Poetry

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Poetry
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Unit Project

• Throughout this unit you will learn the skills
  to write and analyze poetry. You will write many
  poems to demonstrate different skills you have
  acquired, and knowledge you have gained.
• At the end of the unit, YOU will produce an
  anthology of poetry.
• So, do your best, save all your work IN YOUR
  WIRITNG FOLDERS, and have fun!

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Your Anthology

• Each slide or page should have one poem or a
  group of similar poems.
• Include a visual or something that illustrates
  your poem.
• Include 3 sentences about your poem
• What inspired you to write your poem? What
  devices (i.e. simile, metaphor, personification,
  alliteration) did you use to enhance your poem?
  What words, allusions or phrases did you use to
  improve your poem? See the next slides for an
  example.

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The Red Wheelbarrowby William Carlos Williams

• so much depends
• upon
• a red
• wheelbarrow
• glazed with rain
• water
• beside the white
• chickens

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The Blue Ipod

• so much depends
• upon
• a blue
• nano ipod
• fixed with play-
• lists
• designed as a means
• of escape for all

• I wrote this poem as a response to William Carlos
  Williams The Red Wheelbarrow. His description of
  an everyday object as essential and beautiful to
  him inspired me to create the same poem but with
  the ipod. I chose the ipod because it is
  essential to so many people as a means of escape.

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What is Poetry?

• In your notebook, write your own definition of
  poetry, based upon your understanding of it.
• Try to define what it is, exactly. Also,
  describe forms of writing that are NOT poetry.
• You have five minutes or so.

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Some Definitions of Poetry

• Poetry is defined as the dramatization of
  experience in metrical language. It is a
  condensed, often-rhythmical composition with
  specially-arranged lines, figurative language,
  and sometimes rhyme.
• Poetry is words combined in ways that can be
  very different from everyday language.
• Poetry is the expression of the inner part of a
  human being an attempt to translate the
  untranslatable through the medium of language.

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Write a Poem!

• Personal Poem
• Tell me your name.
• What is your REAL name (not necessarily the name
  you go by, but a name you wish was yours, or a
  name that you feel is true for you)?
• Name the animal inside you. Explain your choice.
• Theres an object in your heart. What is it?
  Explain its significance.
• Theres a word written on your forehead. What is
  it? Explain.
• Tell me a sound you love. Tell me a sound you
  hate.
• What is your favorite time of day? Why?
• If your hands could speak, what would they say?
• Tell me something you remember from your
  childhood.
• Tell me a phrase or saying your
  mother/father/grandparents said to you often.
• Write a phrase or image that represents your
  personality or how you are feeling at this point
  in your life. Keep it short, succinct, and
  dramatic to end your poem powerfully.

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Write a Poem!

• Personal Poem
• My name is Tara Finnigan.
• People call me Finn.
• I am a cat. I like to keep quiet and relax in the
  sun,
• but I am also curious.
• In my heart you will find sea glass.
• Sea glass has been eroded by the years,
• and yet only becomes more beautiful.
• The word written upon my forehead is Clumsy.
• I have to be extra cautious to stay on my feet,
• because I always seem to be tripping around.
• I love the sound of nature, and especially the
  ocean
• although I cant stand the caw of the crows.
• I used to be a night owl,
• but I have grown to appreciate the calm and
• hopefulness of the early morning hours.
• If my hands could speakwait a minute they do.
• I always talk with my hands.

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POINT OF VIEW IN POETRY

• POET
• The poet is the author of the poem.

• SPEAKER
• The speaker of the poem is the narrator of the
  poem.

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Write a Poem!

• I Am Poem
• I am (two special characteristics you have)
• I wonder (something you are actually curious
  about)
• I hear (an imaginary sound)
• I see (an imaginary sight)
• I want (an actual desire)
• I am (the first line of the poem restated)
• I am pretending (something you actually pretend)
• I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
• I touch (an imaginary touch)
• I worry (something that really bothers you)
• I cry (something that makes you sad)
• I understand (something you know is true)
• I say (something you believe in)
• I dream (something you actually dream about)
• I try (something you make an effort about)

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I Am...

