Poetry Without Tears

POETRIPHOBIA

Scansion

BALLAD (also known as POPULAR BALLAD or FOLK BALLAD) A narrative poem which is, or originally was, meant to be sung.  Ballads are the narrative species of folk songs, which originate, and are communicated orally, among illiterate and only partly literate people.  Typically, a ballad is dramatic, condensed and impersonal: the narrator begins with the climactic episode, tells the story tersely by means of action and dialogue, and tells it without self-reference or the expression of personal attitudes or feelings. BALLADE Refers to three stanzas of eight lines each and a half stanza of four lines (SEE ENVOY). The meter is usually iambic or anapestic tetrameter, and the rhyme scheme is regularly as such: Stanza 1a b a b b c b c Stanza 2 a b a b b c b c Stanza 3 a b a b b c b c Envoy: bcbc  There is also a REFRAIN in the ballade. CANTO A major section of a long poem.   For example, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene is divided into cantos. CONCRETE POETRY (Also known as PATTERN POETRY) Refers to the placement of words on the page so that a picture is formed containing the image of the poem itself.  Through this, concrete poetry is able to provide a multiple experience. POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

But who pretender is or who is King - POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE DIRGE A lyrical poem or song of lament for the death of a particular person.  A dirge is similar to an ELEGY by it is less formal and is supposed to be sung. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE A poem in which a story is related by a single person (not the poet) speaking to one or more persons; we know of the listener's presence and what they say and do only from clues in the discourse of the speaker.  In a dramatic monologue, the speaker utters the entire poem in a specific situation at a critical moment.   See Also: MONOLOGUE, INTERIOR MONOLOGUE, and SOLILOQUY ELEGY A formal, meditative poem or lament for the dead. EMBLEM POETRY See CONCRETE POETRY ENGLISH SONNET See SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET ENVOY Refers to a concluding stanza that is shorter than the preceding ones. EPIGRAM Refers to a short pithy poem or saying of two or four lines containing a neatly expressed thought that often ends with a surprising or witty turn of thoughts.  Epigrams are often, but not always comic or satirical.   Example:       God bless the King - I mean the Faith's defender!                          God bless (no harm in blessing) the Pretender!                     But who pretender is or who is King -                          God bless us all! that's quite another thing.  - John Byrom POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

FREE VERSE POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE HAIKU (or HOKKU) Refers to poetry that does not follow a prescribed form but is characterized by the irregularity in the length of lines and the lack of a regular metrical pattern and rhyme.  Free verse may use other repetitive patterns instead (like words, phrases, and structures).   Note: Free verse should not be confused with BLANK VERSE HAIKU (or HOKKU) A poem of seventeen syllables arranged in three lines.  The first and third lines contain five syllables; the second line seven (5 7 5).  The haiku is the shortest form in Japanese poetry.  If frequently expresses delicate emotion or presents an image (frequently one of a natural object or scene).   Example:  A bare pecan tree                      slips a pencil shadow down                      a moonlit snow slope.      - Etheridge Knight HEROIC COUPLET Lines of iambic pentameter which rhyme in pairs: aa bb cc dd etc.  The heroic couplet has been the most popular and durable of the couplet forms. ITALIAN SONNET See PETRACHAN SONNET ODE A long lyric poem that is serious in subject and treatment, elevated in style, and elaborate in its stanzaic structure. PATTERN POETRY See CONCRETE POETRY POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

PETRACHAN SONNET (or ITALIAN SONNET) Fourteen lines of iambic pentameter rhyming in the octave (eight lines): a b b a a b b a, followed by the sestet (six lines) rhyming: c d c d c d  (or some variation thereof).  The octave generally contains the "problem" or theme which the sonnet will develop.  Sometimes, an expression of indignation, desire or doubt may occur in the opening lines which will be resolved in the sestet. REFRAIN A line, or part of a line, or group of lines, which is repeated in the course of a poem, sometimes with slight changes, usually at the end of each stanza.  If the repetition is not verbatim, the phenomenon is sometimes called incremental repetition.  The refrain occurs in many ballads and poems.   Example: The word "Nevermore" in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" functions as a refrain. RENGA Refers to Japanese linked poetry.  A typical renga sequence comprised 100 stanzas composed by about three poets at a single sitting of about three hours.  Each stanza of a renga is like a link in a chain. RHYME ROYAL (or RIME ROYAL) A seven line, iambic pentameter stanza with the rhyme scheme: a b a b b c c POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET (or ENGLISH SONNET) SESTINA A poem which consists of six six-line stanzas and a final three line stanza (called an ENVOY), all unrhymed; the final word in each line of the first stanza becomes the final word in other stanzas (but in a different specified pattern); the final stanza uses these words again in a specified way, one in each half line.   Example: In the diagram, each letter represents the terminal word of a verse and each line represents a stanza: Stanza 1:a  b  c  d  e  f Stanza 2: f  a  e  b  d  c Stanza 3: c  f  d  a  b  e Stanza 4: e  c  b  f  a  d Stanza 5: d  e  a  c  f  b Stanza 6:b  d  f  e  c  a Envoy:  e  c  a SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET (or ENGLISH SONNET) A sonnet (fourteen lines of iambic pentameter) divided into three quatrains and a concluding couplet with the following rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg.   See "Sonnet 138." SONNET A lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme.   See also: PETRACHAN SONNET and SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

SPENSERIAN SONNET POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE SPENSERIAN STANZA A variation of the Shakespearean sonnet in which Spenser links each quatrain to the next with a continuing rhyme: a b a b b c b c c d c d e e SPENSERIAN STANZA The Spenserian stanza was revised by Edmund Spenser for The Faerie Queene.  It consists of nine lines, in which the first eight are iambic pentameter; the last line is an iambic hexameter (an ALEXANDRINE) rhyming a b a b b c b c c TERZA RIMA Composed of tercets that are interlinked.  Each tercet is joined to the one following by a common rhyme: aba, bcd, cdc, ded, etc. VILLANELLE A poem that consists of five tercets and a quatrain, all on two rhymes. The opening line is repeated at the ends of tercets two and four; the final line of the first tercet concludes the third and fifth stanza. The two refrain lines are repeated at the end of the quatrain. POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY

POETIC FORMS— PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE FOR WEDNESDAY JUST KIDDING!!

Poetry is not drudgery! A poem will not make sense the first time you read it. BUT Every poem in your book makes sense. (well, pretty much . . .) A good poem often opens your eyes to something you already knew—but didn’t know you knew SO Have confidence as you work on it! AND It may be easier than you think!

What is a poem? A verbal bridge between: Concrete image or “story” Abstract idea or emotion AND TENOR VEHICLE

The Vehicle barrow so much depends upon a red wheel glazed with rain               water               beside the white               chickens What is the tenor of this poem? (Think about it . . .)

Unpacking a poem. Read the poem—don’t expect it to make sense . . . yet. Read the poem again (this step may need to be repeated!) Identify the Me-You and the Vehicle. Answer the “Why are you telling me this?” question, to start forming the TENOR. Map the structure of the poem’s “argument”; if it were an essay, where would the paragraphs be?; is there a FULCRUM (decisive turning point)? See if the pieces fit with the whole (if it doesn’t all make sense together, you’re not there yet!) Read poem aloud, with new understanding, and listen for “music” and “sound effects.” You’re ready to own your poem!

Robert Herrick (1591-1674) To Virgins, to Make Much of Time               Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,                     Old Time is still a-flying;               And this same flower that smiles today,                     To-morrow will be dying.               The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,                    The higher he's a-getting;               The sooner will his race be run,                     And nearer he's to setting. That age is best, which is the first,                   When youth and blood are warmer;             But being spent, the worse, and worst                   Times still succeed the former.             Then be not coy, but use your time,                    And while ye may, go marry;             For having lost but once your prime,                   You may for ever tarry.

The “default” approach Is it a lyric poem . . . . . . or something else? Is it a sonnet . . . Is it iambic . . .

Why iambic? Ĭámbs aře líke ŏld slíppěrs wé pŭt ón. Committee Chair: (The following is a dramatic simulation) Committee Chair: “Is three o’clock a time when we can meet? Me, fumbling through calendar: “Um, well, let’s see, oh yeh, I think we can. IAMBIC PENTAMETER Ĭámbs aře líke ŏld slíppěrs wé pŭt ón.

Line lengths PENTAMETER TETRAMETER TRIMETER DIMETER MONOMETER Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,           Though foolishly he lost the same,                       Decaying more and more,                            Till he became                  Most poore: PENTAMETER TETRAMETER TRIMETER DIMETER MONOMETER

SCANSION RHYTHM Da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM is merely the notation for RHYTHM (which is what matters) Da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM (iambic pentameter) Where does this line become iambic?: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

So scansion is more music than math: Remember the default, and be looking for iambic. Remember that sonnets are, by law, required to be iambic pentameter. (For others) do NOT use the first line; pick a line that appears to be the most typical length in the poem; in a quatrain, try the third line. Read the line in an exaggerated iambic “sing-song”; see if that “works,” and if so, count the feet. Check your findings against surrounding lines; have you found: --the dominant meter? --the entire meter? What are the key discrepancies or “violations”? Not iambic? Find unambiguous meter markers; e.g. --imperfect --imperfection --a, an, the, by, of, for, and, or, etc. always unstressed Repeat steps three through six, trying your new “candidate.”

Robert Herrick (1591-1674) To Virgins, to Make Much of Time               Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,                     Old Time is still a-flying;               And this same flower that smiles today,                     To-morrow will be dying.               The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,                    The higher he's a-getting;               The sooner will his race be run,                     And nearer he's to setting. That age is best, which is the first,                   When youth and blood are warmer;             But being spent, the worse, and worst                   Times still succeed the former.             Then be not coy, but use your time,                    And while ye may, go marry;             For having lost but once your prime,                   You may for ever tarry.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) Song to Celia Drink to me only with thine eyes,                     And I will pledge with mine;               Or leave a kiss but in the cup,                     And I'll not look for wine.               The thirst that from the soul doth rise                     Doth ask a drink divine;               But might I of Jove's nectar sup,        I would not change for thine. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Because I could not stop for Death,               He kindly stopped for me;               The carriage held but just ourselves               And Immortality.               We slowly drove, he knew no haste,               And I had put away               My labor, and my leisure too,               For his civility.

What makes poetry “great”? William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Sonnet LXXIII: That Time of Year thou mayst in me Behold Great version: Sucky version: That time of year thou mayst in me behold  When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang  Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,  Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.  In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,   To love that well which thou must leave ere long. The autumn months you witness now in me, When trees turn gold and then completely bare, When they turn cold, and shivers every tree, And birds no longer their sweet voices share. Likewise in me you see late afternoon, Like right after the sun has just gone west, Which means, of course, that night is coming soon, And everyone should get some beauty rest. And furthermore, I might be like a fire When it is pretty close to going out And rests on embers, ready to expire, Choked by the same logs that it burned, no doubt. All this you see to make you love me more, For thinking that I’m knocking at death’s door.

AMBIGUITY/Poetic compression Is it a duck or a rabbit?

(COMPRESSION/AMBIGUITY)               How the Chimney-sweeper's cry             Every black'ning Church appalls;             And the hapless Soldier's sigh             Runs in blood down Palace walls. (from Blake, “London”) (COMPRESSION/AMBIGUITY) Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. vs. vs. And everyone should get some beauty rest. Choked by the same logs that it burned, no doubt.

What makes poetry “great”? William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Sonnet LXXIII: That Time of Year thou mayst in me Behold Great version: Sucky version: That time of year thou mayst in me behold  When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang  Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,  Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.  In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,   To love that well which thou must leave ere long. The autumn months you witness now in me, When trees turn gold and then completely bare, When they turn cold, and shivers every tree, And birds no longer their sweet voices share. Likewise in me you see late afternoon, Like right after the sun has just gone west, Which means, of course, that night is coming soon, And everyone should get some beauty rest. And furthermore, I might be like a fire When it is pretty close to going out And rests on embers, ready to expire, Choked by the same logs that it burned, no doubt. All this you see to make you love me more, For thinking that I’m knocking at death’s door.

Sound Effects Which is the Rikitiki and which is the Oombooloo? (Sound should correspond with sense.) Which is the Rikitiki and which is the Oombooloo?

Bare ruin'd choirs, where Sound Effects (Sound should correspond with sense.) What is the sound of being really cold? Bare ruin'd choirs, where And what sound do birds make when they sing? late the sweet birds sang.

What makes poetry “great”? William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Sonnet LXXIII: That Time of Year thou mayst in me Behold Great version: Sucky version: That time of year thou mayst in me behold  When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang  Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,  Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.  In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,   To love that well which thou must leave ere long. The autumn months you witness now in me, When trees turn gold and then completely bare, When they turn cold, and shivers every tree, And birds no longer their sweet voices share. Likewise in me you see late afternoon, Like right after the sun has just gone west, Which means, of course, that night is coming soon, And everyone should get some beauty rest. And furthermore, I might be like a fire When it is pretty close to going out And rests on embers, ready to expire, Choked by the same logs that it burned, no doubt. All this you see to make you love me more, For thinking that I’m knocking at death’s door.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost (1874-1963) Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening               Whose woods these are I think I know.               His house is in the village though;               He will not see me stopping here               To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer              To stop without a farmhouse near               Between the woods and frozen lake               The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake             To ask if there is some mistake.             The only other sound's the sweep             Of easy wind and downy flake.             The woods are lovely, dark and deep.             But I have promises to keep,             And miles to go before I sleep,             And miles to go before I sleep. a b c d ?

At a poetry reading, Robert Frost was once asked if he really paid any attention to all the little “tricks” of poetry that college professors like to find in his poems. His reply: “I revel in ‘em!”

Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Villanelle rules: Nineteen lines Five tercets, followed by a quatrain Just two rhymes Line one repeated at ends of second and fourth tercets Line three repeated at ends of third and fifth tercets Lines one and three are the final two lines of the poem

What is this Picasso drawing worth? What is this work of art worth? That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long. What is this Picasso drawing worth? What is this work of art worth? It is highly unlikely that any of us will ever own the Picasso . . . BUT We can own the sonnet!

Poetry Without Tears