Poetry’s Structure and Form

Poetry’s Rhythm Rhythm gives a poem its sound. There are many different ways that rhythm is used, and lots of elements in poetry are related to rhythm. Stress A line of poetry is filled with syllables. When a syllable is given emphasis it is called a stressed syllable. Stress is the emphasis given to the syllable. Example: Dragon “Dra” = stressed “gon” = unstressed **The easiest way to pull meaning from a poem is the examination of stressed terms.

Poetry’s Form There is no one way to write a poem! Though…there are certain components that are a part each “structured” poem, such as stanzas, lines, and punctuation. Stanzas: A group of lines in a poem – similar to a paragraph. Quatrain – a stanza of four lines Couplet – a stanza of two lines Free verse poems may contain a variety of different length stanzas as it is up to the author to create/decide upon the form.

Lines: A line of poetry is not like a sentence, thus a line may not contain a complete thought. *When you are reading poetry, and you reach the end of a line and there is no punctuation after the last word, do not pause – continue reading as you would any sentence. Also, punctuation does not need to be placed at the end of a line either. Examples: I lie in bed fully awake. The darkness Like wet cornstarch, I slide breathes to the pace of a dog’s snoring. Past my grandmother’s eyes. Bible The film is replayed to sounds at her side, she removes her glasses. Of an intricate blues guitar. - By: Lorna Dee Cervantes - By: Michael Ondaatji

Punctuation: Caesura (a complete pause in a poem) – is punctuation somewhere other than at the end of a line. Enjambment – is when the idea or phrase in a poem is carried over from one line to the next. Example: Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones are sharpening scythes. I see them place the hones in their hip-pockets as a thing that’s done, and start their silent swinging, one by one. - By Jean Toomer

Types of Poems Ballad – usually tells a story that is similar to a folktale (originating from word of mouth) and it is often written in quatrains. Elegy – a poem that is sad and thoughtful, and often said in lament of a person who died. Epic – a long narrative poem. Narrative – a poem that tells a story. Sonnet – generally contain 14 lines. 1. Italian Sonnet – each of the 14 lines is written in iambic pentameter and the stanzas are broken into 8 lines and then 6. 2. Shakespearean Sonnet – each line is written in iambic pentameter. There will be three quatrains ending with a couplet and it will contain the rhyme scheme: A-B-A-B, C-D-C-D, E-F-E-F, G-G

Figurative and Literal Language

Literal: words function exactly as defined The boy’s room was messy. The left fielder dropped the baseball. Figurative: You have to figure it out The boy’s room was a pigsty. The left fielder has butterfingers. ^These are figures of speech.

Simile Compares telephone wires to a musical score A comparison of two different things using the word “like” or “as.” Examples Telephone wires hung like a musical score Compares telephone wires to a musical score Those faces, sour as vinegar; Compares facial expressions to the taste of vinegar

Warning! “Like” and “as” don’t always make similes. A comparison must be made. Not Simile: I washed the dishes as she dried them. Simile: The dishes were as clean as the inside of a full bottle of soap. In the first example, no comparison is made. In the second, the cleanliness of the dishes is compared to the inside of a soap bottle.

Metaphor Compares thinking to blossoming flowers A comparison of two different things without using the word “like” or “as.” Examples Flowers of thought blossom while reading Compares thinking to blossoming flowers Drink of sweet courage until drunk of it Compares courage to a liquid drink

Personification Gives stars the ability to hide. Giving human traits to objects or ideas. Examples The stars are hiding now Gives stars the ability to hide. Or trees that whisper in some far, small town Gives trees the ability to whisper. A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hair Gives the tree hair and the ability to wear things.

Hyperbole It is unlikely that the speaker will live that long. Exaggerating to express a strong feeling Examples I will love you until the end of time. It is unlikely that the speaker will live that long. My dad would kill me if he knew about this. Dad probably wouldn’t actually kill his own child.

Understatement The results will be much worse than bad hair. Expression with less strength than expected. The opposite of hyperbole. Examples The guillotine will give you a bad hair day. The results will be much worse than bad hair. Kidnapping your host is considered rude. This is a serious crime much worse than rudeness.

Quiz On the mini white board (in front of you)… You will write whether each is an example of simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, or understatement. You can use your notes.

Let it be forgotten as a flower is forgotten, 1 Let it be forgotten as a flower is forgotten,

Answer This is a simile because it compares a thing that should be forgotten to a flower.

2 Your hand was honey-comb to heal, Your voice a web to bind.

Answer This is a metaphor because the subject’s hand was compared to honey-comb and the subject’s voice was compared to a web. The speaker did not use like or as.

3 After smashing through the garage door Alex acknowledge that he may have parked a little too close to the house.

Answer This is an understatement because Alex parked more than a little too close.

4 The brooks laugh louder when I come, The breezes madder play.

Answer This is personification because the brooks are given the ability to laugh and the breezes are given the ability to play.

5 There are some, like stars, that dwell apart, In a fellowless firmament;

Answer This is a simile…

6 And there will I keep you forever,
   Yes, forever and a day,
 Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
   And molder in dust away!

Answer This is hyperbole because the speaker is exaggerating how long he will keep the person. You can’t add a day to forever without exaggerating.

7 Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.

Answer This is personification because …

8 The painted leaves are strewn
  Along the winding way.

Answer This is a metaphor because…

9 Jeff probably should have said “Thanks” after Vic saved his life.

Answer This is an understatement because if someone saves another’s life, more gratitude is expected than the informal “Thanks.”

10 The graveyard of my soul is filled with flowers, so that I may stroll in meditation, at my ease.

Answer This is a metaphor because…