• I am bookish and thoughtful.
• I wonder when I will read all the books on my
  shelf.
• I hear a cats meow.
• I see smiles.
• I want happiness and calm.
• I am bookish and thoughtful.
• I am pretending to be a famous author.
• I feel I will succeed in writing a famous book.
• I touch an ancient tome.
• I worry I will never write a book.
• I cry when animals are mistreated.
• I understand that we all need acceptance.
• I say you will be successful.
• I dream I will be successful.
• I try to be happy every day.
• I hope to live by this happiness principle.

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Brainstorming

• Choose a noun a person/animal, place, or thing.
• Make three lists verbs, adjectives, and
  adverbs.
• Brainstorm things about the noun you chose
  things it does (verbs), how it does things
  (adverbs), and words to describe the noun
  (adjectives).
• Take 5 minutes to do this.

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If Only Poem

• Write an If Only poem by following the structure
  below
• Line 1 Name of the special person, animal,
  place, or thing
• Line 2 Two adjectives describing the subject in
  line 1, connected by and or but
• Line 3 A typical action (verb) that the subject
  in line 1 does, and how the subject typically
  does that action (adverb)
• Line 4 A comparison using the words as a or
  like a
• Line 5 An if only wish for the subject
• Line 6 An if only wish for yourself and the
  subject
• Line 7 (OPTIONAL) A when for line 6

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If Only Poem

• Cat
• Sleek and fat
• Runs gracefully
• As a deer
• If only shed stop prowling
• If only she and I could sleep
• Until the morning comes

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Who Am I? Bio-poem

• Write a bio-poem about yourself by following the
  steps below
• Line 1 Your first name only
• Line 2 Four traits that describe you
• Line 3 Sibling of/brother of/friend of/etc. and
  a name
• Line 4 Lover of (3 people and/or ideas)
• Line 5 Who feels (3 things)
• Line 6 Who needs (3 things)
• Line 7 Who gives (3 things)
• Line 8 Who fears (3 things)
• Line 9 Who would like to see (3 things)
• Line 10 Resident of (place)
• Line 11 Your last name only.

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Bio-poem

• Sam
• Honest, happy, content, fun
• Brother of Larry, Jim, and Connie
• Lover of baseball, computer games and summer
• Who feels joy at Christmas, loneliness in the
  dark, and happiness with friends
• Who needs lots of sunshine, good books, and some
  privacy
• Who gives good advice, funny jokes, and lasting
  friendship
• Who fears wars, hunger, and the end of a good
  book
• Who would like to see wars ended, people smiling,
  and more summer vacation
• Resident of Hampton, New Brunswick, Canada
• Jones

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Ms. Finnigans Bio-poem

• Tara
• Happy, thoughtful, witty, slightly-nerdy
• Sibling of Kyle
• Lover of family, summer, and books
• Who feels love, serenity, and worry
• Who needs chocolate, exercise, and more time
• Who gives money, time, and her all
• Who fears clowns, small spaces, and pigeons
• Who would like to see students succeed, a happy
  family, and a a book with her name on it
• Resident of Kingston, New Brunswick
• Finnigan

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POETRY FORM

• FORM - the appearance of the words on the page
• LINE - a group of words together on one line of
  the poem
• STANZA - a group of lines arranged together
• A word is dead
• When it is said,
• Some say.
• I say it just
• Begins to live
• That day.

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KINDS 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

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Poetry is Art

• but what is art, exactly?

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Poetry is Art

• A poem is a deliberate creation intended to
  convey something from the writer to the reader.
• There are three basic elements of poetry
• IMAGE
• SOUND
• MEANING

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Vocabulary

• conscious intentionally conceived or done
• medium an intervening substance through which
  something else is transmitted or carried on
• universe the context you must consider the
  universe(s) of the author/sender, the art itself,
  and the receiver in order to fully understand a
  work.

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What is Art?

• The artist encodes the message in the medium.
  The receiver interprets the medium.
• Artist Medium Receiver
• (art)

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What is Art?

