Poetry

PBS Special Video http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/ A reading by Ted Kooser , “Daddy Long Legs” Listen to the way he reads his own poem; note the musicality to his tone…could this be set to music?

By definition… Poetry is one of the three major genres, or forms, of literature, along with prose and drama. Poetry usually contains concise, musical language that differs from that of everyday speech. A poem is often arranged in lines and groups of lines that form stanzas.

Sound devices are resources used by poets to convey and create the meaning or experience of poetry through the use of sound.

Sound Devices -Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds: Porky Pig ate a platter of pot roast. -Assonance-the repetition of vowel sounds within words: goat, bowl, scold -Consonance- the repetition of sounds within or at the end of words: cutler, antler, battler -Rhyme- repetition of sounds at the ends of words, as in side and tide

Sound Devices -End rhyme: a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses, as in stanza one of Robert Frost’s “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.

Figurative Language is a technique used to create strong images; conveys meaning beyond the literal meanings of words.

Figurative Language Simile: two seemingly unlike things are compared using like or as. Payday loans are like a blight on one’s financial soul. Metaphor: directly compares two unlike objects. During the day, it was a thunderous surge of cars, a great insect rustling. Personification: animals, inanimate objects, or ideas are given human qualities. The wind howled its disapproval as we opened the front door. Synecdoche: a part of something substituted for the whole. Romeo, give me thy heart and we shall enjoy our love.

Figurative Language Understatement - refers to the intentional downplaying of a situation's significance, often for ironic or humorous effect.  Hyperbole- overstatement (ex) I have told you a million times! Irony- a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of difference. (ex) ''Water, water everywhere but ne'er a drop to drink'. Imagery- draws the reader into poetic experiences by touching on the images and senses which the reader already knows.

Figurative Language Symbolism - an image which suggests or represents something other than itself. In poetry, a symbol represents both what it is, and additionally, a concept or an idea. Paradox- a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements.

Poetic Form is the structure of he poem itself; the rhyme scheme, meter and other elements. In poetry, this refers to the shape or structure without regards (necessarily) to content.

Poetic Forms 1.) Sonnet -English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are lyric poems that are 14 lines long falling into three coordinate quatrains and a concluding couplet. Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line sestet. 2.) Fixed: A form of poetry in which the length and pattern are prescribed by previous usage or tradition, such as a sonnet. 3.) Prose the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse 4.) Ballad : tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain (repeated part).

Types of poetry 1.) Lyric Poetry -expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now generally referred to as the words to a song. 2.) Narrative Poetry-Ballads and epics are different kinds of narrative poems. Tells a story. 3.) Dramatic Poetry- uses the techniques of drama to present the speech of one or more characters