AN INTRODUCTION Poetry

WHAT DO YOU THINK POETRY IS? DISCUSS

What is poetry? A term applied to the many forms in which human beings have given rhythmic expression to their most intense perceptions of the world, themselves, and the relationship of the two.

Poets on Poetry Robert Frost: “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words”. Plutarch: “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks”. Thomas Gray: “Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn”. Emily Dickinson: “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry”.

The Poet The Poet – The author of the poem.

The Poetic Process “…imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. Such tricks hath strong imagination, That if it would but apprehend some joy, It comprehends some bringer of that joy”. - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Poet Speaker The poet is the author of the poem. The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem. Point of View

Technical Aspects of Poetry FORM - The appearance of the words on the page LINE - Groups of words on one line of the poem STANZA - A group of lines arranged together

Kinds of Stanzas Couplet = a two line stanza Triplet = a three line stanza Quatrain = a four line stanza Quintet = a five line stanza Sestet = a six line stanza Septet = a seven line stanza Octave = an eight line stanza

Rhythm Definition: The beat created by the sounds of the words in a poem Rhythm can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration and refrain. The use of rhythm in poetry arises from the need that some words are to be produced more strongly than others. Moreover, rhythm captivates the audience and readers alike by giving musical effect to a speech or a literary piece.

Meter Definition: A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Meter occurs when the stressed and unstressed syllables of the words in a poem are arranged in a repeating pattern. When poets write in meter, they count out the number of stressed (strong) syllables and unstressed (weak) syllables for each line. They repeat the pattern throughout the poem.

Meter Cont. FOOT: Unit of meter. A foot can have two or three syllables. Usually consists of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables. TYPES OF FEET: The types of feet are determined by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. Iambic - unstressed, stressed Trochaic - stressed, unstressed Anapestic - unstressed, unstressed, stressed Dactylic - stressed, unstressed, unstressed

Meter Cont. Kinds of Metrical Lines monometer= one foot on a line dimeter = two feet on a line trimeter = three feet on a line tetrameter= four feet on a line pentameter= five feet on a line hexameter= six feet on a line heptameter= seven feet on a line octometer = eight feet on a line

Rhyme Definition: Words sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds. Example LAMP& STAMP á Share the short “a” vowel sound á Share the combined “mp” consonant sound

Rhyme Scheme Definition: A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhyme (usually ending with a rhyme, but not always). The Germ – Ogden Nash A mighty creature is the germ, Though smaller than the pachyderm. His customary dwelling place Is deep within the human race. His childish pride he often pleases By giving people strange diseases. Do you, my poppet, feel infirm? You probably contain a germ.

End Rhyme Definition: A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line. Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham! Would you like them here or there? I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. Dr. Seuss

Internal Rhyme Definition: A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line.

Near Rhyme Definition: The words share either the same vowel or consonant sound, but not both. Also known as imperfect rhyme, close rhyme. Not any higher stands the grave For heroes than for men; Not any nearer for the child Than numb three-score and ten.(Perfect Rhyme) This latest leisure equal lulls The beggar and his queen; Propitiate this democrat By summer's gracious mien.(Near Rhyme)

Refrain Definition: A sound, word, phrase or line repeated regularly in a poem. Example: Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore’ From: Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven

Shakespearean Sonnet Definition: A fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme. The poem is written in three quatrains and ends with a couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg