P OETRY ! OETRY E TRY TRY RY Y P OETRY ?

W HAT IS P OETRY ?

W HICH OF THESE DEFINITIONS CAPTURES FOR YOU THE ESSENCE OF POETRY ? Poetry is language that has been condensed, compacted, tightened and trimmed. John Drury Poetry is tied to memory... Poetry is ultimately mythology, the telling of the stories of the soul. Stanley Kunitz A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language... Diane Ackerman Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings...recollected in tranquility. William Wordsworth Poetry is the art of combining pleasure with truth. Samuel Johnson A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom. Robert Frost Poetry says more and says it more intensely “than the language we use every day.” Laurence Perrine Poetry is music in words. D. Fuller

W HAT DO ALL THESE DEFINITIONS HAVE IN COMMON ? Analysing poetry is not about how it makes you feel BUT why it makes you feel that way

T HINGS TO REMEMBER : Poetry is language in performance: therefore it cannot be paraphrased (retold in another way) because you lose the impact and the meaning of the poem. The Placement of words: Important for meaning. How the words are organised Line breaks and lack of punctuation all effect meaning.

T YPES OF POEMS Two main types of poetry – Narrative and Lyrical Narrative poetry – is poetry which is organised into a story. Just like a story it contains  Plot  characters,  setting  A basic theme is developed.

T YPES OF N ARRATIVE POETRY : Epic poetry : a long narrative poem that recounts the heroic deeds of the past (historical, religious, legend, or mythology). Usually heroes, with some type of flaw, perform deeds that require great courage and superhuman strength. Example: Beowulf, the Iliad, Song of Roland Ballad : a poem that can be sung that tells a story.

Examples: Fifteen by Taylor swift Rude by Magic! (why ya gotta be so rude) Don’t stop believing by Journey

Lyrical poetry - a short poem, which expresses the thoughts and feeling of a single speaker, often focused on a private emotional experience. Types of Lyrical poetry: Sonnet- This is an extremely rigid and difficult to write poem of fourteen lines with a rhyming couplet at the end. Example: Shakespeare, Elizabeth Benet Browning

S HAKESPEARE … How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

Elegy - A poem written to honor the dead Ode - a lyric that has a serious theme and is usually really long.

O THER POETIC FORMS : Limerick – a five line non-sense poem with a specific rhyme scheme of AABBA. Example: There once was a guy named Kyle, A Who always loved to smile. A He went to the fair, B Tripped over a bear, B Now there's a lawsuit file. A Parody- a funny poem that copies the structure if more serious poetry Free verse – free from rhyme, pattern, or rhythm. But uses strong images and an interesting arrangement of words.

M ORE ! Found Poetry – Poems made from words and phrases taken from pieces of scrap paper, billboards, photographs, book pages, etc. Concrete Poetry – Poems whose words are shaped in a way that conveys meaning (ex. A poem about original sin is the shape of an apple) Haiku – A Japanese arrangement of 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables that evoke nature imagery and the imagination