• 1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or
  counteract the work of nature.
• 2. a) The conscious production or arrangement of
  sounds, colours, forms, movements, or other
  elements in a manner that affects the sense of
  beauty specifically the production of the
  beautiful in a medium.
• b) The study of these activities
• c) The product of these activities human works
  of beauty considered as a group.

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Artist Medium Receiver (art)

• Note that the intended receiver the audience
  for whom the art was originally created exerts
  a lot of influence on the arts creation.
• Also note that the receiver of a work of art
  might not be the intended receiver so, being
  from a different universe, they must work harder
  to interpret the poem as it was intended.
• Furthermore, if the receiver is from a different
  universe, he/she will probably be able to
  interpret the art in new ways that the author did
  not intend, but that might be valid nevertheless.

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Universe Artist Medium Receiver (art)

• There are contextual factors that is,
  everything outside the art that directly or
  indirectly influences its creation by the artist
  or its interpretation by the receiver.
• Literary critics refer to this as the universe.

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Putting it in terms of English class

• Universe
• Writer Medium Reader
• (poem/play/novel/story)

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Assignment

• Use the lesson you learned today to explain the
  following
• 1. Why do modern students generally have so much
  difficulty reading and studying Shakespeare?
• 2. Why do studies of works of art including
  poems, novels, and plays often begin with a
  study of the author and her/his time?
• 3. Why are some poems written in certain forms,
  and why do we learn about those forms in school?
• 4. Why is English as a discipline sometimes
  considered to be about cultural studies more than
  just about reading, writing, and communicating?

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The Aims of Poetry

• Poetry generally aims to accomplish one or more
  of the following
• Reveal deep personal feelings
• Tell a story
• Present drama
• Reveal character
• Make social commentary
• Entertain

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Assignment

• Pre-writing
• Name three (or more) historical, famous, and/or
  cultural figures you admire.
• For each, brainstorm what they accomplished, and
  why you admire them.

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Bio-Pyramid Poem

• Bio-Pyramid Poems give insight into a person (or
  character). They are shaped like a pyramid.
• Use the following structure to write TWO
  bio-poems
• The persons name (one word)
• Two words describing the person
• Three words describing the persons childhood
• Four words indicating a problem the person had
  to overcome
• Five words stating one of his/her
  accomplishments
• Six words stating a second accomplishment
• Seven words stating a third accomplishment
• Eight words stating how humankind benefited from
  his/her accomplishments

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Bio-pyramid Poem

• Bob
• Music, dreadlocks
• Difficult, sad, lonely
• Death of his father
• He learned good self defense
• Formed a band called the teenagers
• Was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit
• He brought joy to people with his music
• -- Kayla Pugh (2007)

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Bio-pyramid Poem

• Lennon
• National Threat
• Born During War
• Isolation, Addiction, Nixon
• Survived the Chaos of Beatlemania
• Offered Hair Peace and Bed Peace
• War Is Over If You Want It
• Encouraged the World to Give Peace a Chance
• -- Ryan Harley (2007)

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Poems and Characters

• It is important to understand that not all
  poetry is personal that is, poetry does not
  always reveal closely-held personal feelings
  there are many other aims, and techniques for
  accomplishing those aims.
• The personality telling the poem is not the
  author it is called the persona of the poem.
  Although it can be very close to the author, it
  is not him/her! (Think of it as poems being told
  by a narrator of sorts.)
• 1. Read the following three poems aloud.
• 2. NOTE In each, the author has created a
  character who is separate and distinct from
  himself.
• 3. Identify what aims you think the writer is
  trying to accomplish, and what he might be trying
  to communicate to the reader.

