1. What is Good Poetry? Introduction to Unit 5 College English 104

2. Evaluating poems  Judging, explaining the worth  An invitation to offer your opinion BASED ON SPECIFIC CRITERIA Explicating poems  What does the poem mean; and how does it mean what it means?  A.k.a. “close reading” Analyzing poems  Focuses on a particular feature (or features) of a poem  For example, how does the language of a particular poem achieve its effect? Papers about poems Something to look forward to

3. Some preliminary criteria No excess words No words that don’t hold “weight” No words used to “fill out” meter Each word is BEST word Word order works Fresh imagery, language Sound with sense Arrangement fits purpose & meaning

4. Not SENTIMENTAL SENTIMENTAL POETRY is weak because… It appeals primarily to emotions; It is formulaic (or predictable); It employs trite imagery and language; or It oversimplifies the human experience.

5. Not RHETORICAL RHETORICAL LANGUAGE demeans the impact of a poem by making it sound… Oratorical; Artificial; Overblown; and Bombastic. The words are general and abstract rather than specific and concrete.

6. Not DIDACTIC Didactic poetry Sounds preachy; Attempts to be morally instructive; Is strictly informative, thus lacking pictures; Contains flat diction; Uses unimaginative, stale language; and Is much too familiar, thus not surprising.

7. PURPOSE Good poems achieve their purpose. Does the poem accomplish what it sets out to do?  In other words, what did the author hope to achieve? And did s/he achieve it? “Verse” is clever, but… Poetry appeals to the imagination, and Poetry engages the intellect.

8. Some Questions to Ask Who is the speaker? To whom is s/he speaking? (audience) What is the setting of the poem? (time & place) Is there an argument? Is there a point of view? Which words reveal the speaker’s perspectives?

9. More Questions How is the poem arranged? (organized) How does the structure (organization) contribute to the meaning of the poem? What is the overall tone of the piece? What important comparisons reveal underlying messages?

10. And More Questions What important images compose the poem? What kind of images are they?  Visual?  Auditory?  Kinesthetic?  Olfactory?  Gustatory? Which images convey the meaning and/or mood of the poem?

11. And Still More ??? Is there a conflict? What is it about? Is the conflict resolved? Are there symbols in the poem? How do they function? Are there literary allusions in the work? Is there a pattern to the poem?

12. Poetic Terms to Know and Use Metaphor Simile Allusion Paradox Understatement Hyperbole Irony Stanza Meter  More to come on this... Sonnet Refrain Syntax

13. Papers about poems Something to look forward to Evaluating poems  Judging, explaining the worth  An invitation to offer your opinion BASED ON SPECIFIC CRITERIA Explicating poems  What does the poem mean; and how does it mean what it means?  A.k.a. “close reading” Analyzing poems  Focuses on a particular feature (or features) of a poem  For example, how does the language of a particular poem achieve its effect?