1. Poetry
English I

2. Poetry Can be defined as: a Literary piece of work with limited words
A type of literature that expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story in a specific form
Poems can have different interpretations with different readers

3. “To have great poets there must be great audiences too.”
-Walt Whitman

4. Poetry Vocabulary
Explication: a detailed look at how a poem is created, the devices it uses, and the overall meaning of a poem
Provides a formula for understanding the poem

5. Title
Before you even think about reading the poem or trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think the poem might be about based upon the title.
Often time authors conceal meaning in the title and give clues in the title.
If the title is simply the first line or a number, why?
What does this tell us about the poem and author?
Could you suggest a better title – why or why not?

6. Situation and Voice Situation: Voice:
While most poems have a deeper meaning, don’t forget the literal meaning. Students often jump to conclusions before understanding what is taking place in the poem!
Voice:
The poet is the author of the poem.
The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem.

7. Structure
STRUCTURE :
Look at the number of lines, their length, and their arrangement on the page.
Why do you think the poem chose that form for his poem?

8. Structure TYPES OF STANZAS: Couplet = a two line stanza
Triplet (Tercet) = a three line stanza
Quatrain = a four line stanza
Quintet = a five line stanza
Sestet (Sextet) = a six line stanza
Septet = a seven line stanza
Octave = an eight line stanza

9. Structure Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of end rhyme in a poem
Types of Rhyme: Rhyme, Half Rhyme, Off Rhyme
Free Verse: Does not have any internal rhyme, rhyme scheme or a pattern of meter (rhythm)
Blank Verse: Does have an internal rhyme or pattern of meter (rhythm) but no rhyme scheme

10. Structure
Narrative poem: poem that tells a story about something specific
Lyric Poem: poem that sounds like a song, using rhythm and rhyme – usually short
Dramatic Poem: involves plot, conflict, and a longer story

11. Structure Sonnet: 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme
Haiku: 3 line poem with a specific meter
1) five syllables
2) seven syllables
3) five syllables

12. Syntax SYNTAX : the grammatical structure of writing.
Does the punctuation of the poem add to or take away from the form?
- Consider:
periods, dashes, semicolons, capitalization, broken words, structure of phrases, and structure of sentences.

13. Syntax
Polysyndeton: multiple conjunctions in a line - “We brought the meat but forgot chips and cheese and salsa and lettuce!” Asyndeton: no conjunctions in a line - We read, we watched, we wrote.

14. Syntax
Enjambment: when a pause comes in the middle instead of the end of a line.
Parallel Structure: repetition of grammatical form within or among lines
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood...
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

15. Attitude How does the poem develop? What is the author not telling us?
Chronologically: time order
Cause and effect: If this happen(s)(ed), then that…
Free association: seemingly random connections between ideas, maybe sparked by relationships
What is the author not telling us?

16. Attitude Tone: the feeling expressed in words about someone’s opinion
Does the poem circle back to where it started, or is the shift from one attitude to a different attitude (e.g. from despair to hope)?

17. Language For each device that is present, A)Identify the device,
B)quote where it is in the poem, and
c)identify its purpose and/or effect on the reader.

18. Language Imagery: pictures created through words
Symbolism: use of objects to represent other ideas
Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration
Alliteration: repetition of initial sounds in a series of words

19. Language Metaphor: comparison between two unlike things
Simile: comparison using “like” or “as”
Diction: considering the specific word choices an author makes
Mood: suggestive of a particular feeling

20. Language Repetition vs Refrain:
- repetition is the repeated use of a word or phrase
Refrain is the repeated use of a line or stanza
Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects

21. Language
Onomatopoeia: words that are also sounds Denotation: dictionary definition of a word Connotation: Implied meanings of a word

22. Interpretation
What is the poem saying about “the human condition,” how all humans are connected, or a deeper mind- blowing concept? Is there a theme present? What lesson should we learn?