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• Martha
• Operator, number, please it's been so many
  yearsWill she remember my old voice while I
  fight the tears?Hello, hello there, is this
  Martha? this is old Tom Frost,And I am calling
  long distance, don't worry 'bout the cost.'Cause
  it's been forty years or more, now Martha please
  recall,Meet me out for coffee, where we'll talk
  about it all.And those were the days of roses,
  poetry and proseAnd Martha all I had was you and
  all you had was me.There was no tomorrows, we'd
  packed away our sorrowsAnd we saved them for a
  rainy day.And I feel so much older now, and
  you're much older too,How's your husband? and
  how's the kids? you know that I got married
  too?Luck that you found someone to make you feel
  secure,'Cause we were all so young and foolish,
  now we are mature.And those were the days of
  roses, poetry and proseAnd Martha all I had was
  you and all you had was me.There was no
  tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrowsAnd we
  saved them for a rainy day.

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• And I was always so impulsive, I guess that I
  still am,And all that really mattered then was
  that I was a man.I guess that our being together
  was never meant to be.And Martha, Martha, I love
  you can't you see?And those were the days of
  roses, poetry and proseAnd Martha all I had was
  you and all you had was me.There was no
  tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrowsAnd we
  saved them for a rainy day.And I remember quiet
  evenings trembling close to you...
• Tom Waits

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• When You Go Out With Artists
• When I go out with artistsThey talk about
  language and the cubists and the dadaistsAnd I
  try to catch their meaningsAnd keep up with all
  the martinisI don't know which should be my
  favorite paintingsIf I could see, if I could
  see, if I couldSee all the symbols, unlock what
  they meanMaybe I could, maybe I could, maybe
  ICould meet the artists, and get to know them
  personallyIf I were David ByrneI'd go to
  galleries and not be too concernedWell I would
  have a cup of coffeeAnd I'd find my surroundings
  quite amusing andPeople would ask me which were
  my favorite paintings

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• What if the artists ran the TV?All the ads
  would be for fine scotch whiskeyGlenfiddich,
  Glenlivet, the whole single malt familyThe
  artists of the futureWill make up new things and
  different nomenclaturesAnd they'll stand amongst
  their picturesAnd they'll sing and laugh and
  quote from scriptures andWhen they go home
  they'll dream of brilliant paintings
• Brad Roberts

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• Photograph Album
• Ill be left with my thoughts again
• As soon as these tears have been cried.
• She was like the brightest star in the autumn sky
• That I knelt and wished upon every night
• As I lay me down to sleep.
• She was like the biggest springtime pizza-pie
  moon
• That we sang to, together, out of tune
• Before the firelight dimmed.
• She was like the brilliant rays of the summer
  sun,
• Her hair and eyes all aglow with warmth,
• Her smile never fading.

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• She was like the softly falling winter
  snowflakes,
• So unique and soft and gentle and beautiful
• She taught me to catch them on my mitten
• And to appreciate them before they melted away.
• Soon these tears will have been cried
• And Ill be left with my thoughts again.
• Toby K. Stoddart

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SOUND EFFECTS
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RHYTHM

• The beat created by the sounds of the words in a
  poem
• Rhythm can be created by meter, rhyme,
  alliteration and refrain.

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METER

• A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
• Meter occurs when the stressed and unstressed
  syllables of the words in a poem are arranged in
  a repeating pattern.
• When poets write in meter, they count out the
  number of stressed (strong) syllables and
  unstressed (weak) syllables for each line. They
  they repeat the pattern throughout the poem.

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The Appeals of Poetry

• Poetry appeals to
• the senses,
• the emotions,
• and/or
• the intellect
• of the reader.

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Sensuous Appeal

• Poets pay attention to their responses to sight,
  sound, touch, smell, and taste.
• Poetry is often rich in sensuous diction and
  imagery.

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Emotional Appeal

• By responding to or writing poetry, people
  sometimes find access to their own feelings.
• Poems are appealing when they show a complexity
  of human thought and emotion.
• Satisfaction comes with realizing we are not
  alone in having complicated feelings.

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Intellectual Appeal

• Poetry can be very intellectually satisfying.
• Figurative language and poetic devices are used
  to express the writers message. The use of
  diction, imagery, and sound devices help you
  write and understand poetry fully.

