Introduction to Poetry SPI Genre Characteristics

Poetry is… One of the 3 big genres. One of the 3 big genres. Instead of being written in sentences and paragraphs, poetry is written in lines and stanzas. Instead of being written in sentences and paragraphs, poetry is written in lines and stanzas.

Poetry is… For Example: For Example: Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. Up Jack got and home did trot, As fast as he could caper, He went to bed and mended his head, With vinegar and brown paper. Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. Up Jack got and home did trot, As fast as he could caper, He went to bed and mended his head, With vinegar and brown paper.

Poetry does… Express strong emotion or feeling. OR Express strong emotion or feeling. OR Describe a person, place, thing, idea, or event. OR Describe a person, place, thing, idea, or event. OR Tell a story. Tell a story.

Poetry can… Be serious. Be serious. Be humorous. Be humorous. Be hard to understand. Be hard to understand. Be simple. Be simple.

Does Poetry Have to Rhyme?

Couplets and Stanzas Building Blocks of Poetry

Couplets 2 lines in a row in a poem 2 lines in a row in a poem Usually rhyme Usually rhyme Can be used to build poems Can be used to build poems Any poem with an even number of lines can contain couplets Any poem with an even number of lines can contain couplets Examples: Examples: “The Bat” by Theodore Roethke

The Bat by Theodore Roethke By day the bat is cousin to the mouse. He likes the attic of an aging house. His fingers make a hat above his head. His pulse beat is so slow we think him dead. He loops in crazy figures half the night Among the trees that face the corner light. But when he brushes up against a screen, We are afraid of what our eyes have seen: For something is amiss or out of place When mice with wings can wear a human face.

Stanzas Poems are made up of one or more stanzas Poems are made up of one or more stanzas You can tell where a stanza starts & stops because the writer will skip a line at the end of a stanza You can tell where a stanza starts & stops because the writer will skip a line at the end of a stanza

StanzaNames Stanzas with different numbers of lines have different names: Stanzas with different numbers of lines have different names: 2 lines = couplet 2 lines = couplet 3 lines = tercet 3 lines = tercet 4 lines = quatrain 4 lines = quatrain 5 lines = quintet 5 lines = quintet 6 lines = sestet 6 lines = sestet 7 lines = septet 7 lines = septet 8 lines = octave 8 lines = octave

"Shirley Said" by Dennis Doyle Who wrote "kick me" on my back? Who put a spider in my mac? Who's the one who pulls my hair? Tries to trip me everywhere? Who runs up to me and strikes me? That boy there, I think he likes me.

Poetry Response: 1. How many stanzas is that poem made up of? 2. How many lines are in it? 3. What kind of stanza is it? (couplet, tercet, quatrain, etc.) 4. Are there any couplets in the stanza? 5. What is this poem about? 6. Have you or someone you know ever acted like this when they had a crush? What did you or they do? (don't use their names)

Poetry Scavenger Hunt