Poetry 7 th Grade Language Arts

Poetry  Why does poetry exist?  Poetic Terms  Common Styles of Poetry

Poetry, part 2: poetic terms  stanza  rhyme scheme  Couplet  quatrain  meter  theme  lyrics  alliteration  personification

STANZA stanza: a poetic paragraph “ I Love to Do My Homework” I love to do my homework, It makes me feel so good I love to do exactly As my teacher says I should. I love to do my homework, I never miss a day. I even love the men in white Who are taking me away. How many stanzas does this poem contain?

RHYME SCHEME: the rhyming pattern within the poem “ I Love to Do My Homework” I love to do my homework, It makes me feel so good I love to do exactly As my teacher says I should. I love to do my homework, I never miss a day. I even love the men in white Who are taking me away. ABCBADED Each line in the poem is given a letter beginning with the letter “A.” Any lines rhyming with each other will share that same letter. What is this poem’s rhyme scheme?

COUPLET: two consecutive lines that rhyme with each other “Woman Work” I've got the children to tend Storm, blow me from here The clothes to mend With your fiercest wind The floor to mop Let me float across the sky The food to shop 'Til I can rest again Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry Fall gently, snowflakes I got company to feedCover me with white The garden to weedCold icy kisses and I've got shirts to pressLet me rest tonight. The tots to dress The can to be cutSun, rain, curving sky I gotta clean up this hutLet me float across the sky Then see about the sickStar shine, moon glow And the cotton to pick. You're all that I can call my own. Shine on me, sunshine Rain on me, rain Fall softly, dewdrops And cool my brow again.. Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ShortBio.html

QUATRAIN: four, connected lines of poetry with a specific rhyme scheme “My First Poem” by Bill Dodds This week at school in Language Arts We studied poetry. “It’s your turn now,” Mrs. Cratchett said, “To write a poem for me.” So here I sit, it’s after school, I’m at the kitchen table. I want to get this over with As quickly as I’m able....

METER: the rhythm/beat of the poem “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. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. ROBERT FROST log/Robert-Frost-big.jpg How does a poet create meter?

Meter (continued) “THE FIREMEN’S BALL” (excerpt) "Give the engines room, The sparks and the pine-brands Give the engines room." Whirl on high Louder, faster From the black and reeking alleys The little band-master To the wide red sky. Whips up the fluting, Hear the hot glass crashing, Hurries up the tooting. Hear the stone steps hissing. He thinks that he stands, Coal black streams The reins in his hands, Down the gutters pour. In the fire-chief's place There are cries for help In the night alarm chase. From a far fifth floor. The cymbals whang, For a longer ladder The kettledrums bang: -- Hear the fire-chief call. "Clear the street, Listen to the music Clear the street, Of the firemen's ball Clear the street – Listen to the music Boom, boom. Of the firemen's ball. In the evening gloom, Give the engines room, Lest souls be trapped In a terrible tomb." Vachel Lindsay /lanphier/projects/lindsay/page7.htm

THEME: the topic; the poem’s message Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still. This thing all things devours Birds, beasts, trees, flowers Gnaws iron, bites steel, Grinds hard stones to meal, Slays kings, ruins towns, And beats high mountains down! From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

LYRICS: poetic words in a song  “lyrics” comes from the Greek word “lyre”, a small harp that can be held in one hand and played with the other

ALLITERATION: frequently repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of words “Betty Botter’s Butter” Betty Botter bought some butter, But she said "this butter's bitter! But a bit of better butter Will but make my butter better.“ So she bought some better butter, Better than the bitter butter, And it made her butter better So 'twas better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter! Bought a bit of better butter!

PERSONIFICATION: giving human qualities to non-living things “THE NEW MOON” What have you got in your knapsack fair, White moon, bright moon, pearling the air, Spinning your bobbins and fabrics free, Fleet moon, sweet moon, in to the sea? Turquoise and beryl and rings of gold, Clear moon, dear moon, ne’er to be sold? Roses and lilies, romance and love, Still moon, chill moon, swinging above? Slender your feet as a white birds throat, High moon, shy moon, drifting your boat Into the murk of the world awhile, Slim moon, dim moon, adding a smile. Tender your eyes as a maiden’s kiss, Fine moon, wine moon, no one knows this, by Under the spell of your witchery,Zora Cross Dream moon, cream moon, first he kissed me.