A poem is a composition in verse A poem is a composition in verse. It paints pictures by means of poetic devices such as figurative language, rhythm and rhyme. Poetry Basics

Meaning of the word Poetry: Poetry is a word of Greek origin. It comes from a verb with means “to make, to create”. A Poem is “something made or created”. The Poet is the creator and language is the material out of which s/he creates his/her work of art.

What is POETRY? Poetry is the art of expressing your thoughts in rhythmic, descriptive language. Poetry is meant to be read aloud. People use poems to describe their emotions so that others can feel them, too. Poems can rhyme, but they do not have to.

The Big Question How can poetry allow us to express and reflect on This unit explores the Power of Poetry Our Unit Question: How can poetry allow us to express and reflect on emotions, ideas, and issues? Reading poetry: enriches our lives, and allows us to reflect on: Emotions Ideas and Issues Writing poetry: enables us to express powerful emotions and inspirational ideas Many people question poetry’s value in a modern classroom One response is that poetry, using a few words, can express universal truths that all people can appreciate

How do you feel about POETRY? True or false: On average, youth today spend more time and money on poetry than any other literary work. Music is Poetry!

Guidelines for reading Poetry: In approaching a poem, you can ask the text some simple questions which should help you to understand it What is the poem about? Who is the voice speaking in the poem? To whom is the poem addressed? How is the poem written? Why has the poem been written? What emotion is being invoked?

Poets and Their Times Metaphysical Poets (John Donne) Poets reflect the events and ideas of their times through poetry. Understanding of a poet’s time may lead to an understanding of his ideas. Knowledge of a poet’s background also gives us insight into his intention. We refer to “schools of poets”: Metaphysical Poets (John Donne) Romantic Poets (Wordsworth) War Poets (Rupert Brooke)

Analysis of Poetry Theme/Main Idea Form Diction (Word Choice) Tone (Attitude) Imagery (Figurative language) Rhythm Rhyme Metre

1. Theme/Main Idea Analysis of Poetry Each poem conveys the messages or intentions of the poet and these may be explicit (0bvious) or implicit (implied).

2. Form Analysis of Poetry A poem is written in a particular form. Poems are usually written in lines. These lines can be grouped into stanzas (like paragraphs). Enjambment or run-on lines occur in poetry where there is no punctuation at the end of a line. The poet’s thoughts remain unbroken.

Types of Poetry This unit includes classic poems from many centuries, modern poems, poems from many cultures, and poems in a wide variety of formats. The types of poems we will be studying include: Lyric Poetry Sonnet Light Verse Satirical Poetry Didactic Poetry Descriptive Poetry Narrative Poetry

3. Diction (Word Choice) Analysis of Poetry The poet’s use of words creates atmosphere and sets the poem in its correct time and place. Word choice influences rhythm and mood. In a rhyming poem, appropriate word choice is crucial. Jargon and slang may be used for effect. The use of repetition is also an effective device.

4. Tone (Attitude) Analysis of Poetry The tone of the poem reveals the poet’s subjective views and attitude to the reader and to the subject. Tone contributes to the mood or atmosphere of the poem. Best descriptive words for tone: Friendly Sharp Sarcastic Ironic Angry Humorous Condescending (Imagine the poet’s TONE OF VOICE – “hear” the poet reading his/her poem out loud…)

5. Imagery (Figurative Language) Analysis of Poetry Poetry is a combination of literal and figurative language. Imagery conjures up word pictures – these affect us emotionally and intellectually. Figurative language helps create these vivid pictures. Some examples: metaphors similes personification alliteration assonance / consonance onomatopoeia juxtaposition oxymoron hyperbole / understatement

6. Rhythm Analysis of Poetry Rhythm sets the pace and should match the meaning. Slow rhythm = sombre meaning. Quick pace = happy mood. When reading a poem aloud, FEEL the change of pace and how it affects the mood of the poem. Pace (tempo) and pause affect rhythm. Many literary elements create rhythm including: alliteration assonance consonance meter repetition rhyme

7. Rhyme Rhyme depends on sound, not sight. Rhyme schemes differ. Analysis of Poetry 7. Rhyme Aabb = pair rhyme Abab = alternate/cross rhyme Aabb = enclosed rhyme Abca = free verse Rhyme depends on sound, not sight. Rhyme schemes differ. Couplet: Two consecutive rhyming lines. Quatrain: Four-lined stanza.

Rhyme Scheme The ends of lines repeat the same sounds. Mary had a little jam, she spread it on a waffle. And if she hadn't eaten ten she wouldn't feel so _____. A B C B The snow came down And covered the town The snow came down last night The snow came down And covered the town And left it snowy _____. A A B A A B

Shakespeare’s SONNET 138 When my love swears that she is made of truth a I do believe her though I know she lies, b That she might think me some untutor’d youth a Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties. b Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, c Although she knows my days are past the best, d Simply I credit her false speaking tongue: c On both sides thus is simple truth suppress’d. d But wherefore says she not she is unjust? e And wherefore say not I that I am old? f O, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, e And age in love loves not to have years told: f Therefore, I lie with her and she with me g And in our faults by lies we flatter’d be. g

Kinds of Rhyme Exact: eye/sky/pie; sing/ding/ring Near or Half: sing/dung/rang Eye: tough/through/dough Internal: "Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December" Masculine: are rhymes that are a single stressed syllable at the very END of a line in poetry. / / rang/sang Feminine: are a rarer rhyme type in English. It is a rhyme matching two or more syllables in which the final syllable(s) are unstressed. /  /  ringing/singing

Rhyme Patterns Onomatopoeia – words that sound like what they represent Buzz Hiss Roar Woof Tick-tock Alliteration –repetition of sounds Initial: The wild and woolly walrus waits and wonders when we’ll walk by. Internal: baobab; purple potpourri Final: “Knox in box. Fox in socks. Knox on fox in socks in box. “ – Dr. Suess Assonance – same vowel sounds Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese Three free throws. Repeated words …and Sky was chasing chasing chasing with his feet going every which way and his tail wag-wag-wagging

5 groups = 5 feet (or pentameter) Analysis of Poetry 8. Meter Metre is the number of stresses, beats or feet in a line of poetry. Shakespeare used the iambic (rising rhythm of two syllables) pentameter (five feet) to write his sonnets. 5 groups = 5 feet (or pentameter) Stressed (/) Unstressed (u)

Meter Iamb  / Trochee /  Anapest   / Dactyl /   Spondee / / Patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables The basic unit of meter is a foot. Most common feet in English poetry: Iamb  / Trochee /  Anapest   / Dactyl /   Spondee / /

Metrical Lines One foot monometer Two feet dimeter Three feet trimeter Four feet tetrameter Five feet pentameter (iambic pentameter) Six feet hexameter (dactylic hexameter) Seven feet heptameter Eight feet octameter

Stanzas 2 line stanzas: couplets 3 line stanzas: tercets triplets: aaa bbb ccc ddd terza rima: aba bcb cdc ded 4 line stanzas: quatrains 5 line stanzas: quintets 6 line stanzas: sestets 7 line stanzas: septets 8 line stanzas: octaves

Poetry - Concluding Thoughts A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language. (W.H. Auden) To have great poets, there must be great audiences. (Walt Whitman) Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. (Plato)