As you read through this power point, look closely at all words that are underlined and/or in black print. Make sure that you identify these words on your poetry vocabulary handout.

What is poetry?

 Poetry is a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to emotion and imagination.

Major forms of poetry  Lyric- a songlike poem that expresses a speaker’s feelings  Narrative – a poem that tells a story (epics and ballads)  Free Verse -poetry that has no regular rhythm or rhyme.

Ode - a type of poem that is similar to lyric, but is serious and thoughtful. It is in the form of verses that are framed in three parts; a poem in which a person expresses a strong feeling of love or respect for someone or something.

Sonnet – In simple terms, a sonnet can be defined as a poem of 14 lines. Sonnets are further divided as Shakespearean sonnets (3 quatrains and 1 couplet) and Italian sonnets (2 quatrains and a sestet)

Ballad - a narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, usually with an unknown author; has been passed down orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture.narrative poemstanzas

Epic - A long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero. Epics typically chronicle the origins of a civilization and embody its central values.

Stanza  Poems are written in stanzas.  A stanza is a group of consecutive lines that form a single unit.  Stanzas help you understand the poem’s meaning.  A stanza, like a paragraph, often signals the beginning of a new subject.  The punctuation marks in the poem help you separate ideas, and the stanzas help you sort out the images the poet gives you.

How to read a Poem

1. Read the poem through entirely without stopping.  As you read through the poem, you may feel that you are not understanding it while you read. This is normal! Read through it once without stopping. Let the punctuation of the poem guide you in your reading. Read until you reach a punctuation mark. This should indicate one entire thought.

2. Read the poem again.  Sometimes reading aloud helps.

3. Read the Poem again.

4. Look up all unknown words and any figurative language.  Use your dictionary or a thesaurus to look up any words or phrases you don’t understand.  Try to understand the meaning of the poem.

5.Answer the following questions about the poem.

#1 Who is the speaker in the poem? The speaker is the voice the reader hears.

#2 Who is the speaker addressing?  The speaker can address you, the audience, or another character in the poem.

#3 What is the subject of the poem?  The subject of the poem should be a person, place, or thing that the speaker is talking about.

#4 What is the theme of the poem?  The theme of the poem is what the poet is asking the reader to think about the subject. Examples might include things such as love, revenge, death, etc.

#5 What is the tone of the poem?  The tone of the poem is the attitude of the speaker towards his subject.  Try to imagine the things or feelings the poet describes.

6. Read the poem one more time.  Yes, I said to read it one more time. Read the poem again and again and again……  Read it as many times as it takes to understand it.  This isn’t a mystery. The key to understanding and appreciating poetry is to read it over and over.

Finally….  Give the poem a chance. You will like some poems more than others. Each poem has something to give you, if you want to take it.

Imagery  Language that appeals to the five senses – touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight.  Help you “see” the poem. Imagery creates pictures in your mind that stir your emotions and show you things in ways you have never thought of before.  As you read, try to visualize the images of pictures described in the poem.

Sounds of Poetry Alliteration – repeating consonants Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Rhythm – The rise and fall of our voices as we use language. Fast or slow; light or solemn; normal speech Onomatopoeia – Words with sounds that echo their sense. Crash, bang, boom, hiss

Rhyme Repetition of the sound of a stressed syllable and any unstressed syllable that follows. Examples: Sport & court; sputtering & muttering

Half rhyme – (slant rhyme) sound closely alike (orange & porridge) Exact rhyme – sound identical (cat & hat & bat) Internal rhyme – rhyme within a line (rubbery blubbery macaroni) End rhyme – words at the end of a line rhyme Forced rhyme – words are mispronounced to make a rhyme (do’ (door) & snow, see ‘um (see them) & museum)

Rhyme Scheme  The pattern of rhyme used in a poem Lower case letters are used to indicate a rhyme scheme Line 1 is always “a” Couplet – a pair of rhyming lines

Figurative Language  Simile  Metaphor  Personification  Hyperbole

Simile  A comparison using “like” or “as”  The star is like a diamond in the sky.  The dancer was as graceful as a cat.  I wandered lonely as a cloud.

Metaphor  A comparison not using like or as. This is a comparison that states that one thing is another, unlike thing. It shows how two things have something in common.  Metaphors often use a linking verb to make the comparison. Your mind is a complex computer. She was a lonely, wandering cloud.

Personification  Giving human characteristics to something that is not human. Examples: The train whistle screamed. The trees danced in the wind.

Hyperbole  A figure of speech where exaggeration is used for emphasis. Example: I could sleep for a year.