. I've told you a Fiction million times and to clean non-fiction your room. use figurative - Personification - Symbol - Idioms language as well. The Hippo A head or tail which does he lack? I think his forward's coming back! He lives on carrots, leeks, and hay; He starts to yawn it takes all day Some time I think I'll live that way. 17