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General Vocabulary

• Stanza the arrangement of lines into groups of
  lines in a poem sometimes interchangeable with
  the word verse
• Form the type of poem can be open or
  closed
• Metre the rhythm of stressed and unstressed
  syllables

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Excerpt from Stephen Kings On Writing

• Read the excerpt from Stephen Kings book On
  Writing entitled, What Writing Is. How does it
  relate to what you know about poetry so far?
• Vocabulary
• telepathy the ability to communicate using
  only your mind
• J.B. Rhine was a pioneer of parapsychology.
  Rhine founded the parapsychology lab at Duke
  University
• Mr Poes Purloined Letter Edgar Allan Poe,
  17th Century American writer of the mystery and
  macabre. Purloined Letter- Important early
  detective fiction story.

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Excerpt from Stephen Kings On Writing

• What is telepathy?
• Who is Stephen King?
• Describe the setting of his writing.
• What does he mean by a far-seeing place or a
  basement place?
• Note his use of the WTC is pre- 9/11.
• What does he mean by books are a uniquely
  portable magic?
• What is the authors perseption of books?
• What is purgatory? (104)
• Where is your favourite place to read?
• What is the purpose of the image of the cage?
• What does he mean by you must not come lightly
  to the page?
• What does King ultimately hope for you as a
  writer?
• 13. How does it relate to what you know about
  poetry so far?

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Diction in Poetry

• Words are the stuff of writing they are the
  tools of the writers trade. Diction (word
  choice) is the key to good poetry.
• Throughout this unit, you will learn a lot about
  diction. You will bring the knowledge of language
  that you have acquired over the past few years,
  and utilize it when writing and analyzing poetry.
• In the following poem, choose 10 words that you
  feel are important to the meaning of the poem.
  Now write a synonym and an antonym for the word
  how does this exercise change the meaning?

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• in your head, speaking as you read,
• never says anything neutrally some people
• hated the barn they knew,
• some people love the barn they know
• so you hear the word loaded
• and a sensory constellation
• is lit horse-gnawed stalls,
• hayloft, black heat tape wrapping
• a water pipe, a slippery
• spilled chirr of oats from a split sack,
• the bony, filthy haunches of cows . .
• and barn is only a noun no verb
• or subject has even entered into the sentence
  yet!
• The voice you hear when you read to yourself
• is the clearest voice you speak it
• speaking to you.
• Thomas Lux

• The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently
• is not silent, it is a speaking
• out-loud voice in your head it is spoken,
• a voice is saying it
• as you read. Its the writers words,
• of course, in a literary sense
• his or her voice but the sound
• of that voice is the sound of your voice.
• Not the sound your friends know
• or the sound of a tape played back
• but your voice
• caught in the dark cathedral
• of your skull, your voice heard
• by an internal ear informed by internal abstracts
• and what you know by feeling,
• having felt. It is your voice
• saying, for example, the word barn
• that the writer wrote

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The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently

• Read the poem and choose 10 words that you dont
  know or dont use often.
• For each word write a synonym and antonym.
• Now, with all of those 30 words (challenge!)
  write a poem of your choice using as many of the
  words as possible.

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• in your head, speaking as you read,
• never says anything neutrally some people
• hated the barn they knew,
• some people love the barn they know
• so you hear the word loaded
• and a sensory constellation
• is lit horse-gnawed stalls,
• hayloft, black heat tape wrapping
• a water pipe, a slippery
• spilled chirr of oats from a split sack,
• the bony, filthy haunches of cows . . .
• and barn is only a noun no verb
• or subject has even entered into the sentence
  yet!
• The voice you hear when you read to yourself
• is the clearest voice you speak it
• speaking to you.
• Thomas Lux

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Acrostic Poems

• Remember these lines from the poem, The Voice
  You Hear When You Read Silently
• It is your voice
• saying, for example, the word barn
• that the writer wrote
• but the barn you say
• is a barn you know or knew. The voice
• in your head, speaking as you read,
• never says anything neutrally some people
• hated the barn they knew,
• some people love the barn they know
• and barn is only a noun
• For a reader, the words the writer uses will
  carry an emotional resonance. In order to get
  the reader to feel in the way the writer wants,
  he/she can use diction to accomplish his/her
  goals.
• Read the following acrostic poems and see if you
  can identify how the writer feels about the
  subjects based upon the words chosen.

