What is a Poem?

Reflection Questions (Journal) 1.In three sentences or less, explain what you think a poem is. 2.What separates a poem from prose fiction? 3.What determines the meaning of a poem?

Poem or Not? So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow, glazed with rain water, besides the white chickens.

“The Red Wheelbarrow” (William CarlosWilliams) So much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens

Poem or Not? Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove--the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all, the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun and the Sungod wiped from sight the day of their return.

“Why Students Need These Skills” (Stephanus Accipiter) Squaring numbers is necessary when calculating areas of certain figures. Students will often... confuse complementary and supplementary angles.

“All That Matters” Castor Justinius Oh oh, just as sure as the stars in the sky I need you to show me the light Not just for the meanwhile, for a long long time Better believe it Uh oh, whenever you're not in my presence It feels like I'm missing my blessings, yeah So I sleep through the daylight, stay awake all night 'Til you back again, yeah, yeah You think I'm biased To my significant other You hit it right on the head Only been missing my lover Got a whole lotta texts on my phone and I don't reply The next eight bars tell you why

Attempt at a Definition ●Poetry is “special” language; language with a purpose that transcends basic, humdrum communication ●Poetry transcends ordinary meaning. Words are not literal but metaphorical. ●Poetry is ALWAYS a creative use of language for a purpose other than basic communication.

Oldest Poetry ●The Epic of Gilgamesh (oldest surviving epic poem; Babylonian epic from 2000 BC) ●The Vedas of ancient India (spiritual hymns honoring the pantheon of Indo-European gods) (1500 BC) ●Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey (800 BC)

Form versus Content ●Poetry relies much more than prose on form. Form is comprised of a poem’s rhythm, its line breaks, its meter, rhyme scheme, and the poetic devices employed. ●Dialectical interplay between form and content determines “meaning”.

Question 1.Why was poetry, in its earliest forms, almost always composed in rhythm and meter? 2.Based on your knowledge, how has poetry changed in the past century? 3.Why is it hard to translate poetry?

Question Write two or three sentences in response to the following questions: 1.What separates “good” poetry from “bad” poetry? 2.Why do you believe that poetry is universal in human culture? Why have all world cultures developed poetry?

Quick Assignment Take five minutes and write a really bad poem about one of the following topics: a.a pop star b.a video game c.a sports team

Exercise 1.What can we say about the speaker of the poem? 2.What is the occasion of the poem? 3.How does the form of the poem relate to its content? 4.Does the poem employ any unusual words or images? 5. Does the poem speak to you? Why or why not?