Poetry Lesson #1 The Basics

Instead of sentences, poems have LINES. RHYTHM (sometimes called METER) is the beat created by the sounds of the words when you read them. RHYME SCHEME is a planned pattern of rhyming words such as AABBA. There once was a fella named Pat, (A) When he sang, he sounded a bit flat. (A) The people around, (B) Found they could muffle the sound, (B) If they covered their ears with a hat! (A)

Let’s try another one… How many lines are in this poem? What is the rhyme scheme? I saw the fog grow thick, Which soon made blind my ken; It made tall men of boys, And giants of tall men. It clutched my throat, I coughed; Nothing was in my head Except two heavy eyes Like balls of burning lead. And when it grew so black That I could know no place, I lost all judgment then, Of distance and of space. The street lamps, and the lights Upon the halted cars, Could either be on earth Or be the heavenly stars. A man passed by me close, I asked my way, he said, "Come, follow me, my friend", I followed where he led. He rapped the stones in front, "Trust me," he said, "and come"; I followed like a child, A blind man led me home. --Henry Davies The Fog

A grouping of lines in a poem is not called a paragraph, it is called a STANZA. ◦ Lines are usually separated into stanzas to make the poem easier to read, or to fit into a rhyme scheme. The place where a line of poetry ends is called a LINE BREAK. My Shadow I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow- Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all. He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see; I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! One morning, very early, before the sun was up, I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. --Robert Louis Stevenson

Let’s build on what we know… How many stanzas are in this poem? How many lines are in each stanza? What is the rhyme scheme? The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. --Robert Frost

Poetry Lesson #2 Rhymed Verse and Free Verse

Let’s look at two poems and you decide which is which! Free Verse (open form) - Poetry that doesn’t have a regular meter or rhyme pattern. Rhymed verse- where the lines of the poem follow a rhyme pattern. ◦Example: ABCB Both types of poems can have rhythm, imagery, and imaginative language.

ELDORADO Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow, Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado. But he grew old- This knight so bold- And o'er his heart a shadow Fell as he found No spot of ground That looked like Eldorado. And, as his strength Failed him at length, He met a pilgrim shadow- "Shadow," said he, "Where can it be- This land of Eldorado?" "Over the Mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied- "If you seek for Eldorado!" --Edgar Allan Poe

Birches (Excerpt) When I see birches bend left to right Across the line of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them. But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay. Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust – Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away. --Robert Frost

Poetry Lesson #3 Poet’s Toolbox: Repetition

Can you find some in your reading? Poets will sometimes repeat words or phrases to establish a rhythm in their poem. Poets will sometimes use ALLITERATION- the repetition of consonant or vowel sound at the beginning or in the middle of words. ◦Examples:  Peter picked pickles in a pickle patch.  Smart sharks swim slowly.  Billy’s bought butter, but the butter was bitter, so Billy bought better butter to make the bitter butter better!

1. Just listen to the following poem and look for the presence of repetition of certain words, phrases, or sounds. What repetition takes place? Repeating exact words, a pattern of rhyming words, alliteration, rhythm.

I. Dull, dimly gleaming, The dawn looks downward Where, flowing townward, The river, steaming With mist, is hidden: Each bush, that huddles Beside the road, the rain has pooled with puddles, Seems, in the fog, a hag or thing hag-ridden. II. Where leaves hang tattered In forest tangles, And woodway angles Are acorn-scattered, Coughing and yawning The woodsman slouches, Or stands as silent as the hound that crouches Beside him, ghostly in the mist-drenched dawning. III. Through roses, rotting Within the garden, With blooms, that harden, Of marigolds, knotting, (Each one an ember Dull, dead and dripping,) Her brow, from which their faded wreath is slipping, Mantled in frost and fog, comes in November. -- Madison Julius Cawein Gray November

Poetry Lesson #4 Poet’s Toolbox: The Power of Language & Imagery

This is called: Imagery Poets are very careful in the words that they choose. They choose words that help the reader to: ◦Paint a picture in their mind. ◦Hear a certain sound.

Theme, Tone, and Mood Poets also choose words wisely to make us:  Think about a certain topic.  Feel emotions. Theme- the topic that the poem makes you think about. (friendship, love, honesty, compassion, family, loyalty, etc.) Tone- the feeling you get about how the author feels about what they are saying (are they mad, are they joking, are they sad?) Mood- very similar to tone. What emotions are portrayed by the poem. Is it a happy poem, a sad poem, a poem that feels angry?

Good Poets are artists that use words instead of drawings… What do you hear? What do you see? What do you smell? What do you feel? What do you taste? What do you think? What examples of imagery can you find in the next poem???

Rain in Summer How beautiful is the rain, After the dust and heat, In the broad and fiery street, In the narrow lane, How beautiful is the rain! How it clatters along the roofs, Like the tramp of hoofs How it gushes and struggles out From the throat of the overflowing spout! Across the window-pane It pours and pours; And swift and wide, With a muddy tide, Like a river down the gutter roars The rain, the welcome rain! The sick man from his chamber looks At the twisted brooks; He can feel the cool Breath of each little pool; His fevered brain Grows calm again, And he breathes a blessing on the rain. From the neighboring school Come the boys, With more than their wonted noise And commotion; And down the wet streets Sail their mimic fleets, Till the treacherous pool Engulfs them in its whirling And turbulent ocean. In the country, on every side, Where far and wide, Like a leopard's tawny and spotted hide, Stretches the plain, To the dry grass and the drier grain How welcome is the rain! -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Poetry Lesson #5 Poet’s Toolbox: Figurative Language, a poet’s best friend!

Similes Simile- Comparing two things using the words “like” or “as” Her face was as red as a tomato when she got on stage to perform for the first time. The tree was tall like a skyscraper, stretching towards the sky.

Metaphor Metaphor- Comparing two things without the use of like or as. Sam was a cheetah running around the playground. The rock was a sinking ship plummeting to the bottom of the ocean.

Personification Personification- giving human-like characteristics to an inanimate object. The tree waved its branches in the wind. The whistle sang, signaling it was time to go home for the day.

Hyperbole Hyperbole- an extreme exaggeration “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” I have a million things to do!

Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia- words that imitate a sound and suggest their meaning. The bacon hit the pan with a The buzzing bee flew past my ear and stung me!

What figurative language can you find? The Final Deployment Selena strapped on her sneakers and ran to the airport like a race horse sprints to the finish line. She trotted past traffic and trees, Zipped over curbs and cracks And soon reached her final destination Where a thousand of her closest friends waited. And turned their owl eyes in her direction She took a gasp so loud it was heard on three other continents. Selena spotted her brother Thin, clean-shaven, and a fit fiddle The siblings stared straight at each other And ran to give hugs that had waited Too long to be given. Then, like champions taking their final lap, Ran home to proclaim their memories back. As family kissed and hugged and cried a river of tears, Selena kicked off her sneakers That slumped with exhaustion near combat boots that had a million stories to tell. --Anna Prokos

Responding to poetry Questions to ask yourself when reading a poem: How does this poem make me feel? What do I think this poem is about? What are my favorite words/phrases in the poem? Why? What do I see in my mind when I read this poem? What does this poem make me wonder? Is there anything I don’t understand?