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Acrostic Poems write 3 of your own

• Poem English Math
• Pretty Easy Meaningful
• Original Natural Arithmetic
• Emotional Great Terrific
• Metrical Laughter Hard
• Interesting
• Studying
• Happiness

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Acrostic Poems

• Poem English Math
• Puke Evil Maddening
• Oh it sucks NO! Awful
• Ew Gross Tedious
• Mournful Lines Horrible
• Icky
• Stupid
• Huh?

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More About Diction

• An understanding of poetry its history, forms,
  aims, appeals, and so on are important to making
  good poetry, but words are your tools.
• Your understanding of the parts of language are
  vital to making good poetry.
• Be sure that you understand the following terms
• noun, adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb.

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List the adjectives adverbs in the following
poem.

• Write
• Describe to me in detail
• How thick, soft, how fast,
• How stiff, freezing, nasty,
• How narrow, shallow, vast.
• Tell me in expensive terms
• How tepid, shining, old,
• How witty, dull, and stupid,
• How strong, how swift, how bold.
• How curious I am to know
• How noble, gloomy, meek
• How easy-going, foolish,
• How reliable, how weak.

• Present in careful fashion
• How intimate, how strange,
• How something so familiar
• Can make a sudden change.
• Flourish in the frightening,
• The perilous, the wrong.
• Rejoice in somber innocence,
• Newborn, tender song.
• Confide in words assurance,
• And write of what you feel.
• Describe to me in detail
• Just what to you is real.
• Author Unknown

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• TYPES OF POETRY

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Lyric Poetry

• Lyric poetry covers most poems that express
  personal feelings/thoughts of a speaker (the
  persona) or the poet in a lyric.
• Lyric poetry deals primarily with basic human
  needs, thoughts, feelings, common human
  experiences, and well-known things, and often
  helps us to think about these things in a new way.

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Dramatic Poetry

• Dramatic poetry is intended to be read aloud or
  performed in front of an audience (e.g.
  Shakespeares plays).

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Social Commentary Poetry

• This type of poetry comments on some aspect(s)
  of society.
• It creatively criticizes social habits, customs,
  attitudes, and problems in order to promote
  change in individuals, groups, or society as a
  whole.

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Light Verse

• Light verse includes such well-known forms as
  limericks, parodies, epigrams, and satire.
• The main purpose of light verse is to entertain
  or amuse. Often, though, there is an underlying
  serious purpose behind the humour.

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Narrative Poetry

• Narrative poetry tells a story in simple,
  direct, rhythmical language with a strong
  emphasis on plot or physical action.
• Narrative poems often deal with history or
  myth/legend. The most common types of narrative
  poems are epics and ballads.

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Light Verse - Limericks

• A mathematician named Bath
• Let x equal half that he hath.
• He gave away y
• Then sat down to pi
• And choked. What a sad aftermath.
• A minor league pitcher, McDowell
• Pitched an egg at a batter named Owl.
• They cried, Get a hit!
• But it hatched in the mitt
• And the umpire declared it a fowl.

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Limericks

• The limerick is a closed form. It is light
  verse, and is often humorous, frequently
  highlighting peoples actions, mannerisms, and
  eccentricities.
• Limericks are composed of five lines, with the
  rhyme scheme a a b b a. They also usually (but
  not always) follow a set rhythm.
• Framework for the poem
• Line 1 Tell about the subject (usually where
  he/she is from) 8 syllables.
• Line 2 Tell something about the person, or
  describe him/her 9 syllables.
• Lines 3 and 4 Build up the peculiarity
  mentioned in line 2 5 syllables each.
• Line 5 Round off the limerick with an
  unexpected and funny conclusion, based upon
  whatever was written in the first 4 lines 9
  syllables.
• e.g. There once was a man from Rothesay
• Who was hungry as heck night and day
• He went out for a snack
• But he never came back
• Cause he choked on a McDonalds tray!
• Complete at least THREE limericks. Put them all
  on the same page.

