Lesson objective: to explore and understand some aspects of poetry

What do these phrases and sentences have in common? The rain in Spain is rather wet. I think I’ll have a cup of tea. This poem is anonymous. A piece of toast; a can of beans. It isn’t hard to understand. He never really had a chance. She shook her head and walked away.

Iambic tetrameter That’s how we describe the meter in these lines – the way the words bounce along. It means that each line is made up of eight syllables – but the important part is to understand where the stress lies. Iambs are two syllable combinations (or feet) in the pattern of unstressed/stressed Tetrameter means four feet in each line, each one unstressed/stressed.

. ^ = unstressed / = stressed So each line has to follow this pattern: ^ / ^ / ^ / ^ / The rain in Spain is rather wet I think I’ll have a cup of tea It is…n’t hard to understand

Your turn Write your own line of iambic tetrameter Remember – eight syllables, each pair unstressed/stressed Next, write a second line which rhymes with the first Let’s hear some examples.

Meter gives poetry its rhythm I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vale and hill When all at once I saw a crowd A host of golden daffodils iambic tetrameters rhyme scheme - abab

What to look out for in poetry Meter Rhyme (including internal rhyme within a line) Rhyme scheme (for example: ababcc) Imagery: including simile; metaphor; personification; hyperbole (exaggeration for effect); onomatopoeia (words which suggest the sounds they describe) Alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds) Assonance (repetition of vowel sounds)

Your turn Read William Wordsworth’s poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.’ How many different features can you spot? What is the meter? What is the rhyme scheme? Can you find a simile? Can you find a metaphor? Can you find personification?

. I WANDERED lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

Did you spot these examples? Simile: …lonely as a cloud; continuous as the stars that shine Metaphor: …inward eye Personification: …a crowd, a host, dancing, tossing their heads, my heart dances Internal rhyme: …gazed and gazed; …is the bliss Alliteration: …Dances with the Daffodils; Beside the lake, Beneath the trees

Assonance There is assonance in this poem - the poet often uses repeated vowel sounds …lonely …floats …host …golden …twinkle …milky

Hyperbole Obviously, there were a LOT of daffodils! But consider these phrases: ‘Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle in the Milky Way’ ‘They stretched in never-ending line’ These are examples of hyperbole or exaggeration for effect.

Your turn Using iambic tetrameters and your own rhyme scheme, compose a poem on the theme of Nature. You could write about seasons, the weather, animals, birds, waterfalls, jungles, rivers, the sea, mountains, space – whatever you like. Try to write at least two stanzas (verses) of four or six lines.