The Language of Poetry English 10

Special Effects When you hear the term special effects what comes to mind? Movie-makers have their own bag of tricks to make idea’s seem real or fantastic. However, moviemaking is not the only genre to use special effects.

Special Effects Many people feel that poetry is the most effective of all genres for making unreal things seem real. Poets use imaginative language to evoke intense emotion to help readers visualize improbable scenes and to glorify even common objects. In poetry, language is the medium for creating special effects.

Special Effects In what way is each image inspirational? Which picture makes the impossible seem real? How is the girl in this picture like the butterfly? What makes this photograph of the butterfly special? In what way is each image inspirational?

Language of Poetry In this unit, you will see how the language of poetry creates special effects. You will learn to recognize and use these techniques – gaining a greater appreciation for this genre

What poems do you remember? Let’s practice – I’ll say a line, you finish the poem. Jack and Jill went up the hill to…. Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was… Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall…

Why do these nursery rhyme poems linger in our memory? We heard them over and over again as children. What else makes them special?

Qualities that make poetry unforgettable. Rhyme Fun wording Song-like verses Repetition The pictures/visuals these poems put in our heads

Remember…. All of the qualities that made those nursery rhyme poems unforgettable can be found in the poems we are going to study. Continue to find those qualities, those special effects, that make these poems great.

Questions??? Do you have any questions so far? Let’s take some notes then.

Part 1 – Poetry Form Form refers to a poem’s structure, or the way the words are arranged on the page. All poems are made up of a series of lines. The length of the lines, where they break, and how they are punctuated all contribute to a poem’s rhythm and meaning. In many poems, lines are grouped into stanzas, which function like paragraphs in prose. Each stanza plays a part in conveying the overall message of the poem.

Poems come in a variety of forms, but are usually talked about in two categories. TRADITIONAL Characteristics: Follow fixed rules, such as a specified number of lines Has a regular pattern of rhythm and/or rhyme Forms: Epic, Ode, Ballad, Sonnet, Haiku, Limerick Example: Surgeons must be very careful When they take the knife! Underneath their fine incisions Stirs the Culprit -- Life! -- by Emily Dickinson

Forms defined Epic: a long, narrative poem, ex. Odyssey Ode: a meditative or commemorative lyric poem Ballad: a narrative poem written to be sung or recited Sonnet: a 14-line poem having a set pattern of rhythm and rhyme Haiku: a form of Japanese poetry having a set number of lines and syllables Limerick: a light or humorous poem with a particular rhyme scheme.

Category # 2 ORGANIC Characteristics: Forms: Example: Does not follow established rules for form Does not have a regular pattern of rhythm and may not rhyme at all May use unconventional spelling, punctuation, and grammar Forms: Free verse, concrete poetry Example: we’re everyanything more than believe (with a spin leap alive we’re alive) we’re wonderful one times one -- from “If Everything Happens That Can’t Be Done” by E. E. Cummings

Forms defined… Free verse: poetry that does not have regular meter Concrete: poetry that conveys meaning visually through the arrangement of letters and words

Traditional form: Model 1 For centuries, poets have written sonnets that explore everything from unrequited love to the mysteries of nature. There are several types of sonnets, but all of them have 14 lines and are written in a strict pattern of rhythm and rhyme

Traditional Form: Model 1 Questions: How many lines make up the 1st stanza? 2nd stanza? In the 1st stanza, each group of end-rhyming words is highlighted in the same color. Identify the end-rhyming words in the 2nd stanza. Compare the ideas expressed in the 1st stanza with those in the 2nd one. Traditional Form: Model 1 Pretty Words – by Elinor Wylie Poets make pets of pretty, docile words: I love smooth words, like gold-enamelled fish Which circle slowly with a silken swish, And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds: Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds, Come to my hand, and playful if I wish, Or purring softly at a silver dish, Blue Persian kittens, fed on cream and curds, I love bright words, words up and singing early; Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing; Warm lazy words, while cattle under trees; I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly, Like midsummer moths, and honied words like bees, Gilded and sticky, with a little sting

Organic Form – Model 2 Poems written in free verse, like this one, do not adhere to a regular pattern of rhythm and rhyme from Beware: Do Not Read This Poem by Ishmael Reed the hunger of this poem is legendary it has taken in many victims back off from this poem it has drawn in yr feet it has drawn in yr legs Identify three characteristics that make this poem unconventional. Even though the poet does not use punctuation, this poem has a natural rhythm. Read the poem aloud, using the rhythm you this is appropriate.

Any Questions? Any questions about traditional or organic form? Who can tell me what the difference is between the two?

Part Two: Poetic Elements For a poet, deciding on a subject and form is just the beginning. Will the poem hum along to a beat? Will the poem charge ahead with a bold rhythm? What images or sounds will convey a mood? Using sound devices and language, poets can convey meaning, make music, and tap into the senses.

Sound Devices Rhythm – in poetry the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each is what creates the rhythm Rhyme – enhances the musical quality of a poem Internal rhyme occurs within line End rhyme – occurs at the ends of lines Meter – a regular pattern of rhythm Rhyme scheme – a regular pattern of rhyme

Sound Devices Scansion – this is the way meter is charted. Stressed syllables are marked with a  Unstressed syllable are marked with a ˘ A rhyme scheme is charted by assigning a letter of the alphabet to matching end rhymes. Check out the example on the next slide.

Sound Devices Example from “A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti: My heart / is like / a sing / ing bird a Whose nest / is in / a wa / tered shoot: b My heart / is like / an ap / aple-tree c Whose boughs / are bent / with think / set fruit; b

Sound Devices Repetition – a sound, word, phrase or line that is repeated for emphasis and unity Example: back off from this poem it has drawn in yr feet Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words. Example: Which circle slowly with a silken swish

Sound Devices Assonance -- repetition of vowel sounds in words that don’t end with the same consonant. Example: Words shy and dappled, deep-eyes deer in herds. Consonance – repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of word Example: Whose nest is in a watered shoot.

Poetic Elements pertaining to Meter Foot – consists of one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed one. Types of feet – Iamb – unstressed/stressed Trochee -- stressed/unstressed Spondee – stressed/stressed

Meter continued Number of feet – Trimeter – 3 Tetrameter – 4 Pentameter -- 5 After you’ve determined the type of feet you have and how many you have, you need to name the pattern. Combine the feet and number to name the pattern. Example: Iambic Pentameter or trochaic trimeter

Imagery and Figurative Language Explain how imagery works in fictional pieces. Figurative language – takes imagery a step further. It uses the literal meaning of words to evoke a deeper image into our brains. Example: Literal: He was angry. Figurative: He burned with anger.

Let’s practice… For each literal statement, create a figurative statement. Her hair was a mess. He was tall. The snow was deep.

Types of figurative language Simile – a comparison between two unlike things, containing the words like, as, or as if Example: My heart is like a singing bird. Metaphor – a comparison between two unlike things without the words like or as. Example: Poets make pets of pretty, docile words.

Types of figurative language Personification – a description of an object, an animal, a place, or an idea in human terms Example: it [this poem] has taken in many victims Hyperbole – an exaggeration for emphasis or humorous effect Example: The hunger of this poem is legendary

Let’s Practice – identify the figure of speech in each of the following: March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb. He’s got a heart of stone. The stack of bills was a mile high. The morning sun smiled upon our arrival