1. Poetry

2. What is poetry?
When you’re reading text, how do you know whether it’s poetry, a story, drama, etc.?
What are the elements of poetry?

3. According to Merriam-webster’s dictionary…
Poetry has two relevant definitions:
Metrical writing
Writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm

4. The poem below has 8 lines. The lines are organized into quatrains.
Single lines are marked
Often organized into stanzas
2 lines in a stanza is called a couplet
4 is a quatrain
5 is a cinquain
Others numbers 3,6,7, etc. have names, but aren’t used as commonly.
“To a Snowflake”
Hello little snowflake!
Where are all your friends?
Should I expect a lot of them
Before the morning ends?
I love it when you come to me
And you all fall down together
And I get dressed to visit you,
Toasty warm in cold, cold weather

5. Stanza Four stanzas in couplets Each stanza indicates a new image.
A group of lines
Often have 4, 5, or 6 lines
Usually develops an idea
Give poems structure
Emphasizes different ideas
Beginning a new stanza often signal the beginning of a new image, thought or idea
“First and Last”
by David McCord
A tadpole hasn’t a pole at all,
And he doesn’t live in a hole in the wall.
You’ve got it all wrong: a polecat’s not
A cat on a pole. And I’ll tell you what:
A bullfrog’s never a bull; and how
Could a cowbird possibly be a cow?
A kingbird, though is a kind of king,
And he chases a crow like anything.
Each stanza indicates a new image.

6. A B Words rhyme when they have the same sound
“Ten Minutes Till the Bus” by David L. Harrison
Ten whole minutes
Till the bus,
Scads of time,
What’s the fuss?
Two to dress,
One to flush,
Two to eat,
One to brush,
That leaves four
To catch the bus,
Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
Words rhyme when they have the same sound
Poems often use rhyme at the end of lines
Rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhymes in a poem
Poets use rhyme to add a musical sound to their poems A B

7. Rhythm From “Windy Nights” by Robert Louis Stevenson
Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?
Rhythm
Pattern of beats or a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in poem
Poets create rhythm by using words in which parts are emphasized or not emphasized.
The red letters are what’s stressed.

8. Free Verse “Blossoms” by Walter Dean Myers
Poetry written without a regular rhyme, rhythm, and form
Sounds natural, just like everyday conversation.
Poets use free verse because it allows them to experiment with shapes and sound in their poetry
“Blossoms”
by Walter Dean Myers
I never dreamt
That tender blossoms
Would be brown
Or precious angels
Could come down
To live in the garden
Of my giving heart
But here you are
Brown angel
No rhyme or regular rhythm, but definitely a poem

9. Hello, it's me I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet To go over everything They say that time's supposed to heal ya But I ain't done much healing6 Hello, can you hear me? I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be When we were younger and free I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet3 There's such a difference between us And a million miles Hello from the other side I must've called a thousand times To tell you I'm sorry For everything that I've done But when I call you never Seem to be home
Lyrical Poetry
Poetry written with a regular rhyme, rhythm, and form
Can easily be put to a musical beat
Even though, first and foremost, you may see this as a song, it was first a poem.

10. Narrative Poetry Poetry written to tell a story
It could also be lyrical, free verse, etc.
Can contain any number of lines, types of stanzas, rhythm, rhyme scheme, etc.
Green Eggs and Ham by: Dr. Seuss I am Sam. Sam I am. That Sam I am! Do you like Green Eggs and Ham? I do not like them, I do not like green eggs and ham. Would you like them here or there? I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere.
In addition to Dr. Seuss, many children’s stories can be considered narrative poetry.

11. Limerick This type of poem is usually not school appropriate.
There once was an old man from Peru Who dreamed he was eating his shoe He awoke in the night With a terrible fright, And found that it was quite true.
Limerick
Poetry written with a prescribed rhythm, rhyme scheme, and length
Always five lines long
Lines 1, 2, & 5 rhyme and are 8- 9 syllables
Lines 3 & 4 rhyme using a different sound and are 5-6 syllables
This type of poem is usually not school appropriate.

12. Poems use figurative language
Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds
Imagery – Language that appeals to 5 senses
Hyperbole – extreme exaggeration
Simile – comparing to unlike things using comparison words
Metaphor – comparing to unlike things by saying one is the other
Onomatopoeia – use of words that sound like the noises they describe
Personification – giving inanimate objects human-like qualities
Idiom – an everyday saying that doesn’t mean exactly what it says
Symbol – concrete symbol that stands for something more, something abstract

13. Mood Mood is the feeling that a poem creates for the reader
“Poor” by Myra Livingston
I heard of poor.
It means hungry, no food.
No shoes, no place to live,
Nothing good.
It means winter nights
And being cold,
It is lonely, alone.
Feeling old.
Poor is a tired face.
Poor is thin.
Poor is standing outside
Looking in.
Mood is the feeling that a poem creates for the reader
Can be positive or negative.
Length of sentences, the words chosen, punctuation, and sounds of words all effect mood.
Short words and lines create a serious mood
Words create a feeling of sadness

14. tone
Tone is the attitude the writer takes to toward the subject or audience
“The Crocodile” How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the water of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!
The subject of the poem is crocodiles. The author’s attitude towards the crocodiles is that they are dangerous.