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• There once was a girl from KV
• Who really, really needed to pee
• But when she pulled over
• Her bladder took over
• And in her seat she took a wee!
• T.K. Stoddart
• (For Krystal A.)

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Narrative Poetry
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The Cremation of Sam McGee
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Basic Poetic Structures

• Couplet, Triplet, Quatrain, Cinquain, Sestet

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• Couplet A couplet has two lines of poetry, has
  rhythm, and must rhyme.
• Couplets can be found as parts of larger poems
  (i.e. the last two lines of a sonnet form a
  couplet Shakespeare also used them in his plays
  as sound devices that gave cues to the actors).

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• Triplet A triplet has three lines of poetry,
  two or three of which might rhyme.
• Quatrain A quatrain has four lines of poetry,
  and some of the lines usually rhyme.
• Cinquain A cinquain is composed of five lines
  set to a rhythm. At least two of the lines must
  rhyme.
• Sestet A sestet has six lines of poetry, and
  has both a rhythm and a rhyme scheme.

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Poetic Forms

• Open Forms
• and
• Closed Forms

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Closed Forms

• Poetry is referred to as closed if it has
  firmly
• established elements (stanza divisions, rhyme
• scheme, rhythm, etc.) that make it recognizable.
• They are recognizable by their layout, sound
  devices (rhyme, rhythm, etc.), and/or general
  content (some generally have serious tones,
  others light tone, others are usually about
  nature, etc.)
• The following list is not exhaustive, but covers
  the most common forms.

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Closed Forms

• Ballad rhyming stanzas, tells a story,
  generally serious meaning
• Elegy a formal, serious poem, usually
  meditating on a specific persons death or death
  in general
• Ode an elaborate, intellectual lyric, dignified
  in tone, usually praising some person or thing
• Sonnet 14 lines, highly structured metre, rhyme
  scheme, generally serious meaning

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Closed Forms

• Haiku oriental verse form consisting of lines
  of 5, 7, and 5 syllables the topic is generally
  nature, thoughts, and emotions
• Formal Cinquain a sort of English Haiku
  consisting of five lines of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2
  syllables the first two lines stretch, and the
  final line snaps to impact the reader

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Haiku

• A traditional Asian poetry form, often seen as a
  tribute to some aspect of nature and the natural
  world.
• The subject matter has something to do with
  nature through one or more of the five senses
  (usually sight) to capture a moment in time.
• The season or time of year is often a part of
  the poem as well.
• Framework
• Line One 5 syllables
• Line Two 7 syllables
• Line Three 5 syllables
• Complete at least THREE haikus. Put them all on
  the same page.

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Formal Cinquain

• This poetry has 5 lines of 2-4-6-8-2 syllables.
  They usually begin with the subject. Each line
  adds depth to the subject. The last line creates
  a snapping effect for the reader.
• At dusk
• The day and night
• Embrace for one light kiss
• A purple mist enfolds the two
• Then dark.
• Write at least TWO formal cinquains.

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Closed Forms

• Tanka a sort of extended Haiku consisting of
  five lines of 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 syllables
  (although the syllables in a tanka are likely to
  vary from this somewhat) the aim is for striking
  imagery and depth of meaning
• Diamante highly-stylized poem of 7 lines in a
  diamond-shaped pattern
• Limerick an Irish, 5-line, highly-structured
  humorous verse a sort of joke in poetry form

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Diamantes

• Diamantes take the shape of a diamond.
• Either the subject of the poem goes through a
  notable change, or there is a notable change in
  perspectives on the subject. The shift takes
  place in the middle lines.

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Diamantes

• Jeans
• crisp, new
• clinging, hugging, appealing
• school dance, beach, sports
• fraying, tearing, shrinking
• old, worn
• cut-offs
• Follow this pattern
• Line 1 One noun
• Line 2 Two adjectives describing the noun
• Line 3 Three participles (words ending in ing
  or ed) pertaining to the noun
• Line 4 Four nouns relating to the subject. The
  second two nouns can have qualities opposite
  those of the first two nouns.
• Line 5 Three participles (words ending in ing
  or ed describing the change in the noun.
• Line 6 Two adjectives describing the new
  subject (in line 7)
• Line 7 A noun showing the completed change in
  the original noun, or that is the opposite of the
  original noun in some way.

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Open Forms

• Open-form poetry is the sort that does not have
  fixed features in terms of image, sound, or
  meaning.
• These are more modern styles of poetry,
  allowing the author more freedom to be creative.
  However, they lack the classical intellectual
  vigor that well-written closed forms demonstrate.
• Open-form poetry can be the most creative, but
  also requires the most work on the part of the
  reader, because each poem must be treated as a
  unique art piece, with fewer clues for the
  reader about how to enjoy the poem.

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Open Forms

• Blank Verse a verse that has rhythm, but is
  unrhymed used in plays (e.g. Shakespeares
  works)
• Free Verse verse that employs condensed
  phrasing (packing), symbolic or connotative
  language, and does not necessarily follow a
  scheme for rhyme or metre

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• Johnnies Poem
• Look! Ive written a poem!
• Johnnie says
• and hands it to me
• and its about
• his grandfather dying
• last summer, and me
• in the hospital
• and I want to cry,
• dont you see, because it doesnt matter
• if its not very good
• what matters is he knows
• and it was me, his father, who told him
• you write poems about what
• you feel deepest and hardest.
• Alden Nowlan

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Poetic Devices

• Sound

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Poetic Devices - SOUND

• Alliteration rhyming first sounds of a series
  of words, or nearby words (e.g. the duck dove
  diligently)
• Assonance rhyming vowel sounds in two nearby
  words (e.g. time is mine)
• Consonance repetition of two or more
  consonants, but with different vowel sounds can
  occur in any part of the word (unlike assonance)
  (e.g. pitter patter)

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• The Eagle
• He clasps the crag with crooked handsClose to
  the sun in lonely lands,Ringd with the azure
  world, he stands.
• The wrinkled sea beneath him crawlsHe watches
  from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt
  he falls.
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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• The Eagle alliteration noted
• He clasps the crag with crooked handsClose to
  the sun in lonely lands,Ringd with the azure
  world, he stands.
• The wrinkled sea beneath him crawlsHe watches
  from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt
  he falls.
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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• The Eagle assonance noted
• He clasps the crag with crooked handsClose to
  the sun in lonely lands,Ringd with the azure
  world, he stands.
• The wrinkled sea beneath him crawlsHe watches
  from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt
  he falls.
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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• The Eagle consonance noted
• He clasps the crag with crooked handsClose to
  the sun in lonely lands,Ringd with the azure
  world, he stands.
• The wrinkled sea beneath him crawlsHe watches
  from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt
  he falls.
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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Poetic Devices - SOUND

• Rhythm regularly-occuring pattern of stressed
  and unstressed syllables
• Rhyme pattern of identical-sounding ends of
  words

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Poetic Devices - SOUND

• Onomatopoeia words that imitate the sound they
  name (e.g. zoom, swish, moo)

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Poetic Devices - IMAGE

• Allusion a reference to scripture, literature,
  history, popular culture, etc. that helps create
  an image or enhance meaning
• Connotation suggested emotional meanings of
  words (e.g. warm-hearted)
• Personification human qualities are attributes
  to non-human things

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Personification An Example

• The Eagle
• He clasps the crag with crooked handsClose to
  the sun in lonely lands,Ringd with the azure
  world, he stands.
• The wrinkled sea beneath him crawlsHe watches
  from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt
  he falls.
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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Poetic Devices - IMAGE

• Metonymy use of an object usually associated
  with an idea to stand for that idea (e.g. the
  crown means the king/queen and everything
  associated with that station)
• Symbol a physical object that represents an
  idea beyond the object itself

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Poetic Devices - IMAGE

• Simile a comparison using like or as
• Metaphor a direct comparison of two unlike
  things that share some quality/qualities without
  using like or as
• The purpose of simile and metaphor is to get the
  reader to see something differently.